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Subaru Just Gave Its Wildest Forester the Boost It’s Been Needing

There’s a new Forester on the horizon that’s set to complement improved trail-ready capability with enhanced performance.

Close-up of a blue Subaru vehicle's rear with a "Subaru Wilderness Hybrid" badge and part of the taillight visible.Subaru
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By Gray Van Dyke

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Having finally graced North America with a long-awaited Forester hybrid variant in 2025, Subaru followed up the move this year by slashing prices on nearly every trim across the range. 

Suffice to say, then, that the SUV has already benefited from a boost in appeal in more ways than one. It’s a strategy that’s translated to sales, too, as the Forester is among the few models to have posted a positive performance through the start of 2026.

Blue Subaru Forester SUV with black and orange trim parked on a dirt road with hills in the background.
Subaru’s Forester Wilderness Hybrid is the first Wilderness trim to benefit from the Atkinson/Miller-cycle powertrain.
Subaru

Now, Subaru has decided to add yet another reason for prospective buyers to give the Forester a look. This go-round, however, it’s a development that pertains to the Wilderness trim.

Growing the hybrid Forester 

I’m talking about the new 2027 Forester Wilderness Hybrid unveiled at the New York International Auto Show. It’s Subaru’s first-ever Wilderness to feature a hybrid powertrain, which also makes it the most efficient model to be offered with the trim.

Front view of a blue Subaru SUV with black and silver accents parked on a gravel road with hills in the background.
It pairs hybrid efficiency with trail-ready Wilderness digs.
Subaru

In practice, this means that, like the standard Forester Hybrid, the Wilderness Hybrid uses an Atkinson/Miller-cycle 2.5-liter boxer paired with a high-capacity lithium-ion battery and electric motors to produce 194 horsepower. 

Subaru says that this translates to as much as 25 percent better fuel economy compared to the non-hybrid Wilderness model. As a bonus, on the road, the Forester Wilderness Hybrid benefits from a further 14 horsepower, up from 180.

While it still rocks a Lineartronic CVT for the sake of improved efficiency, the good news is that the series-parallel configuration allows it to retain Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive as well. And don’t forget that, the Wilderness trim brings some key off-road upgrades.  

Two blue Subaru Forester SUVs parked on a gravel road with green hills in the background.
Ground clearance improves to 9.3 inches over the standard Forester Hybrid.
Subaru

A solid Wilderness foundation

On top of an all-paw configuration, Subaru also specs the Wilderness with a Dual-Mode X-Mode system that brings Hill Descent Control along with dedicated settings for Snow/Dirt and Deep Snow/Mud.

Moreover, the Forester Wilderness Hybrid rides on longer coil springs and shocks to raise the ride height. In combination with some chunkier all-terrain Yokohoma Geolandar rubber on trim-exclusive 17-inch wheels, it increases ground clearance from 8.7 to 9.3 inches.

Interior of a Subaru car featuring a black steering wheel with bronze accents, a large vertical touchscreen, and black seats with bronze stitching.
The yellow accents make their way to the interior, as well.
Subaru

Elsewhere, you’ll find the same tough body cladding and a burly roof rack for hauling gear. Topped off with some yellow accents throughout and some Wilderness-specific badging, it makes for a transformative look.

It’s not just for show, either, as Subaru cites some respectable performance enhancements.

Compared to the standard Forester Hybrid, the Forester Wilderness Hybrid offers a superior approach angle (23.5 degrees versus 19 degrees), but even the breakover (20.6 degrees versus 19.3 degrees) and departure angles (25.5 degrees versus 24.6 degrees) bring improvements.

Blue SUV driving on a dirt road surrounded by green shrubs and rocky terrain.
The changes resulting from the Wilderness trim do bring some real-world improvements in approach and breakover angles.
Subaru

Availability and pricing

As part of its standard equipment, the Forester Wilderness Hybrid is also to feature a host of creature comforts like an 11.6-inch multimedia system, an 11-speaker Harman Kardon System and Subaru’s EyeSight Driver Assist tech. 

At this stage, there’s no MSRP just yet. The Subaru 2027 Forester Wilderness Hybrid will go on sale in late 2026, with pricing announced closer to launch.

About the Author: Gray is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, motorcycles and anything else with wheels. When he’s not chasing the latest industry news, he’s probably wrenching on one of many projects. For better or worse, he believes classics make perfectly practical daily drivers.

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