Many Malaysian Subaru enthusiasts will remember the power delivery of the boxy looking Subaru Forester in the 1990’s. These were the the early version of the turbocharged Boxer engines that gave this boxy looking wagon the performance to match hot hatchbacks like the Golf GTI.
Retiring Turbo Engines
Subaru engineers retired their turbo power for the 3rd generation Forester and made it a family friendly commuter vehicle. Sales were still good as it found a new demographic of buyers who wanted a safe all wheel drive family wagon and not a sports wagon with almost Impreza power delivery.
Rivals Bring Turbo Engines
Meanwhile their rivals from Japan and Europe started toying with the idea of turbocharging their family vehicles. Buyers were looking for lower emissions, yet wanted added grunt when on the highway or after being standstill at the traffic lights. Honda introduced a turbocharged CR-V. Mazda launched a turbocharged CX-5 and from Europe, the Volkswagen Tiguan got a turbocharged engine from the start, followed by Audi, Mercedes and BMW.
Engines Got Smaller
Next came the idea of turbocharging small capacity engines and the Europeans were the first to start with small capacity 1.4L and even 3-cylinder engines with force fed power. Power delivery was instant and mid-range torque was good and there was no need to look at top speed possibilities as speed limits were being reduced in major cities.
Our Questions Finally Answered
After a few years of asking the question why the first generation Subaru Levorg’s DIT 1.6L turbocharged engine is not being used in the popular Subaru XV and Forester, we finally get news from Japan that Subaru engineers are now releasing the Forester Sport in 2021 with the latest version of the Subaru Levorg’s 1.8L turbocharge engine (200cc more and able to deliver 50 Nm more torque). Great news and long overdue.
New Forester Sport
The 2021 Subaru Forester turbocharged engine to replace the naturally aspirated Boxer unit will deliver 176bhp and an impressive 300Nm of torque. This 1.8L horizontally-opposed direct-injection turbo engine will further boost its appeal here in Malaysia against its immediate rivals. This new Boxer turbo engine with lean-burn technology balances acceleration and environmental performance at a high level. It also brings superior dynamic quality with its strong torque.
Not much will change in the interior of the already well equipped Forester Sport and on the exterior there will be minor design tweaks to encourage buyers back into Motor Image showrooms nationwide to look closer at this more powerful and sporty family vehicle.
To start, this Forester Sport will be introduced in Japan and it might take at least a year before it is launched in ASEAN nations. This is because the Subaru Forester is currently assembled in Thailand (its first factory in Asia outside of Japan which started operations in early 2019) domestic sales as well as export to Malaysia, Singapore and neighboring countries.
