Subaru Forester gets a fresh face for 2022
SUBARU Southern Africa’s most popular SUV, the Subaru Forester has received a mid-life update, further heightening its appeal. The MY2022 Forester will be the product to inaugurate Subaru Southern Africa’s 30th year in South Africa, available in local dealers from January 2022.
The 2022 Subaru Forester will be offered in four derivatives including the 2.0-litre and 2.5-litre variants in their respective Sport and Premium trims and specifications.
The biggest exterior design changes have taken place at the front of the vehicle. A larger, hexagonal grille takes centre stage with a reduced headlight design. The result is a more dynamic and sturdier stance. The reworked headlights now include an array of LED bulbs for improved driver vision as part of the Forester Adaptive Headlamps and High Beam Assist features.
Further along the flanks of the Forester, the mirror caps, A and B-pillar covers as well as the rear spoiler and tailgate finishes have all been enhanced. On the Forester Sport, the mirror caps and rear are finished in a geometric textured material, where the Premium Forester is finished in chromed mirror covers and a high gloss black cover.
The new Forester sits on redesigned 17-inch alloy wheels on the base model or 18-inch alloy wheels on the high spec models. The new 18-inch wheel design on the Premium Forester is a new five-spoke, dual-tone design for a purposeful and yet elegant stance. This is in contrast to the all-black multi-spoke wheels on the more adventurous Forester Sport.
For the MY2022 Forester, a new Cascade Green Silica colour has been added in place of the Jasper Green Metallic.
On the Subaru Forester Sport, the use of the orange and black theme has been tweaked, removing the orange splashes on the air vent surrounds yet maintaining the colour on the stitching and contrasting this with the exclusive Sport’s dark grey colour scheme and water repellent seats.
The powertrains remain unchanged on all derivatives of the new Forester, but the front suspension has been tweaked to improve steering responsiveness, ride quality and handling by reworking the coil springs and dampers. To further improve the NVH levels, the Forester also receives new aluminium engine mount brackets.
X-Mode, Subaru’s smart all-terrain programme has also been updated with improved Hill Descent Control speed management. To enhance driver control, the revised system allows for manual acceleration on descent, with the system re-engaging Hill descent Control when the driver stops accelerating.
A more advanced version of EyeSight Driver Assist Technology is introduced to the MY2022 Subaru Forester. The new system delivers all-round improvement for use under a wider array of conditions and environments. There is a new dual camera system with a much wider field of view, almost double what it was. Together with improved software, the system is faster and more intuitive, working to deploy the myriad EyeSight safety functions such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Pre-Collision Braking, Lane Departure and Sway Warning with even better precision. The system now works with better efficiency at intersections, where accidents frequently occur.
Also offered with EyeSight 4.0 are three new technologies that employ active steering inputs:
Active Lane Centering works within the Adaptive Cruise Control function to ensures the vehicle remains in the centre of the lane. This reduces driver fatigue. Autonomous Emergency Steering works as an accident prevention function and can steer the vehicle to avoid an accident, be it a pedestrian, another vehicle or a cyclist.
ES or EyeSight-equipped Forester’s also include Blind Spot Detection technology with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross Traffic Alert as standard features.
The Subaru Forester’s versatility is its forte and to add to that, the roof rails on the MY2022 Forester have also been strengthened and redesigned to allow for a higher load capacity and to ensure the safe use of roof-top tents for instance. Additional tie-down locations have also been integrated into the rails as have two additional utility hooks been added to the roof of the rear cargo area.
Nteo Nkoli, Marketing Manager at Subaru Southern Africa says, “The new Forester, like the Foresters that have come before it, continues to be the most popular seller in our range of cars.
“These updates will certainly find more appeal with our customers because they show our innovation, our versatility and our focus on safety – the very things that our customers love about our cars and brand.”