By Kamil Kaluski
The 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness follows the other Wilderness models as essentially a hiking boot with a powertrain. It’s got chunky aesthetic, gold trim, and enough blacked-out cladding to survive a rock fight. The wheels have been reduced to 17-inch, yielding to a thicker tire sidewall, and allowing for more tire flex when off pavement. It’s a cheeky design that looks substantially better than the standard Forester, with those beefier bumper covers and roof rack that looks ready for a rooftop tent or an optimistic trip to the organic garden market.
One of the best invisible changes is buried in the powertrain. Subaru didn’t just slap a lift kit on this and call it a day; they modified the CVT and final drives to give it numerically lower gearing. This translates to more low-end torque reaching the wheels. It makes the car feel snappier off the line, which is great for climbing hills, but in reality, it makes daily driving more pleasant. I’m not usually a card-carrying member of the CVT fan club, but the way they’ve tuned this one to be snappier makes a huge difference.
All images – Kevin Nguyen
Subaru also went the extra mile with engine and rear differential cooling, which bumps the towing capacity from 1,500 pounds to a very respectable 3,500 pounds. The powertrain remains the same otherwise, typical boxer 2.5-liter four-cylinder that makes 180hp and 178 lb.-ft. of torque. While a hybrid version exists, don’t expect to see it in the Wilderness trim. Likewise, don’t expect a WRX-derived turbocharged engine.
The interior is a refreshing blast from the past in the best way possible. While the rest of the industry is busy hiding your air conditioning controls behind three sub-menus on a touchscreen, Subaru kept the hard buttons. The cabin feels airy and visible, maintaining that classic Forester glass house vibe. The infotainment can be a bit of lazy bones, as the 11.6-inch screen sometimes needs a morning coffee to warm up and respond. Finally, having a full-size spare tire under the floor is an absolute blessing and a necessity when off pavement.
I am all for Wilderness-All-The-Subarus kind of vibe. Aside from a mild drop in MPG, there are only benefits. The price for all this is under $40,000 without the mentioned option package (power tailgate, better audio, digital gauge cluster) and just above $40,000 with the option package.
Jeff Glucker