The latest special edition Subaru Forester may wear the vaunted STI name, but it doesn’t have any extra go, nor does it have much more in the way of show.
The Subaru Forester STI Sport isn’t just a sticker pack, however, with the limited edition SUV featuring front and rear dampers tuned by Subaru Tecnica International.
These are said to provide “elevated handling for a sharper, more responsive driving experience”.
The STI Sport is arriving in Australia late in September, priced at $48,640 before on-road costs.
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“With production strictly limited, this special edition is set to become a collector’s item for years to come,” says Subaru Australia.
The STI name may conjure up memories of huge wings and racy wheels, but the Forester STI Sport has none of that.
Its 18-inch ‘high lustre’ dark grey alloy wheels are subtle, while other exterior tweaks are limited to:
- Black grille, roof rails, fog light garnish, and front and rear under guards
- Crystal Black mirror caps and side and rear garnishes
- Black badging plus red STI badge
Inside, there’s a Black and Bordeaux two-tone colour scheme for the Nappa leather-accented seats, door trim, centre console and instrument panel.
There’s also STI branding for the instrument cluster, and red stitching on the instrument panel and steering wheel.
The STI Sport is available only in the following exterior finishes:
- Crystal White Pearl
- Ice Silver Metallic
- Magnetite Grey Metallic
- Crystal Black Silica
- Offshore Blue Metallic
The special edition is based on the flagship 2.5i-S.
That means it features the same engine as all petrol-powered Foresters, a naturally aspirated 2.5-litre flat four with 136kW of power and 239Nm of torque, mated with a continuously variable transmission.
Being based on the 2.5i-S, standard equipment therefore includes:
- Automatic, active cornering LED headlights
- Adaptive high-beam
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Power tailgate
- Sunroof
- 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- Satellite navigation
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter
- Heated front seats
- Eight-speaker Harman ardon sound system
There’s also a full suite of active safety and driver assist technology, including:
- Adaptive cruise control
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Reverse AEB
- Autonomous emergency steering
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Driver attention monitoring
- Lane-keep assist
- Lane centring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
It’s unclear how many other special edition Foresters will come before the next-generation model arrives here sometime in 2025.
Earlier this year, Subaru introduced the Forester 2.5i Luxury AWD Special Edition that adds some of the flagship 2.5i-S’s equipment to the base model.
