The order books have been open for a while now, and after enjoying a public showroom preview in June, the fourth-gen Subaru Forester finally officially enters the Malaysian market.
Our car is the 2.0 XT, which has a meaner-looking, more angular front bumper than its naturally-aspirated siblings. Under its bonnet lurks a turbocharged and direct-injected 2.0 litre ‘Boxer’ flat-four engine that produces 240 PS at 5,600 rpm and 350 Nm of torque from 2,400 to 3,600 rpm (280 PS for Japan, 253 PS for the US).
Armed with a Lineartronic CVT and Subaru’s symmetrical Active Torque Split AWD system, the 1,635 kg crossover is capable of doing the century sprint in 7.5 seconds before hitting a top speed of just over 220 km/h. Fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are quoted at 8.5 litres per 100 km and 197 grams per km respectively.
The CVT is supplemented by shift paddles and SI Drive (Subaru Intelligent Drive), which offers Intelligent, Sport and Sport Sharp drive modes. Select Sport Sharp and you’ll have eight virtual ratios to play with. A system called X-Mode collaborates with the AWD system to provide off-road settings. Hill Descent Control and Hill Start Assist are also standard fare.
Fully imported from Japan, the Subaru Forester 2.0 XT is 4,595 mm long (+35 mm from its predecessor), 1,795 mm wide (+15 mm) and 1,735 mm tall (+35 mm), with a 2,640 mm wheelbase (+26 mm). It sits 220 mm off the ground, on 18-inch aluminium alloys wrapped in 225/55 tyres. The driver’s eye point is 34 mm higher than in the previous car.
Suspension is handled by MacPherson struts up front and double wishbones out back, while brakes are ventilated discs all round. The fuel tank holds 60 litres of petrol.
The equipment list is long – there are auto HID headlamps with self-levelling and pop-up washers, rain-sensing wipers, front and rear fog lamps, a sunroof and power folding door mirrors with integrated LED indicators. There’re also roof rails, keyless entry and start, cruise control and a powered tailgate, amongst others.
Inside the Subaru Forester, you’ll find fabric seats, auto dual-zone air-con, a multi-function display, audio controls on the steering wheel, a total of three 12V outlets and an eight-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system. Connectivity is provided for Bluetooth, USB and AUX.
The boot can hold 422 litres of cargo; fold the 60:40 split back seats down via the one-touch folding switches and this jumps to 1,541 litres.
Defense mechanisms include seven airbags, Vehicle Dynamics Control, ABS, ISOFIX and side door reinforcement beams. A safety pedal system prevents the pedal from being forced back into the driver’s feet in the event of a collision. The Subaru Forester has a five-star Euro NCAP rating.
The Subaru Forester 2.0 XT costs RM199,800 (OTR without insurance), or RM206,482 with insurance. It can be had in Satin White Pearl, Jasmine Green Metallic, Burnished Bronze Metallic (limited availability), Dark Grey Metallic and Crystal Black Silica. Offered is a five-year or 100,000 km warranty.
For more pictures, visit our showroom gallery.
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that girl with short hair. hmm… looks yummy
Excellent performance, price is ok and the exterior is ok too. Santa Fe? Rav 4 is ur friend.
Yummy? Aiya…. Look closer… fat and not pretty at all
Okay..u take the girl..i take the guy carrying the bicycle into the boot
Well, it’s not very good looking compare to Santa Fe, but the performance and safety count.
If I were to choose between the two, I will definitely choose Forester despite being slightly smaller, 5-seater, fabric and absence of Sat/Nav/LCD.
Safety and performance from Subaru, that’s good enough.
Best in class safety tested in IIHS. That’s the deal.
suv under 200k that can run 0-100 less than 8sec? damm~
As expected, for Malaysian market, Sat Nav and LCD always being excluded and replaced with old fashioned radio even when the price has reached RM200k mark.
You must praised first, saying that Subaru Malaysia has made a good move by introducing 7 airbags + ESP with rigid body shell, and the performance tops many popular SUVs. However, for a price mark of RM200K, Sat Nav and LCD are expected from customers, and it should be included as optional accessory, same to leather seats. Something like this sounds better?
U forgot to mention this car has AWD & Harman Kardon sound system plus a powered tailgate!
Subaru is the only model in the SUV section to achieve the Top Safety Pick+ rating.
“here are auto HID headlamps with self-levelling and pop-up washers”
i see nice led around but with halogen headlight..can auto levelling halogen?
Projection headlamp needs a flap on the inside to make sure the light don’t shoot straight up (high-beam) adjusting the flap with a servo (small electric motor) makes the light ‘auto-leveling’. Can also permanently remove flap to make it only high-beam lamp. Can also make auto remove flap when trigger high-beam to make single projection headlamp both low-&-high-beam headlamp.
This forester uses the tubocharged version of BRZ engine and yet rm40k cheaper than BRZ.
Kura-kura lebih mahal daripada arnab, kerana kura-kura lebih cantiq.
Orang kaya-raya mahu isteri yang cantiq walaupun tak pandai masak, bukan isteri yang pandai kerjarumah tetapi gemuk dengan mata sepet.
As I said, zero tax also no use, it is well possible that even if PK make it happen, vehicle prices can still remain the same, benefits may all go to koceks of UMW, ETCM, etc. Maybe only Mercedes prices will go down.
bodo la kura-kura lebih cantiq. even schoolboy can prefer rabbit and can tell it’s more beautiful than tortoise
I have no problem with subaru cars , in fact i love the engine very much ! The only issue i have, is motor image service center in KL&SEL which is the worst !
one thing about subaru in malaysia is, the price.. the rest is just amazing!
Seriously I said, if the rims had changed to a bigger and wider, it’ll be beastly beauty~!
increase of RM16K from the prelaunch price…overpriced
Whoa. 200K no GPS?
it’s kinda greedy company?
Very nice proposition coming from Subaru. If am looking for a SUV for the family, I’d pick this over the rest plus its CBU!
240PS, 350Nm at below 200k mark is consider good, although can be better if it comes with more accessories…
Car very good, engine good, trans good, etc… also not bad BUT……….. the service centre, sales centre VERY very few. Invest a bit “Motor Image” dah lah nama image but lansung tak JAGA image!
Imagine a driver staying in Cheras, need to drive to another suburb to service. If MI really want budget budget, at least setup a service centre along Sungai Besi, even AUDI not left out this good landmark.
Very less people know Subaru in Malaysia. They thought is it a new Malaysian brand because “Subaru” sounds like Bahasa Melayu or they thought a new China car.
Bro that’s why lagi need publish & PUSH Subaru name further. Feel “sad” for such good Jap name being tarnish by Motor Image!!
yes previous subaru is hard to find service center n showroom. but now subaru are growing up man… cheras also have service center… glenmarie also have…
Like u all said, no Sat Nav. Put it as option plz. Lagi Power, Lagi best can also opt for it.
Can have a lower spec version for less? Say rm180k with smaller wheel 215/55/17, HID, less this and that.
Inside looks cheap like just like cheapo VW car, even engine cover looks like Merc one in early 90’s and we have to fork 200k for it ? come on !
Mahalnyaaa..baik beli BMW@Merz kalau herga mcm ni…kenapa kereta2 baru mahal sangat..apa nak jadi dgn Malaysia ni..kalau mcm ni gayanya..golongan berpendapatan sederhana cuma mampu beli dan guna kereta buatan Malaysia saja laaa…cinta buatan..Malaysia..cinta buatan..Malaysia…balik2 PERODUA..PROTON..PERODUA..PROTON..design outdated…
Hmm.. I will prefer the signature air scoop.
Overpriced laa..
good car no doubt but Subaru needs to up their game with better interior design..
i wil get the girl with short hair over this subaru !
you can tell jonathan had his lens fixed on the girl with the shoulder length hair :)
no doubt, she’s pretty easy on the eyes too and probably helped subaru to sell off a unit or two on that day!