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2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness
Today Subaru revealed the redesigned 2022 Forester, including the new Forester Wilderness. As the second entry in Subaru’s new series of rugged vehicle variants, the 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness follows in the tire tracks of the Outback Wilderness, which debuted earlier this year.
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Wilderness Equipment
Easily identified by its distinctive copper exterior accents, the Forester Wilderness receives upgraded suspension, all-terrain tires, a revised drivetrain, standard X-MODE and 9.2 inches of ground clearance to become the most off-road capable Forester ever.
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2022 Subaru Forester
In addition to the premiere of the Forester Wilderness, the entire Forester lineup has new exterior styling for the 2022 model year, including a redesigned grille, a new front bumper, LED headlights, a revised lower rear bumper and new exterior trim details. The Forester Touring features new gloss black window trim. Subaru Eyesight driver assist technology is standard on all Forester trim levels, and Forester Wilderness includes Gen 4 Eyesight with automatic emergency steering.
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New Wilderness Styling
Similar to the Outback Wilderness, the Forester Wilderness exterior updates include a bumper design unique from other Forester trims, a bold hexagonal grille, larger wheel arch cladding, a front skidplate, unique hex-designed LED fog lights and a matte-black anti-glare hood decal.
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Bold Look
Window trim and badges on this new rugged Forester variant have a black finish with Subaru Wilderness badges positioned on the front fenders and liftgate. The bold exterior package gets punctuated with unique 17-inch matte-black wheels alloy wheels and Yokohama Geolandar all-terrain tires.
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Geometric Textures
The body-color roof spoiler of the 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness has a black edge with a geometric textured surface on the end panels. The side mirrors also feature a unique geometric textured surface and integrated turn signals. Geyser Blue is an exclusive color available only for Wilderness variants.
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Upgraded Roof Rack
The Forester Wilderness features an upgraded roof rack for a higher dynamic load capacity of 220 pounds, compared with the standard Forester at 176 pounds. The Wilderness rack has a static load limit of 800 pounds — 100 pounds more than the streetwise Forester. The fixed ladder-type roof rack system provides flexibility for a variety of accessories, and the increased capacity allows the use of larger roof-top tents.
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Forester Wilderness Interior
Inside, the Wilderness theme continues with copper accents that complement the exterior styling, including anodized copper finishes on the shifter, gauge cluster and leather-wrapped steering wheel. The seats are covered with a water-repellant Subaru StarTex material intended to take more abuse, with the Wilderness moniker embossed in the front head restraints. The seats also have copper-colored contrast stitching.
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All-Weather Wilderness
The headliner and pillars of the 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness are finished in black with Gunmetal Grey trim for the dashboard, doors and center console surrounding the shifter. Standard-equipment all-weather floormats include the Subaru Wilderness logo. This new variant also has a waterproof rear cargo tray and waterproof material on the backs of the folding second-row seats. The liftgate incorporates an LED light for better visibility when open.
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Upgraded Suspension
A combination of suspension upgrades and all-terrain tires give the 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness 9.2 inches of ground clearance. Updates include longer coil springs as well as new shocks with longer travel and damping compression for improved performance on rough surfaces. The Forester Wilderness angle of approach increases to 23.5 degrees compared to 20.0 for other Forester trims, and a departure angle of 25.4 degrees compared to 24.6 degrees. The Breakover angle increases to 21.0 degrees compared to 19.6 degrees for other trims.
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Revised Drivetrain
The 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness draws power from the same 2.5-liter 4-cylinder boxer engine as other Forester trims. The engine produces 184 horsepower and 176 lb-ft of torque, and gets mated with a Lineartronic continuously variable transmission. Forester Wilderness features an 8-speed manual shift mode with steering wheel paddle shifters (Forester Limited and Touring have a 7-speed manual shift mode). In addition, the final-drive ratio for the differential has been changed for improved low-end torque and climbing ability at low speeds.
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Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive
Like all Subaru models except the BRZ rear-wheel-drive sports car, Forester Wilderness is equipped with Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive. Also standard is Subaru’s driver-selectable dual-mode X-MODE with Snow / Dirt and Deep Snow / Mud modes. The X-MODE helps reduce individual wheelspin in various conditions by optimizing engine power and CVT ratio, as well as increasing active all-wheel drive engagement and adjusting the vehicle dynamics control with the traction control system.
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Off-Road Capability
To improve off-road performance, X-MODE includes low speed / low ratio gradient control that senses when Forester Wilderness is on a steep incline. In these situations, the system shifts the CVT to its lowest ratio for an experience similar to having a low range with increased drivetrain torque at the wheels for climbing.
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Control and Visibility
The 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness also has hill descent control to help harness vehicle speed on steep downgrades. When Forester Wilderness’ speed is under 12 mph and the accelerator is at less than 10 percent, the system applies brake pressure to individual wheels as needed. The X-MODE display includes a new roll-angle indicator and a standard 180-degree front-view monitor gives the driver maximum forward visibility on trails.
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2022 Subaru Forester Pricing
The 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness is priced at $32,820. Pricing for other Forester trim levels for the 2022 model year comes in at $25,195 for the Forester Base and $28,195 for the Premium level. The Sport trim is $29,765, while the Limited is $31,875 and Touring $35,295. Prices do not include a destination and delivery charge of $1,125.
