When Will The Subaru Forester Get A New Turbocharged Engine? It Could Be Soon

When Subaru dropped the 2.0-liter turbocharged engine in the all-new fifth-generation Forester, it didn’t sit well with fans. Could Subaru bring back a turbocharged engine in its third year after the remodel? A new report from the Japanese website BestCarWeb says Subaru will drop the 2.5-liter naturally aspirated engine and put a new 1.8-liter turbocharged engine in the Japan-spec 2021 Subaru Forester.

The report says Subaru will launch the new 2021 Forester in Japan in late October, and it will come with the 1.8-liter turbocharged engine sourced from the second-generation Levorg sports tourer. Subaru will stop making the Forester 2.5-liter models in Japan and go exclusively with the turbocharged engine in its Forester X Break, Premium, and Touring trims.

The 1.8-liter turbocharged engine in the new Levorg is an all-new direct-injection four-cylinder Boxer producing 175 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. The new turbocharged Forester will come paired exclusively with the Lineartronic Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), and the 6-speed manual transmission will not be available.

The fifth-generation 2021 Subaru Forester 2.5-liter naturally aspirated Boxer engine produces 182 horsepower and 176 lb-ft of torque. The Levorg-sourced 1.8-liter engine will give the Forester compact SUV a significant increase in torque. Torque is what provides the car with the ability to launch from a standing start. The more torque an engine has, the quicker the acceleration from a complete stop.

The Japan-spec 2021 Subaru Forester will not get the next-generation EyeSight X like the Levorg because it would take a complete remodel to update the SUV with the new safety technology. It will continue with the current EyeSight safety system.

Will the turbocharged Forester be sold in the U.S.? If Subaru does make the 1.8-liter turbocharged engine available in North America, it will happen when the Forester gets a refresh in year four of the compact SUV’s life cycle next year as a 2022 model.

Torque News reported in July, Subaru Corporation is upgrading 80 percent of its global production with smaller direct-injection turbocharged Boxer engines by 2021-2022. The Subaru Crosstrek and Impreza will likely be the next U.S. models to get new turbocharged engines. Check out the story below.

According to the report, Subaru will launch the 2021 Forester with the new fuel-efficient 1.8-liter direct-injection turbocharged Boxer engine in Japan on October 22, 2020. Torque News will bring details when we get more information.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press and the founder of Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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