2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness Up Close: Redesigned and More Capable
The Subaru Forester Wilderness is currently an outlier within the Forester lineup. Subaru redesigned the SUV for the 2025 model year, but the 2025 Wilderness variant is actually the previous-generation Forester, meaning Subaru is currently selling two generations of Forester as new vehicles. That should be fixed by the end of the year, though, as we got to see the 2026 Forester Wilderness ahead of its 2025 Chicago Auto Show debut (per Cars.com’s ethics policy, we pay for all travel and lodging at such manufacturer-sponsored events).
Related: More 2025 Chicago Auto Show Coverage
Rugged Exterior Looks
The 2026 Forester Wilderness gets the styling updates we’ve seen for the 2025 Forester while adding the unique Wilderness touches that highlight Subaru’s most capable off-road vehicles. That means a lot of durable exterior cladding, copper accents including the tow hook covers, Yokohama Geolandar all-terrain tires and unique 17-inch wheels. Those wheels are a new design, and the tires are 10 millimeters wider, at 235 millimeters, than those on the previous Forester Wilderness. The front and rear bumpers of the Wilderness are also redesigned. Added underbody protection should keep more delicate bits safer from obstacles, and upgraded roof rails and a new available River Rock Pearl paint color complete the updates.
Overall, the 2026 Forester Wilderness looks like the most serious off-roader of its class, continuing a tradition started by its predecessor. It’s not too wild and still looks usable for on-road daily driving, too.
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Minor Interior Tweaks
The 2026 Forester Wilderness is the first non-hybrid Forester in Subaru’s lineup that can be equipped with a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, a feature we quite like. A feature we don’t quite like is the 11.6-inch touchscreen display, which integrates numerous climate functions and has a portrait orientation that hampers smartphone mirroring and camera views.
The upholstery is durable and easily cleaned synthetic leather instead of something plush, and copper accents continue the theme started with those on the exterior. The whole package is rugged and spacious, and it makes for a nice variation on the regular Forester’s solid interior design.
More Capable
Subaru didn’t just upgrade the Forester Wilderness’ looks, however. Capability upgrades include a suspension lift that increases ground clearance from 8.7 inches in the standard Forester to 9.3 inches in the Wilderness (up 0.1 inch from its 2025 equivalent). The standard all-wheel-drive system is revised to lock up the center differential more quickly and reduce wheelspin, enabling what Subaru claims is quicker torque transfer when conditions get slippery. A beefed-up transmission cooler improves the Forester Wilderness’ towing capacity to 3,500 pounds, a 500-pound increase over the 2025 version.
Subaru also says the upgrades bestowed upon the new Forester should make the 2026 Wilderness more stable and pleasant to drive on-road, too. Power comes from the same 2.5-liter boxer-four-cylinder engine that powers the other Forester variants, making 180 horsepower and 178 pounds-feet of torque. A continuously variable automatic is the only transmission available.
We’ve been impressed with what the previous Forester Wilderness can do off-road, so we look forward to putting this new one to the test — and seeing if it’s more pleasant on the pavement than its predecessor.
More Info to Come
Subaru says the 2026 Forester Wilderness will go on sale in the fall of 2025, and we should get more detailed pricing and specifications closer to that time.
More From Cars.com:
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- 2025 Subaru Forester Wilderness Stays on Last-Gen Platform, Starts at $36,415
- Is the 2025 Subaru Forester a Good SUV? 5 Pros, 3 Cons
- 2025 Subaru Forester: Bolder Exterior Styling, New Tech, Priced From $31,090
- 2025 Subaru Forester Up Close: No Big Changes, Just Better
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