Shortly after making its debut in Thailand, the new 2023 Subaru Forester facelift has now finally made its way into Malaysia. The off-road-capable SUV is offered in three variants, 2.0i-L, 2.0i-S, GT Lite, and GT Edition, with prices starting from RM174,288.
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2023 Subaru Forester exterior – reworked front fascia
Taking ‘facelift’ by its literal meaning, the new 2023 Subaru Forester’s exterior redesign is largely focused on the front fascia. Most noticeably, the headlights have now been restyled with a Levorg-inspired look, featuring a deep cut on the inner edge. Between them, the grille is now larger and bolder, with a black outline instead of chrome.
There’s also the slightly reworked bumpers both front and back, with a more three-dimensional appearance, although you probably wouldn’t have noticed if we didn’t mention it – it’s that subtle. The GT Lite and GT Edition (pictured) variants does at least stand out a little more with its variant-specific bumper and side skirts in black and silver, alongside an additional rear wing garnish, and a set of variant-specific 18-inch wheels.
Equipment wise, the GT Lite shares the same list as the 2.0i-L, while the GT Edition does the same with the 2.0i-S. Standard items on the 2023 Subaru Forester in Malaysia include:
- Automatic LED headlights
- LED daytime-running lights
- LED rear combination lamps
- UV protection glass
- Automatic wipers
- 17-inch alloy wheels (L and GT Lite)
- Roof rails (with loop holes)
- Roof-mounted spoiler
- Automatic headlight leveliser (S and GT Edition)
- LED front fog lamps (S and GT Edition)
- Silver-plated front and rear underguards, side claddings (S variant only)
- 18-inch alloy wheels (S and GT Edition)
- Exterior colours: Copper White pearl, Ice Silver metallic, Magnetite Grey metallic, Crystal Black silica, Horizon Blue pearl, Cascade Green Silica (new), Brilliant Bronze Metallic (new)
2023 Subaru Forester performance – unchanged 2.0-litre Boxer engine
The powertrain underneath the hood is completely carried-over from the pre-facelift model, featuring a low-mounted 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine that helps with the SUV’s handling characteristics. It’s standard-fit symmetrical all-wheel drive system (Dual X-Mode on S and GT Edition) also means it’s significantly more capable off-road compared to its other competitors in the segment.
- Engine: 1,995 cc, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder boxer
- Transmission: Lineartronic CVT
- Driveline: Front-engine, all-wheel drive (Active torque split Symmetrical AWD)
- Max horsepower: 156 hp @ 6,000 rpm
- Max torque: 196 Nm @ 4,000 rpm
- 0-100 km/h: 10.3 seconds
- Top speed: 193 km/h
- Fuel consumption (combined): 7.8 l/100 km
Largely unchanged interior – new quilted leather upholstery
The interior of the new 2023 Subaru Forester facelift also remains largely unchanged from before, save for the addition of the quilted black leather upholstery (standard on S and GT Edition variants, optional on L). The C-segment SUV’s interior equipment list include:
- 8-inch touchscreen headunit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity
- Analogue instrument cluster with 6.3-inch multifunction display
- 8-way powered front seats
- Electronic parking brake
- Keyless access with push-start system
- Single-zone automatic climate control with rear air vents
- 60/40 split-folding rear seats
- 360-degree surround-view monitor
- Powered tailgate with memory function (S and GT Edition)
- Aluminium pedals (S and GT Edition)
EyeSight advanced driver assist suite
All three variants of the 2023 Subaru Forester comes as standard with the marque’s EyeSight 4.0 advanced driver assist system, which has been updated to support Level 2 autonomous driving. Other standard features include:
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Adaptive cruise control
- Lane centring control with preceding vehicle adaptive steering control
- Lane departure prevention
- Pre-collision throttle management
- Lead vehicle start alert
- Autonomous emergency steering (S and GT Edition)
2023 Subaru Forester pricing in Malaysia
The new 2023 Subaru Forester facelift in Malaysia is priced from RM174,288 for the entry-level 2.0i-L variant, moving up to RM180,288 for the GT Lite Edition, RM184,288 for the 2.0i-S variant, and RM196,288 for the range-topping GT Edition. Included in the price is also a five-year/100,000 km standard warranty.
Customers can also opt for the Subaru Connex telematics system at RM1,900, which includes one year of connectivity. Following that, the cellular data for the telematics system will require a RM360/year subscription.
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