At this year's New York Auto Show, Subaru will be presenting the all-new fifth-generation Forester to replace the current model, which first launched in 2012. The teaser campaign is already underway, starting with the first official photo revealing the new Forester's rear taillight design. It gave us hope that the new Forester will adopt a more aggressive design inspired by recent concepts like the Viziv Tourer. Ahead of its official reveal next week, leaked photos taken from a Japanese magazine have revealed the mid-size crossover's design.
The photos, published by Allcarnews show that the new Forester will have an evolutionary design with minor styling tweaks. We were hoping for a more striking design, but then this isn't a crossover that's renowned for having bold styling. There are still some cues from the Viziv Future Concept revealed a few years ago, but its daring design has been toned down considerably for the all-new Forester. At the front is a new fascia with a larger grille and new restyled headlights, as well as plastic body cladding and a silver skid plate below the grille. Elsewhere, the bodywork features swooping character lines beneath the greenhouse and above the side skirts that inject some flair.
The rear looks familiar, but features new taillights connected by a horizontal chrome strip. While the leaked images haven't been verified, they should provide a good indication of what the final production model will look like. It's a bit disappointing to see that Subaru hasn't been more daring with the design, but then the automaker doesn't want to spoil its successful formula. After all, the Forester is one of Subaru's most popular models and sells well in the US. Details are being kept under wraps for now, but we know the new Forester will ride on the new Subaru Global Platform, which underpins the current Impreza. All-wheel drive will no doubt be available as standard.
We can also expect to see the usual range of four-cylinder boxer engines and a CVT, as well as advanced tech that comes as part of Subaru's EyeSight driver assist. Expect to see more official teasers of the new Subaru Forester in the run up to its official debut in New York on March 28.
