Not long now until the 2016 Subaru Forester facelift makes its Malaysian debut. The facelifted crossover, which was present at the recent Bangkok Motor Show, is slated to be launched here on April 14. Before that takes place, paultan.org reader Calvin Loong managed to snap the Forester as it makes its way around town.
At launch, the Forester will be offered with two locally-assembled (CKD) variants – 2.0i and 2.0i-P (as seen here). Also part of the line-up is a sole imported from Japan (CBU) turbocharged XT variant. Prices (inclusive of GST, but without insurance and road tax) start at RM144,160 for the 2.0i, progressing to RM153,700 for the 2.0i-P and RM210,940 for the XT. If you’re interested, bookings for the crossover are now open.
Obvious indicators that this is indeed the facelifted Forester begin with the car’s headlamps, which are of the LED variety and feature bright, C-shaped DRLs. Elsewhere, the car sports a new three-bar grille (previously a honeycomb design) and thinner silver trim piece running across it, with the Subaru badge positioned in the middle.
The bumper remains unchanged from the previous XT, still fitted with LED DRLs at its corners. Only the 2.0i receives the new bumper design as per what we saw at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. However, the 2.0i gets halogen reflectors instead of LED units.
The Forester seen here also sports the new fan-style wheel design as per what we saw in Bangkok, which are 17-inch in size. From the rear, the new tail lamps are also present as well, now adopting a C-shaped design to match up with the headlamps.
The cabin meanwhile, will be more upmarket than before. Leather upholstery, a new TFT LCD colour display, double-DIN touchscreen head-unit, new steering wheel and powered seats are just the start of things.
