2025 Subaru Forester STI Sport launched in Australia

IT’S somewhat unusual that the only model in Subaru’s modern lineup to wear the vaunted STI badge, a symbol of the brand’s rallying prowess and a mark of motorsport pedigree, is now the Forester.

With the arrival of a new special-edition Forester variant, Subaru’s high-riding family hauler is the sole bearer of the STI badge – at least until Subaru’s local operation sees fit to retire the fairly anonymous ‘tS’ branding of hotter BRZ and WRX variants in favour of the STI Sport labels they already use in the Japanese market.

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Curiously, the Subaru Forester STI Sport that’s just landed in Australia as a value-enhanced limited-edition actually carries the same branding as its Japanese-market equivalent, possibly indicating that Subaru Australia may be pondering adopting STI branding for its true performance cars as well. It’s also not a mere ploy to sex up the Forester by slapping a saucy STI badge on its tailgate, for behind the badges lies some STI-specific engineering.

The Forester STI Sport brings a unique suspension tune, which Subaru says was concocted by its STI engineers to “enhance control, stability and balance”, and should translate into slightly sharper dynamics. Springrates are untouched, however, with all of the STI magic concentrated in the front and rear damper valving.

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On top of the suspension gear, the Forester STI Sport receives a unique design and dark grey colouring for its 18-inch alloy wheels, as well as black-painted exterior elements like its grille, roof rails, mirror caps and foglamp surrounds. Interior features include a black and Bordeaux colour scheme with red contrast stitching for its Nappa leather upholstery, while STI branding appears on the instrument cluster and tailgate.

However, while the Forester STI Sport in Japan is available with a 1.8-litre direct-injection turbo flat-four engine with 130kW and 300Nm, Australia-bound examples, which are due to arrive in late September, will instead use the same powerplant as the regular Forester range, a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated boxer four with 136kW and 239Nm. There won’t be a hybrid option for the STI Sport either.

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Priced at $48,640 before on-road costs, the Forester STI Sport sits at the top of the non-hybrid Forester range, slipping between the 2.5i-S grade and the range-topping Forester Hybrid S.

Next year, Subaru is expected to bring its next-generation Forester to Australia. The sixth-gen Forester was revealed in late 2023 and went on on sale in the USA earlier this year, with the all-new SUV coming to our shores in 2025 with a familiar naturally-aspirated petrol and petrol-electric hybrid powertrain lineup. Later on, a turbo petrol engines and a rugged outdoorsy Forester Wilderness variant may join the range, with the former potentially seeing the return of the powerful ‘XT’ grade – or perhaps another iteration of the Forester STI Sport.