In late 2021, Subaru introduced the “Wilderness” trim for the 2022 Subaru Outback, targeting adventure and outdoor enthusiasts. This rugged variant quickly expanded to other Subaru SUVs, including the Forester, which received its own Wilderness edition for the 2022 model year. Since then, Subaru has continued selling the Forester Wilderness with minimal updates, even as the rest of the Forester lineup transitioned to the all-new sixth-generation model in late 2024.

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Now, just a few months after the redesigned 2025 Forester hit the market, Subaru has finally unveiled the updated Wilderness trim for the popular compact SUV. The company is marketing the new vehicle as the 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness. Given that the vehicle won’t make it to dealerships before fall 2025, the 2026 moniker doesn’t seem too out of place.

In terms of styling and design, the 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness is closer to the rest of the updated 2025 Forester lineup than the outgoing 2025 Wilderness trim. Compared to the outgoing Wilderness trim, the 2026 model gets slightly higher ground clearance (9.3 inches compared to 9.2 inches), better interiors, and improvements to the car’s on-road and off-road performance.

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Notable feature additions include the new 11.6-inch center console, which replaces the old 8-inch unit, and a 12.6-inch digital gauge cluster that now supports navigation while adding support for Android Auto and Apple Car Play. The outgoing model, for comparison, only had a tiny MID and an analog gauge cluster.

While retaining the familiar look of the older generation Subaru Forester, the 2026 Wilderness trim of the vehicle features a slew of design elements that help it differentiate itself from the rest of the Forester lineup. The most notable among these include functional roof rails that boast an 800-pound static load capacity, LED hexagonal fog lights, enhanced underbody protection, and expanded anodized copper-finish exterior accents. A feature retained from the older generation Wilderness trim is the water-resistant and easily cleanable StarTex upholstery.

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What is also new for this Wilderness trim is the revised 2.5-liter Subaru Boxer engine that now makes 180 hp (down from 182 hp) and 178 lb-ft of torque, which is now available at a lower RPM. Changes have also trickled down to the transmission, and the updated vehicle gets Subaru’s Lineartronic Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) with a shorter final drive ratio. Subaru asserts that these changes make the vehicle an overall better off-roader. Further enhancing the vehicle’s offroad capability is the revised iteration of the Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system, which promises better grip and tractability during off-roading sessions. The Wilderness trim also gets improved approach, departure, and breakover angles compared to the standard variants of the car.

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With the 2026 Wilderness trim graduating to the 6th generation platform, the new inner frame of the vehicle now boasts higher torsional rigidity. Besides offering better riding dynamics, this upgrade also lets the car ride smoother on the roads while cutting down on cabin noise.

Even though the 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness has been officially announced, it will be a while before the vehicle finally makes it to showrooms across the U.S. Subaru has revealed that the car would be made available by the fall of 2025, indirectly indicating a post-September 2025 launch for the vehicle. Subaru has decided against revealing the pricing information for the 2026 Forester Wilderness trim. However, looking at the past pricing trends there is good reason to believe that it will be slightly more expensive compared to the 2025 model year Wilderness trim.

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Pricing for the 2025 model year Subaru Forester Wilderness starts at $36,415 for the standard variant and $38,415 for the higher-end variant with the Starlink option package. However, as outlined earlier, this variant of the Forester is based on the older 5th-generation platform. Given that Subaru marginally increased prices of the standard variants of the Forester while graduating to the 6th generation model, there is a good chance that we might see the same happening with the 2026 Wilderness trim of the vehicle.

We can, therefore, expect the 2026 Subaru Forester Wilderness to be priced closer to the $40,000 mark. Of course, this expected pricing is based on past trends, and there is a very good chance that Subaru may choose not to tinker around with the pricing at all, given that the updated 2025 model has been witnessing a sales slump of late. 

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