2008 Subaru Forester images
December 7, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
Images of the next-generation Subaru Forester surfaced online a few days ago, and now they have officially been confirmed as the real thing, so here it is:
The Forester has never been a car to challenge design conventions and as Subaru Australia’s best selling model, the new one follows the same formula.
From the little information available, the new Forester is expected to go on sale for a tad higher than the current $31,990 entry price.
Subaru Australia will continue the XT (formerly GT) tradition with a new turbo-model powered by the 2.5-litre WRX engine.
If you remember, last year we talked about the Subaru building a diesel boxer engine, well now it’s here. The 2008 Forester will début in Europe with the world’s first diesel boxer engine, a 2.0-litre with roughly 110kW and 320Nm of torque.
Details on the diesel are sketchy but we know Subaru Australia is working hard to bring the variant here. Expect the new Forester in showroom in March next year.
Print it: 
Looks like a Territory Turbo from some angles
*cough* kluger *cough* ugly *cough*
i rekon it looks like the new mitsu outlander.
Looks Pajero-ish…
I suppose it must be hard to toe the line between rugged SUV and style.
The red one with the silver chin looks very Mitsubishi.
And why-oh-why did Subaru decide to follow the trnd of every 4WD/SUV thing having that stupidly upward angled rear window?
Suburu have some nice designs, but this is a long way from them, urgh…
To me Subaru is being very lazy when it comes to new vehicle styling lately.
The new Toyota.
Yuck it has an Impreza grille.
I don’t mind it. If only Mitsubishi could do interiors as nice as Subaru – Outlander sales would skyrocket!
So is this the new Fisher & Paykel washing machine?
hahaha…Momo,thats a bit harsh!!More of a SUV than a wagon anymore……its not that bad guys!!
This forester would have to do something really, really well to make me wanna pay for this one. I wonder why subaru can build a pretty good looking liberty, and reasonably good looking outback but the rest of their stuff is getting more tacky with each new release? Impreza, wrx, sti, tribecca … yuk. i reckon subaru were miles ahead in 1990’s till 2004 (bug eye excused) but have really gone troppo ever since. What’s with this forester/ territory hybrid thing? Please hope they havent stuck in the tribecca / impreza dash layout. I wonder whether all the previous posters, and possibly once subie fans, feel neglected too. Once again… good luck subie, but not for me.
That is a really interesting hybrid of alot of ugly vehicles, if you are going to take styling cues from other manufactures make sure they are the good ones. I wonder if Subaru doesn’t have enough confidence in it’s own ideas. That or Toyota’s 8% hold (or whatever it is) has really had a dramatic hold of Subaru.
That is a really interesting hybrid of alot of ugly vehicles, if you are going to take styling cues from other manufactures make sure they are the good ones. I wonder if Subaru doesn’t have enough confidence in it’s own ideas. That or Toyota’s 8% hold (or whatever it is) really has a dramatic hold of Subaru.
It does look odd but it doesnt mean it looks bad
Could have been a lot worse & had a Tribeca mk1 nose.
XT grille almost makes it look normal.
looks ok!! at last a diesel version!, boxer diesel should sound interesting! will come with all the usual suby advantages of boxer engine,full timesymmetrical awd,lower centre of gravity,excellant reliability/resale and a bit of character over mainstream suv’s,, looks a fair bit bigger/roomier than previous model too,,
will also surely have excellant safety credentials with a five star crash rating,will surely be a big seller,especially with a lot of current forester owners looking to upgrade…
As a current Forester owner the new model addresses some of my dislikes. Mainly a bit more room. This new model should be on par with the space of CRV and RAV4. I have heard that they will still only have a 4sp auto, in this day and age not acceptable. A CVT is on the way but prob a year or two away. The diesel option would be good. All Subaru Forester owners did not buy their current car on looks, therefore as long as it still has the boxer, the high and low range, can be usefully taken off road/beach, car like handling and character I think the current owners will up grade. It is going to lose the frameless doors though and looks like they are keeping the Geolander tyres (absolutely sh#t). At least the photos show it is not as ugly as the impreza.
I agree Harry. The Liberty is a nice looking car.
ditto, the liberty is a classic design.
This looks remarkably similar to the Hyundai Santa Fe (front) new Nissan X-Trail (Side) and Toyota Kluger (rear), at first glace, but take a closer look you start to notice the smaller differences.
What an ugly looking car. The rear end is very Kluger, and the rest is just plain ugly.
As a current 07 liberty wagon owner i agree the liberty is
a classic/refined and sporty looking car! we sold a 05 forester to get lib to get the extra space needed for two kids and to get a better looking and handling car..At least
this new forester seems to have adressed the space issue..
People must we focus on the looks? Could explain why Toyota sells so many 1994technology underneath “Hot” new corollas though.
The new Forester could look like J Lo but without lowrange, a turbo diesel and at least 5speed gearbox? inbetween I wont be considering it. With them? I could be tempted away from the Pajero…seriously.
Ok,Ok, I agree its a little overstyled isn’t it? You’d have thunk Subaru would have learnt from backlash from bugeye & the Tribeca.
If your getting an SUV you get a Territory Turbo, once the boost kicks in you will leave these other cars for dead.
Thats actually not true fordfuturedriven,, even the current
xt manual forester is quicker that turbo territory,has something to do with territory being an overweight dinosour!!!!
Yeah but its Ford with Typhoon inspired boosted engine… so you know its gotta be good
Looks like a confused soul.
Very clearly a mid life crisis.
Front on it looks like something from Korea from 10 years ago (not the current Sante Fe).
The back looks like what the Territory could be in it’s next generation.
The rest looks wanker… errr, I mean Pajero.
Well done Subaru for scratching another car off my list.
Steve
This looks terrible, subaru is back on the mushrooms, stop tripping you idiots…
Hello Barneyridge, can you enlighten me about your dislike of Yokohama Geolander tyres.
big improvement over current model, I like it and will be having a serious look in march
is it just me or all the new mitsubishi,subaru and toyota update models look a bit to japanesy? like if you get what i mean like i know there jap companys but like what i mean is if you look at previous models they dont look cheapy jap like, i mean this forester is just completly turd floating in a toilet.
I’ve been eagerly waiting for the new Forester. The pictures of the new model dissapoint me. Ugly,confused styling. BUT sometimes these new cars look better in the flesh. Lets hope so!
Hello,I can agree that the new Forester looks a little odd,but I can promise you that it is a awsome interest for the new model.I work as a sales manger for a company who sells subaru in Norway.As you mabye know we have a lot of snow here during the winter,perfect car for this conditions.The old version looks a little like a 60+ age car,but as we say here in Norway,Once a Subaru,allways a Subaru.The Subaru customers are very dedicated to their brand and we have had an enormous interest from our customers.(the release in Norway is in april-may)Pardon my english,it`s a little rusty:)
grill is bad. peugeot 308 type design like a formula car with air intake under a curved nose is going to be the new trend for the new car designs so subaru has to care the new trend to givea sport suv appearance
it does tend to be outlander like in shape but… if it rides as well or better than the outgoing forester its destined for bidg things in the off road compact suv sector. Love the interior styling well done guys. So all you other car lovers beware the new forester and step aside.