(March 29, 2018) NEW YORK — Subaru of America debuted the all-new 2019 Forester at the New York International Auto Show. The fifth generation of the brand's best-selling SUV introduces the roomiest, most capable and most versatile Forester ever made and also features groundbreaking new safety technology.

The 2019 Forester is built on the Subaru Global Platform to deliver significantly higher levels of driving pleasure, agility, crash protection, ride comfort and quietness.

Arriving at Subaru retailers later this year, the all-new Forester will be available in standard, Premium, Limited, Touring and new Sport trim levels. All are powered by an enhanced direct-injection, 182 hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder BOXER engine featuring Auto Stop/Start and paired with a standard Lineartronic CVT (continuously variable transmission).  Also standard on all trim levels is Subaru’s legendary Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive.



For 2019, all Foresters come standard with the award-winning EyeSight Driver Assist Technology. The top-of-line Touring debuts the segment-exclusive DriverFocus safety technology which offers yet another layer of safety and convenience for the driver.  The system can alert the driver of fatigue or distraction while on the road as well as automatically adjust many driver settings at start-up.

With DriverFocus, Subaru is taking on one of the biggest issues in the automotive industry; distracted driving.  Each day in the United States, more than 1,000 people are injured in crashes reported to have involved a distracted driver. *  As an industry leader in safety, Subaru has developed DriverFocus, a state-of-the-art system to help address distracted driving for both new and experienced drivers.



DriverFocus is a driver monitoring system that uses facial recognition software to identify signs of driver fatigue or driver distraction. DriverFocus works with Subaru’s award-winning EyeSight Driver Assist Technology to reduce the chance of an accident. And for added convenience, DriverFocus can also recognize up to five drivers and remember their presets for seat position, climate, infotainment and more.

The all-new Forester is the first in its segment, and among the first vehicles in the industry to incorporate technology that can address the important societal issue of distracted driving.  The feature will be standard on Touring models.

All Foresters are powered by a new version of the 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER four-cylinder engine, now with direct fuel injection and higher compression, along with active valve control system (AVCS) on the exhaust side. The new engine produces 182 hp and 176 lb-ft of torque, versus 170 hp and 174 lb-ft in the previous Forester, for a boost in everyday performance and responsiveness.

The 2019 Forester comes standard with Lineartronic CVT. The new powertrain not only yields quicker acceleration than the previous Forester, but also up to 33 mpg highway fuel economy (manufacturer’s estimate, pending EPA certification). On Sport and Touring variants, the CVT features a manual mode that simulates a seven-speed manual transmission, using steering wheel paddle shift control switches.

Adding more flexibility for driving conditions, is a standard driver-selectable SI-DRIVE. SI-DRIVE is a powertrain performance management system that allows the driver to tailor the vehicle’s throttle characteristics by choosing between “Intelligent” and “Sport” modes (Sport Sharp on Forester Sport). “Intelligent” mode helps smooth out accelerator inputs for fuel saving, while “Sport” mode tunes the throttle to emphasize performance.