2021 Subaru Forester revealed

This family SUV has developed a cult-like status among Aussie families who have a sense of adventure, and it’s now better than ever.

Subaru has updated its popular Forester SUV.

Subaru is giving its best selling model a makeover.

The Japanese brand has made a raft of running improvements to its ever popular Forester SUV, including boosting safety and making it more rugged.

Subaru Australia boss, Blair Read, says there is huge demand for the Forester and these updates will only further boost sales.

“These latest subtle changes to the Forester range will add to its appeal, which has already attracted new audiences with the introduction of hybrid variants and the Sport over the past 18 months,” says Mr Read.

All Foresters come with all-wheel drive.

Subaru has improved its comprehensive EyeSight safety suite with upgraded lane-keep assist and an autonomous emergency steering function.

Any Forester equipped with driver monitoring tech now gains hi-tech gesture controls for airconditioning temperature adjustments.

Its trademark all-wheel drive ability has been boosted with improvements to the functionality of the off-road focused X-Mode and hill descent control.

Subaru has booster the vehicle’s safety tech.

A range of interior upgrades have been made, with all models now scoring an eight-inch touchscreen – up from the previous 6.5-incher found in lower-spec models.

Subaru has also updated the look and feel of the interior.

Exterior styling tweaks extend to a new front bumper, fog lights, headlights and grille.

The changes come with a slight price rise – the cheapest Forester 2.5i version costs $35,990 (before on-road costs), a rise of about $800.

Power comes from the same 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine making 136kW and 239Nm.

There are also hybrid versions that use a 2.0-litre petrol engine combined with a small electric motor to make 110kW. The Forester hybrid is considered a mild hybrid set-up with minimal fuel savings compared to the petrol-only version.