Photo: Subaru
What do you call a Subaru Forester with a hybridized four-cylinder boxer engine? The Forester e-Boxer, and it’s not exactly good value for money.
Over in Germany and the United Kingdom, the most spartan of specifications can be had from €34,990 or £36,360 excluding registration taxes and optional extras. By comparison, the RAV4 Hybrid is available from €34,690 and £32,965 at press time. On the upside, the Forester e-Boxer stands out in the proverbial sea of hybrid crossovers with its free-breathing boxer lump.
Only available in the guise of a hybrid for the 2022 model year, the compact utility vehicle develops 150 ps (147 horsepower) at 5,600 revolutions per minute and 194 Nm (143 pound-feet) of torque at 4,000 revolutions per minute. All-wheel drive is obviously standard, along with the continuously variable transmission marketed under the Lineartronic handle by Subaru.
Merely 16.7 ps (16.5 horsepower) is the rating of the small electric motor, and if you’re careful with the go pedal, Subaru promises up to 1.6 kilometers (0.9 miles) of driving range on electricity alone. The EV mode works from one to 40 kilometers per hour (24 miles per hour), which makes it perfect for urban driving. Capable of towing up to 1,870 kilograms (4,122 pounds), the Forester e-Boxer offers 220 mm (8.6 in) of ground clearance and an X-Mode system with dual-function snow/dirt and deep snow/mud functions.
Hill Descent Control is also standard, although I can hardly imagine someone using the off-road cruise control system. Many competitors market HDC like it’s a revolutionary piece of kit, but that certainly isn’t the case.
Based on the Subaru Global Platform that underpins pretty much every Subaru for the 2022 model year with the notable exception of the BRZ sports car, the Forester e-Boxer also boasts BMW-inspired gesture controls that allow the driver to set the HVAC temperature through hand gestures.
Also worthy of note, Subaru has updated the EyeSight Driver Assist Technology suite with three new functions: Automatic Emergency Steering in the event of a crash, Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Centering, and Lane Departure Prevention that recognizes dividing lines like road edges.
Only available in the guise of a hybrid for the 2022 model year, the compact utility vehicle develops 150 ps (147 horsepower) at 5,600 revolutions per minute and 194 Nm (143 pound-feet) of torque at 4,000 revolutions per minute. All-wheel drive is obviously standard, along with the continuously variable transmission marketed under the Lineartronic handle by Subaru.
Merely 16.7 ps (16.5 horsepower) is the rating of the small electric motor, and if you’re careful with the go pedal, Subaru promises up to 1.6 kilometers (0.9 miles) of driving range on electricity alone. The EV mode works from one to 40 kilometers per hour (24 miles per hour), which makes it perfect for urban driving. Capable of towing up to 1,870 kilograms (4,122 pounds), the Forester e-Boxer offers 220 mm (8.6 in) of ground clearance and an X-Mode system with dual-function snow/dirt and deep snow/mud functions.
Hill Descent Control is also standard, although I can hardly imagine someone using the off-road cruise control system. Many competitors market HDC like it’s a revolutionary piece of kit, but that certainly isn’t the case.
Based on the Subaru Global Platform that underpins pretty much every Subaru for the 2022 model year with the notable exception of the BRZ sports car, the Forester e-Boxer also boasts BMW-inspired gesture controls that allow the driver to set the HVAC temperature through hand gestures.
Also worthy of note, Subaru has updated the EyeSight Driver Assist Technology suite with three new functions: Automatic Emergency Steering in the event of a crash, Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Centering, and Lane Departure Prevention that recognizes dividing lines like road edges.
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