The past few years have seen the addition of Wilderness trim levels to the Outback, Forester, and Crosstrek. During the same period, hybrid drivetrains have been added to both the Crosstrek and Forester. To date, those developments have been mutually exclusive, but no more. Team Gillman Subaru of Clear Lake is proud to announce that the 2027 model year will see the introduction of the first-ever Wilderness hybrid, and it will be offered in the Forester model line.

For the first time, those willing to go deep into the outdoors can now do their part to help protect the outdoors by lowering carbon emissions while enjoying improved fuel economy. Fortunately, the additional wilderness hardware and hybrid drivetrain combine on the Forester without any conflict or compromise. The hybrid drivetrain is the same as the Forester hybrid, with the 2.5-liter boxer 4-cylinder engine optimized for efficiency with Atkinson/Miller-cycle valve timing. That valve timing reduces torque in the quest for efficiency, but the electric motors of the hybrid system step in to compensate.

As with the current Forester hybrid, the total system power increases from 180 horsepower to 194. Power is routed through an efficient, continuously variable transmission. Like the standard Forester hybrid, but unlike many of its hybrid competitors, which add a rear motor for all-wheel drive, the Forester maintains its mechanical Subaru symmetrical drive system, which has proven to be so effective.

EPA estimates are not yet available, but Subaru predicts a 25% improvement over the non-hybrid Forester Wilderness. The current Forester hybrid has an EPA-estimated mpg of 35 city / 34 highway / 35 combined. If the difference between the Forester and the Wilderness model with its all-terrain tires carries over, expect a drop of about two mpg from the current hybrid model.

The rest of the model will be exactly like the current Forester Wilderness, with the aforementioned all-terrain Yokohama Geolandar® tires mounted on 17-inch matte black wheels, 9.3 inches of ground clearance, the X-MODE® Dual-Mode System with snow/dirt and Deep Snow/Mud settings, and Hill Descent Control. Forester Wilderness hybrids will also offer hexagonal LED fog lights and a ladder-type roof rack with an 800-pound static load capacity.

Inside the cabin is Subaru’s StarTex washable synthetic leather upholstery, accentuated with copper contrast stitching, which matches the copper metallic-finish accents found inside and out. The model will come standard with the Forester’s Harman Kardon® Speaker System with 11 speakers and a 576-watt equivalent amplifier.

Detailed specifications and pricing will be announced closer to its launch in late 2026. If you are interested (how can anyone reading a Subaru blog not be?), contact one of the sales professionals at Team Gillman Subaru of Clear Lake for more information as it becomes available and when the first models arrive in our vast new car inventory.