There are less than a thousand copies of the previous Lesnik 2024 model year left in American dealerships.
Japanese company Subaru presented the new Forester — the sixth generation — in November 2023 during the Los Angeles Auto Show. It is worth recalling that on the American market, even on the eve of the start of sales of the new product, customers began to actively buy the previous generation Lesnik. The “sixth” Forester appeared at dealers in the United States in early April of this year, but fans of the brand still continue to have an increased interest in its predecessor.
In the photo: Subaru Forester Wilderness 2024 model year (for the American market)
By the middle of this year, Subaru fans had bought up almost all the fifth-generation Forester units remaining at American dealers, which were assigned the 2024 model year. According to Cars Direct, “regular” Subaru dealers have a total of about 9.4 thousand Forester units, of which only 950 units are fifth-generation. This means that the new generation cars account for about 90% of the total number of crossovers in Subaru showrooms.
In the photo: sixth-generation Subaru Forester (for the American market)
The release of a next-generation model (or an updated version) to the market often causes a surge of interest in its predecessor (or the pre-reform version). As a rule, the fact is that the new product has a significantly higher price tag. By the way, this is also true for the Subaru Forester.
Thus, at the time the sixth generation Lesnik entered the American market, its starting price was $29,695 (equivalent to approximately 2.59 million rubles at the current exchange rate), while for the basic version of the fifth generation they asked from $27,095 (about 2.37 million rubles). Currently, only the 2024 model year Forester Wilderness is presented on the brand’s official website, and its price is $34,920 (about 3.05 million rubles).
In the photo: interior of the sixth generation Subaru Forester
It is known that in the first half of 2024, total sales of Subaru Forester amounted to 92,849 units, which is 51.4% more than in January-June last year. At the same time, a significant share in current sales fell precisely on the previous generation Lesnik — let us remind you that in the first quarter of this year 48,546 such crossovers were sold.
Now the new Subaru Forester is being sent to the USA from Japan: production has been established in the city of Ota (Gunma Prefecture). As Kolesa.ru reported earlier, in the future the model intended for the American market will receive a “regular” registration: the production of crossovers is planned to be established at a plant in Lafayette (Indiana, USA). Serial production of the “sixth” Forester will begin here in 2026.
The sixth generation Subaru Forester on The American market is offered with a modernized 2.5-liter naturally aspirated gasoline engine. The output of this engine is 183 hp, and the maximum torque is 241 Nm. It is paired with a Lineatronic V-chain variator, all-wheel drive only. It is known that later a hybrid modification will be added to the model line; official details about it will appear later.