Subaru Forester XT-Edition Celebrates 50 Years Of All-Wheel Drive

Subaru is celebrating 50 years of making all-wheel-drive vehicles with a special Forester exclusively available for the Japanese market. The XT-Edition comes painted in Geyser Blue, making it the first JDM model to feature this color originally introduced in North America. It's based on the local Sport trim level and comes with an assortment of visual tweaks, including 18-inch wheels with a dark metallic finish and all-season tires.

The 2023 Forester XT-Edition can be visually distinguished by an assortment of black accents, including the front grille's frame, roof rails, and side mirror caps. There's more of that dark look around the fog lights and on the roof spoiler while certain parts of the bumpers have been darkened as well. To accentuate the SUV's outdoorsy nature, Subaru has fitted a water-repellent cargo floor (with rails) and fabric seat upholstery.

Based on the facelifted model introduced in the Land of the Rising Sun in mid-2021, the Forester in XT-Edition flavor is fitted as standard with the EyeSight Safety Plus encompassing a digital rearview camera. To spruce up the cabin, Subie has added silver stitching on the seats, dashboard, and door cards while the door cards and air vents have a metallic finish.

Being based on the JDM-spec Forester Sport, the XT-Edition comes with a turbocharged 1.8-liter gasoline engine with 174 hp (130 kilowatts) from 5,200 rpm and 300 Newton-meters (221 pound-feet) of torque at 1,600 rpm. Output is channeled to both front and rear axles via a continuously variable transmission (CVT) aka Lineartronic.

Including Japan's 10 percent consumption tax, the special edition retails from 3,355,000 yen, which works out to about $25,400 or €24,000 at current exchange rates. The only option available is an electrically operated tailgate for the equivalent of $416 or €392.