Subaru's Japanese-market Forester gets a facelift, but will we see it in the US?

It's been three whole years since Subaru debuted its fifth-generation Forester SUV, and now it's getting a little bit of a facelift -- in Japan, that is. Subaru's Japanese press division announced the changes on Monday.

Overall, the aesthetic changes aren't massive, which is about what we'd expect from a midcycle refresh, but they aren't bad either. The most significant change is to the headlights, which get pointier and more aggressive, while the grille simply grows in size and prominence.

The changes aren't all visual, though. Subaru confirms that there is a new version of its EyeSight driver-assistance suite that uses forward-facing cameras with a wider field of view than in previous iterations.

The new Forester will be available in four trim levels in its Japanese home market -- Touring, X-Break, Advance and Sport. The first three of those get Subaru's 2.0-liter naturally aspirated e-Boxer Hybrid powertrain with an updated CVT that uses something called "E-Active Shift Control." 

The Sport trim gets a 1.8-liter turbocharged flat-four which is indeed sportier, but it too is saddled with a CVT transmission. This drivetrain is the same one used in the Subaru Levorg, which we know better as the Legacy.

We asked Subaru if this Japanese facelift would make its way to the US and other markets, but its representatives declined to comment on future products. Still, we'd be shocked if we didn't see this refresh for the next model year here.