The new Forester SUV features an external airbag designed to protect pedestrians and cyclists in the event of a collision, but not in Australia.
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The new-generation 2025 Subaru Forester will feature the "world's first" external airbag designed to soften head impacts with a cyclist in the event of a collision, along with pedestrians.
However, Subaru Australia has not listed the external 'cyclist' airbag in the new Forester's count of nine airbags, up from seven in the outgoing model.
Instead, the two new airbags for the Forester in Australia are a front-centre airbag to prevent head clashes between the driver and front passenger in a side-impact collision, as well as a front passenger seat cushion airbag.
The external airbag will be limited to Japan, joining an earlier version only aimed at protecting pedestrians available in other Subaru models in its home market, including the Impreza hatchback and the Levorg wagon, which is sold as the WRX Sportswagon in Australia.
Volvo launched a similar external airbag design in 2012 in its now-defunct V40 hatchback, with no other vehicles featuring an external airbag amid the development of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems to prevent collisions with vulnerable road users and other vehicles.
The external airbags used in the Subaru Forester, the Volvo V40 – which was discontinued in 2019 – and other Subaru models use sensors to detect an impact between the car and a person.
An airbag is then deployed from the rear of the bonnet to shield them from the lower windscreen and A-pillars.
Subaru claims the new Forester debuts the "world's first" external airbag to protect cyclists along with pedestrians, as the heads of cyclists are "in a different position to pedestrians in the event of a collision".
"The airbag deployment area has been expanded to the rear of the A-pillar [compared to existing pedestrian airbags]," Subaru said in a media release.
While Volvo was the first brand to launch an external airbag in a production vehicle with its V40 in 2012, it did not expand the technology to any of its other models, claiming SUVs – such as the XC40, XC60 and XC90 – allow for a softer landing on the bonnet for pedestrians in a collision.
The addition of then-new active safety features, including pedestrian and cyclist detection for AEB systems, was also cited as a reason not to include an external airbag in any of Volvo's other models.
"We’d rather have the car braking than the car hitting into something. Now we have our pedestrian and cyclist detection systems in the car, so it stops, rather than hitting," former Volvo Cars executive Lex Kerssemakers said in 2013.
The new Forester is fitted with Subaru's 'EyeSight' advanced driver-assistance system, including pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist AEB detection, with European versions earning a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating in late 2024 under identical criteria to Australia's ANCAP.
Other brands have introduced 'active bonnets', which use a device to rapidly lift the rear of the bonnet when a collision with a pedestrian or cyclist is detected and, in at least one case, has resulted in a costly repair bill following a minor collision with an animal.
2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class first car with rear-facing back seat airbags
External airbags have joined seatbelt airbags in being limited to a small number of vehicles, with Ford, Lincoln, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz using the latter technology in some of their models since 2009.
The 2025 Subaru Forester will arrive in Australian showrooms mid-year with 'strong hybrid' technology using electrical components borrowed from Toyota, along with a carryover 2.5-litre non-turbo petrol engine. Prices are yet to be confirmed.
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Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
