2023 Subaru Forester Black Belt Edition Review — Car Journalism (2024)

And that’s no joke!

Only 10 are ever made

The Subaru Forester Black Belt Edition by Matthias Casse -that’s the official name- is a car of which only 10 will ever be made. But that isn’t the truth! There is a total of 11 cars, car number 0/10 is for none other than Matthias Casse himself. In Belgium and in the world of judo, Matthias Casse is a big name thanks to his title as both European and world champion in judo. The 3 most significant moments of his career were in 2017 (world champion U21), 2019 (European champion) and 2021 (world champion). Since 2019, Mathias Casse has been a brand ambassador for Subaru. So it’s only logical that they have joined forces to develop this extremely rare Forester. A car of which Matthias Casse is a big fan and that right from the start.

How can you recognize it?

You can recognize the Forester Black Belt Edition by its Crystal White paint color in combination with the black 18-inch wheels. Oh, I almost forgot the subtle black strips on the side of the car with the text “Black Belt Edition by Matthias Casse”, how stupid of me. The black strips are a direct link to the black belt in judo, the highest rank you can get in the sport. Every Black Belt Edition is a “Luxury” Forester of the 2022 model year, which looks so much more aggressive than the “pre-facelift” model. Definitely on the front, with the bigger “hey, look at me, I’m American”-style headlights. A really big jump forwards if you ask me.

From the side, it’s harder -read: pretty impossible- the differentiate the new model from the old. And from the back it’s the same story, I wouldn’t keep those two apart! So, I ain’t going to try.

Shin-gi-tai

Spirit, technique and physical, are the three pillars of Judo. Safe, tough and fun are those of Subaru. Let’s delve into these three.

Safe is probably the easiest to explain with Subaru. Subaru is like the Japanese Volvo -or vice versa. That’s why the Forester is equipped with a dozen of safety features. Hill Descent Control, Side View Monitor and a rear-view camera. Reverse Automatic Braking is impressive as it prevents you from bumping into things while backing up. And do you think that’s all? Wrong! There’s also Subaru Rear Vehicle Detection, Auto Vehicle Hold, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, High Beam Assist and something you call “eyesight”. A pretty irritating thing that tells you to look at the road … even when you were looking at the road. But yes, it’s a safe car.

Fun: if you like to go offroad, yes! If you aren’t into that kind of driving and attacking corners on twisty roads is your kind of fun: no. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder E-Boxer engine produces 150 horsepower and 194 Nm of torque. Doing a sprint to 100 km/h feels like 11,8 seconds and keeping your foot hard on the gas, you will hit 192 km/h. Again, that’s not what it was built for. It’s built to get you from A to B in a comfy way and that’s what the Forester will do. It will only ask for 8,6 liters per 100 km to do that, a little bit more than Subaru claims (6,7 liters). And then you can enjoy the pleasantly heated seats and infotainment system -that works like a charm but is starting to show its age- in your Subaru Forester Black Belt Edition by Matthias Casse.

Rarity comes with a price

The Porsche GT2 RS has a production number of 1.000 pieces and Porsche 991 R has a production number of 991 pieces. Of the Bugatti Chiron, there are only 500 units and of the Ferrari LaFerrari only 499 units are ever made. So this Subaru Forester is even rarer than those cars for a mere 43.535 euros (BE). That’s what I call bang for my buck! You get a good car for that price and the bragging rights are free of charge!