I'm all for cleaner fuel, but it's a small bummer for me that the price of premium might go up even more.
The manual for my FXT recommends 93 octane and says 91 is acceptable, but anything below that could result in poor performance...but with no damage down to 87.
A rough calculation tells me I'm spending $500-600 a year extra for premium (usually 93 around here) over 87 octane. I didn't worry too much about my car's need for premium when I bought it 5 years ago and I think the price premium (hee hee) for it was much less even that short time ago. My wife was test driving new Subarus a few months ago and I was talking with the salesman about the new 2.4l DIT...he said it was a huge priority for the company to make the new turbo engine run well on 87 octane. Drivers HATE buying premium for the FA20DIT and are vocal about it with the dealers.
Interesting that there will be a 2020 Outback XT with the new engine...I'm not buying a new car sooner than planned just so I don't have to buy premium anymore, but that could be an interesting option in maybe 3 years when I start thinking about replacing the Forester.