Having sold more than 4 million units over a near-thirty year span, Subaru has tinkered with the tried-and-true Forester formula in small evolutionary steps rather than big revolutions. Yet given the brand’s outdoorsy and green-tangential nature, it’s a bit surprising that 2025 marks the first year the Forester is available in hybrid form. That gives it some catching up to do, and while hugely improved fuel efficiency and power make for a better already-well-executed SUV, the rest of the vehicle still has its drawbacks.
Clock has been ticking
A hybrid Forester is long overdue. One of the original SUVs not the size of a house, the Forester has always had a loosey-goosey personality and the customer base to go along with it. It’s the REI special of the class, and it’s stuck around with this long thanks to that loyal fan base and a company that has stuck to its guns in keeping the Forester formula simple.
But it has still grown up. Part of that is the inclusion of a modernized powertrain, in this case the brand’s ubiquitous 2.5-liter four-cylinder Boxer engine combined with electric motors and a high-capacity lithium-ion battery. The whole getup is packaged with a motor-generator inside the transmission case, the combination of which is used to start the battery, regulates the output of the engine and traction motor. Subaru has also tinkered with the Lineartronic CVT so it has an actual planetary gearset rather than adjustable pulleys mated to a chain belt. Put it all together and Subaru says it’s good for 40% better fuel efficiency versus non-hybrid Foresters, bringing it to 35/34/35 city/highway/combined and a range of 581 miles on a single tank of gas.
Total horsepower is 194, an inconsequential increase from the non-hybrid’s 180. 14 horsepower more isn’t much, and the extra weight of the hybrid additions negate the slight horsepower boost. However, the hybrid’s instantaneous torque off idle makes for a much more pleasant response time. Instead of waiting for the Boxer and slightly-less-loatheful-than-before Lineartronic CVT, you get the benefits of an electrified powertrain right off throttle tip-in.
Still a Forester
Slightly better drivetrain aside, the car is still a Forester at heart. It’s very family-friendly, especially for the class; whereas some SUVs (in reality, crossovers or CUVs) in this class make loading a large car seat into the second row an act of navigating a square peg through a round hole, the Forester’s wide door opening and degree to which that door opens makes it a breeze. It’s markedly easier than the Rav4, and overall roominess is very good for the size of the car.
Visibility is also fantastic, a hallmark of the Forester’s lineage, and despite the “panoramic” sunroof not really being fully deserving of the descriptor, the Forester’s cabin is open, airy, and pleasant. Par for the Forester course, the ground clearance is also a strong 8.7 inches.
Unfortunately the woes of the Forester are still ever-present. The seats are quite uncomfortable even after just 2 hours at the helm. Worst is Starlink, which continues to disappoint. It looks nice and if you didn’t have to interact with it much it would be fine, but the only control done without interacting with Starlink is changing the temperature– up or down– and that’s it. Not even fan speed or whether the A/C is on. There is a volume knob, but otherwise every single thing is done via the screen.
Why is the screen so bad? For starters, it’s the slowest-responding unit I have interacted with in as long as I can remember. Upon startup, there’s a good 30 second or 1 minute dead zone before you can do anything. If it’s hot (or cold) out and you need to toggle the fan speed quickly, tough luck. Heated seat was left on by someone who uses them even in the peak of summer heat and you want to shut them off quickly upon entering the car? Well, better bring a towel. And a stopwatch for good measure.
As far as response time goes, once the unit is booted up, swiping from screen to screen or pushing an icon still denotes a longer wait between selection and seeing it come to fruition than is acceptable in a 2025 model year vehicle. We also had the reverse camera not activate a few times when going quickly into reverse when starting the car. This era of the Starlink infotainment system is far and beyond the worst part of the Forester, and of any modern Subaru for that matter.
Does what a Forester should
The best part of the Fozzie is the simplicity and usability that the rest of the Forester experience brings to the table. The inclusion of a hybrid powertrain sounds like a no-brainer for the model, and it works as well in practice as it does in theory. There’s nothing exciting or intriguing about the Boxer in a Forester the way there is in a WRX or BRZ, so extracting some of the flat-four character in favor of hybridization is a good thing across the board, making the Forester very easy to get around town with (though highway acceleration is still poor) and quieter at times the Boxer would otherwise be thrashy.
It also pays major dividends in the fuel economy field. Standard Foresters do decent here but never stand out, and that’s where the Hybrid part shines. We averaged over 38 MPG in around 230 miles of testing the Forester Hybrid, and don’t doubt we could have done better had we not been up against geater-NYC-area 4th of July traffic. 38 is a number we’re happy with for this vehicle, and don’t doubt 40 would be possible with some care and better conditions.
A Honda CR-V Hybrid or Toyota Rav4 Hybrid still might out-efficiency the Forester Hybrid, but this is an enormous increase in fuel efficiency versus non-hybrid Fozzies, and truthfully it makes the vehicle a lot more appealing since it doesn’t have any standout characteristics aside from the inherent Forester-ness of it. Just goes to show how much gas mileage matters in this class.
Living is costly, eh?
We should talk about pricing. The test vehicle seen here starts at $41,695 and carries an as-tested price of $43,610. The least expensive Forester Hybrid is the Premium trim at $36,595. None of this pricing is egregious in 2025, and we think it represents a fair value in the market and segment given the price of everything today.
Comparatively, A Rav4 Hybrid LE can be had as low as just shy of $33k, with the top-trim Limited costing $40,905 before options. Honda’s CR-V Sport Hybrid (the least expensive hybrid trim) starts at $35,630 and pricing runs up to $42,250 for a Sport Touring Hybrid. All of this pricing represents a jump over their fully combustion-powered counterparts, for example the $29,995 for base Forester. To benefit financially from the hybrid powertrains comes down to a mathematical equation that varies for every single use case. Look at it closely when seeing if the hybrid will save you money– if that’s why you’re pursuing it in the first place.
The good thing is that cost savings over the time you own the vehicle isn’t the only reason to spring for the Forester Hybrid over one of its non-hybrid counterparts. It doesn’t benefit from any major improvements in usability or the likes, but the refinement the hybrid powertrain adds over the standard Forester’s engine and the around-town jump in throttle responsiveness make it much nicer to drive. Forester buyers will easily be able to jump into the Touring Hybrid already knowing what they’re getting with the Forester model, with no really no downside to speak of other than the price hike. Improved gas mileage without compromise in the already-solid Forester really is the Subaru way of doing things, and aside from Starlink this is a pretty well-rounded vehicle.
Yay
- Hybrid powertrain is a big improvement over gas-only versions, with improved gas mileage and a better overall experience from the drivetrain
- Excellent as a family vehicle
- Big greenhouse
- Carries the Subaru safety every step of the way
Nay
- Starlink continues to be slow, unresponsive, behind the times, and poor on the interface front
- CVT is better but still far worse than a traditional automatic
- Pricing pushing into entry-level luxury territory
- MPG lacks versus class leaders
The Takeaway
The Forester is transformed into a much improved experience for the driver thanks to the inclusion of the new hybrid powertrain option. Though Subaru’s ubiquitous crossover isn’t the best-in-class for gas mileage and the Starlink infotainment unit continues to frustrate beyond what any vehicle should in 2025, the Forester Hybrid is a good, well-rounded CUV that won’t rock the boat for returning customers and that will entice a small new niche of buyers alike. Now how about a Forester Wilderness Hybrid?