2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid Keeps Up With The Joneses And Then Some

As buyers move away from gas-powered cars and the state of the electric vehicle market becomes muddier and muddier, more folks are looking toward conventional hybrids for their automotive needs. It's true for nearly every segment, including compact crossovers. Hyundai, Toyota, Honda and Kia among others all offer hybrid variants of their compact crossovers, and now Subaru is looking to do the same with the new-for-2025 Forester Hybrid.

This car builds upon the already-strong foundation of the sixth-generation Forester, now with greater efficiency and even more power. Sure, Subaru was a little late to the hybrid crossover party with this car, but in a lot of ways, it has already rocketed to the top of the class. A decent price, good technology and competitive efficiency will certainly make you think twice before heading to your local Toyota or Honda dealership.

Full Disclosure: Subaru flew me out to Northern California, fed me and put me up in a very lovely hotel all so I could drive the 2025 Forester Hybrid.

The biggest change for the 2025 Forester Hybrid over the regular car is — you guessed it — a hybrid powertrain. Subaru has teamed up a 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder motor running on the Atkinson Miller cycle with two motor-generator units inside the continuously variable transmission. One is used for an engine stop/start function and as a battery charger, while the other handles regenerative braking and sends drive power to all four wheels. These motors are fed through a 1.1-kWh battery that lives where the spare tire once was. That positioning means the Forester Hybrid has the same exact amount of rear cargo room as a regular Forester. A lot of the hybrid componentry is courtesy of Toyota, but Subaru tells me just about everything is heavily modified for this application.

Unlike the RAV4 Hybrid, which doesn't send any ICE power to the rear wheels — relying instead on an electric motor for the rears — the Forester Hybrid sends engine power to all four wheels through a driveshaft with the help of those electric motors. This probably dings fuel economy a bit, but it makes a big difference off-road. I'll get to that later.

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All in all, the powertrain produces 194 horsepower, a 14-hp improvement over the ICE-only Forester. Torque is a bit harder to pin down. Subaru says the gas motor lays down 154 pound-feet and the electric motor puts out 199 lb-ft, but wouldn't give a combined rating. In any case, performance is slightly improved. The regular car will get to 60 in about 8.3 seconds. You can expect the Hybrid to shave a few tenths off that. It's no speed demon, but it certainly gets the job done.

The Forester Hybrid will get 35 mpg city, 34 highway and 35 combined, according to the EPA. It's a fairly solid jump from the 25/32/28 of the standard car. It's also comparable to everything else in its class. The little crossover maintains the regular Forester's 16.6-gallon fuel tank, meaning this car has a cruising range of over 580 miles. You're not going to be filling up very often.

Subaru reworked the Forester Hybrid's pricing and trim structure a bit. You still have four models: Premium ($36,415 including destination), Sport ($39,415), Limited ($40,830) and Touring ($44,115). All of these prices are about $1,400 to $1,500 more than their gas-only counterparts.

Regardless of the trim level you choose, you still get niceties like Subaru's EyeSight driver-assist tech (among other safety features), a 10-way power driver's seat, heated front seats, an 11.6-inch vertical infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 12.3-inch gauge cluster screen you can throw your map into, LED headlights and foglights, dual-zone climate control, a panoramic-ish sunroof, 18-inch wheels (19s are optional on some trims), roof rails, and Dual-Mode X-Mode with hill-descent control, among a slew of other features.

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As you go up in the range you get more features, different appearance packages and a few different options. There's nothing too wild under the sun here. The Sport gets really snazzy bronze wheels and exterior accents, the Limited comes with bigger wheels and a few other luxury features, and the big daddy Touring Model comes with an available two-tone paint scheme, a whole lot of tech and a real leather interior. Lower trims have "Animal-Free Leather." Very Subaru.

There aren't many styling details that would give away that this is no ordinary Forester. Eagled-eyed car nerds will notice some different wheel designs and a few small badges, but that's really it.

It's a similar story inside. Other than the fact the tachometer has been replaced by a hybrid power gauge, there isn't too much of a difference between the Hybrid and the regular Forester. That's really not a bad thing. I mean, we're not working with a luxury interior here, but it's damn nice for the class. The dual screens work well enough, though the center infotainment unit can be a bit clunky sometimes. Materials, fit and finish are all good too — typical Subaru stuff. You're not going to find any open-pore wood or expensive aluminum finishes, but the rugged nature of the Forester Hybrid's interior isn't going to put many people off. The animal-free seats were also quite comfy up front, even after spending over 200 miles in them.

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To me, the sweet spot on the lineup is the Sport Hybrid, which is the vehicle I drove. You still get plenty of really good and thoughtful features, but you also get those bronze accents inside and out that make the car feel a bit more special. My test car, finished in Crystal White Pearl, came in at $39,415 including destination. To be totally transparent, though, I've got no idea what it's going to cost in a few weeks given what's going on with everything in the world right now — for now the Forester Hybrid is built in Japan, but production will start in Indiana next spring.

Despite the added power, the Forester Hybrid is not a very fun car to drive. I know... shocking. Steering feel is pretty much non-existent — I'm sure the wheel is connected to the front wheels in some fashion, but from where I'm sitting I couldn't feel it. The Forester rolls and lumbers around corners like everything else in this segment. The added torque does help it scoot out of a corner more quickly than the gas-powered car, but it's not exactly exciting. Matters aren't helped much by the steering wheel–mounted paddle shifters that can simulate six very fake gears. Even Subaru admits these are more for downhill engine braking than spirited driving. Please don't read this as a critique of the Forester Hybrid, though. If you want a sports car, buy a BRZ or WRX.

What the Forester Hybrid lacks in performance, it more than makes up for in refinement and off-road prowess. In my review of the regular Forester, I called it "just about the quietest Subaru I've ever driven." The Hybrid builds upon that with extra sound deadening and a very slick switchover between the gas and electric motors. It's extremely quiet at highway speeds, where you can barely hear any drivetrain noise at all and the only thing you really pick up on is wind noise. The experience is made even better by Subaru's EyeSight driver-assist system, which is rather excellent and certainly at or near the top of its class for adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist.

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Of course, this wouldn't be a Subaru review if I didn't talk about off-roading. I am genuinely shocked by how well this little crossover did over some pretty gnarly terrain. With Subaru's symmetrical all-wheel-drive system and X-Mode engaged, this thing is pretty much impossible to get stuck — even when equipped with the eco-friendly all-season tires my car had. The 8.7 inches of ground clearance you get with the Forester Hybrid certainly helped too.

I know, I know, you're never going to believe that the off-roading we did in the Forester Hybrid was difficult. I'm sure you think you could do it in your Camry, but I promise that isn't the case. You know how I know? Subaru provided us with a new RAV4 XLE Hybrid as well as a CR-V Hybrid to do some off-roading tests in. Both had fewer than 300 miles on the clock and were priced similarly to the $39,000-ish Forester. Because their all-wheel-drive systems and tuning were more on-road focused than the Subie, they couldn't get through even a simple dirt hill climb. On the other hand, the Forester Hybrid billy goated itself up without an issue. It was impressive stuff.

As with the gas-powered Forester, Subaru did not reinvent the wheel with the Forester Hybrid. Simply put, the company made a good car that'll get even the most committed weekend warrior where they have to go all while saving a little gas.

The hybrid compact crossover segment is one of the most competitive spaces in the market right now between the RAV4, CR-V, Tucson, Sportage, Rogue and a billion other vehicles. The Forester Hybrid might not beat them on efficiency or even price, but it smashes the hell out of all those cars when it comes to taking the road less traveled. All of those cars sell in very big numbers — far bigger than the Forester's — so if you are the type of guy or gal who likes to take the road less traveled, get the Forester Hybrid.

Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik

Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik

Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik