2025 Subaru Forester Sport SUVOTY Review: Predictably Adequate
The 2025 Subaru Forester Sport is everything we expected it to be: solid, capable, and kind of boring.
Pros
- Pleasing new design
- Great on sand and dirt
- Attractive MSRP
Cons
- Needs more horsepower
- Infotainment feels dated
- Lacking innovation
Conventional wisdom says you shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken. Sound advice, right? The all-new 2025 Subaru Forester leans into that philosophy, following the same tried-and-true formula that has earned it legions of fans. But lacking any real innovation or wow factor, it merely stays on the lead lap, content to cater to loyalists rather than win converts.
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Let’s start with what’s new. The 2025 Forester was redesigned inside and out with a look that brings it in line with Subaru’s current design language. We wouldn’t call it conventionally beautiful, but it is handsome and purposeful, and the design is perhaps the most cohesive from Subaru we’ve seen in a while. The Forester needs to look like it can confidently conquer dirt, mud, and asphalt, and it has that down pat.
Inside, the 2025 Subaru Forester gets a large infotainment touchscreen that effectively takes over the dashboard. However, there are still plenty of physical buttons for HVAC controls and buttons on the steering wheel for media and cruise control. Beyond that, the interior design is more functional than anything, but the material quality and choices are a step above typical Subaru fare. Passenger and cargo space are about what you would expect for a Forester, which is to say quite good, and the airy feel of previous generations is here, too. There is an abundance of passenger headroom due to the high roof, as well as a ton of legroom for second row occupants.
The 2025 Forester’s adventurous look is backed up by real confidence in dirt, sand, and gravel. On pavement, the Subaru won’t thrill, but it is largely comfortable and pleasant. Despite having the new WRX’s electric steering rack, the Forester isn’t eager to dive into corners, but it gets the job done. Besides a lack of fun, the biggest negative in terms of handling is an otherwise comfortable ride that goes bouncy over large-frequency bumps.
More disappointing is the lack of power. With just 180 horsepower and 178 lb-ft, acceleration is leisurely, and the low torque number means the Forester isn’t going to yank itself away from a stoplight or when exiting twisting corners. A turbocharger (or the forthcoming hybrid option) would help immensely.
Being comfortable and spacious, the Forester largely nails our performance of intended function criterion, and it scores well in value, too, with base pricing for the current full lineup falling between $31,115 and $41,810. But the Forester stumbled in our advancement in design and engineering excellence categories, owing to its lack of real innovation; the new model merely keeps up with the Joneses rather than surpassing them. It’s also not an efficiency standout, either, though the hybrid version will help there.
The 2025 Subaru Forester is far from a bad SUV. In fact, we would still recommend it as a good option in a crowded field. Unfortunately, “good” is not good enough to earn our coveted Golden Calipers.
This review was conducted as part of our 2024 SUV of the Year (SUVOTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.
Andrew Beckford’s passion for cars started as a middle schooler when his friend Richie explained how an internal combustion engine works. He was bitten by the bug and the rest, as they say, is history. He dug deep into the tuner scene and eventually wrote for Turbo Magazine, Import Tuner, Super Street. He covered car shows, feature builds, and reviewed racing games for those magazines in addition to covering motorsports including Formula Drift, Indy Car, and F1 for his personal blog. Eventually Beckford joined MotorTrend to cover the daily automotive news beat. Besides being a gearhead, Beckford has been a gamer since the ’80s and is a huge fan of the arcade racing games of the ’90s like Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, and Ridge Racer. Beckford’s a movie buff as well, especially comic book films from DC and Marvel. When car culture crosses over with gaming and entertainment, rest assured Beckford is aware of it. In addition to serving as a consultant on a “triple A” racing titles, he’s reviewed major racing games such as Forza Motorsport, Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, F1, and more. He’s also interviewed blockbuster directors including Steven Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Neill Blomkamp (Gran Turismo). His biggest profile to date was with Robert Downey Jr. on his love affair with cars and his show Downey’s Dream Cars on MAX. Beckford’s profile of Downey Jr. was the first print cover story written by an African American in MotorTrend’s history. Along with KJ Jones, Andrew Beckford also heads up MotorTrend’s celebration of Black History Month by spotlighting diverse voices in the automotive industry and motorsports. Beckford’s first car was a 1982 Nissan Stanza affectionately named “Stanley” by his late mother.
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