2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid First Drive: More Power, More MPG, Same Subie
The Forester is already likable and capable off-road, and the hybrid makes it more so.
When Subaru pulled the wraps off its freshly redesigned Forester compact SUV late in 2023, we were happy with what we saw. The junior ute’s improved handling, powertrain, and tech helped us get back on track after we took a wrong turn on our First Drive of the gas model. Testing for MotorTrend’s 2025 SUV of the Year revealed the new Forester is plenty capable off the beaten path (like a proper Subaru should be) but could use a touch more grunt. We’ve even taken delivery of a 2025 Forester for a long-term review to get a better sense of the ownership experience.
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Subaru has saved arguably the best versions of the redesigned SUV for last. Arriving late to the 2025 model year is the Forester Hybrid, and a second-generation Forester Wilderness off-road variant is arriving for 2026 (which we’ll get to in a separate story). The company has previously sold hybrids versions of the smaller Crosstrek, and there is a new Crosstrek Hybrid for 2026, but this is the first gas-electric Forester introduced in the U.S.
One of the Forester Hybrid’s jobs will be to take as much market share as it can from the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V Hybrids of the world—a very tall order. To sample the new goods, as well as the model’s updated tech and styling, Subaru hosted us for a drive event in the forested California Bay Area town of Woodside. There we got some seven hours of seat time driving along winding mountain roads and interstates, as well as a 40-minute session on an off-road course.
Hybrid System and Packaging
There are a few approaches competitors have taken to creating their hybrid compact SUVs, but one thing’s consistent: None are geared toward off-roading. Toyota fits its RAV4 hybrid with a gas engine assisted by two motors spinning the front axle, with a third motor living by itself on the rear axle and turning the rear tires as needed (the combination enabling all-wheel drive). Honda routes its two-motor hybrid setup’s power through a traditional all-wheel-drive system to all four tires, as does Hyundai’s Tucson and Kia’s Sportage, but no current CR-V, Tucson, or Sportage so equipped can be described as adventurous.
Not Subaru. Uninterested in compromising its identity as a builder of rough-and-tumble crossovers, the company instead keeps the Forester’s substantial ground clearance and symmetrical AWD intact in the hybrid model. The full-time system uses front, rear, and center differentials to deliver constant, varying amounts of power to each wheel.
Powering that system is a 2.5-liter flat-four that, unlike in the regular Forester, runs on the Atkinson combustion cycle for improved efficiency, and it’s joined by a motor-generator unit and a larger traction motor. A continuously variable automatic transmission handles ratio changes. Power increases over the standard Forester, if modestly—by only 14 hp—but more is always better, and most people will appreciate the hybrid’s efficiency.
Honda and Toyota hybrid compact SUV competitors still get better fuel economy, but the gas-electric Forester makes significant headway compared to them. The Subaru matches the hybrid CR-V AWD’s 34 mpg highway rating and earns a combined 35 mpg, only 2 mpg off its rivals’ combined mpgs. The Forester Hybrid also uses a relatively large 16.6-gallon fuel tank like the gas model, while the RAV4 uses a 14.5-gallon tank, and the CR-V runs a 14-gallon tank. Partly because of the enhanced reservoir, the Forester Hybrid's driving range is an estimated 581 miles compared to the RAV4’s 536 miles and CR-V’s 518 miles.
The Forester’s hybrid system relies on a lithium-ion battery that’s located under the trunk floor. Subaru hasn’t released its capacity yet, but we’re told it’s the same size battery that’s in the Crosstrek Hybrid, so figure on 1.1 kWh. The battery’s location meant eliminating the SUV’s spare tire and giving it a standard tire repair kit instead. This Forester’s suspension is also slightly stiffer in the rear to account for the added weight of the battery.
Interior measurements are the same between gas and hybrid models, though. Floor height is unchanged, and about the only differences in specs between the SUVs are curb weight and ramp breakover angle. Of course, the hybrid is heavier (depending on trim, in some cases almost 300 pounds heavier) but it’s also capable of only 19.3 degrees of breakover compared to the gas model’s 19.6 degrees. A 19-degree approach angle and 24.6-degree departure angle (24.7 degrees for the Sport and Touring models) is the same between gas and hybrid.
Fancy Vibes
For 2025, the hybrid powertrain is available in every Forester grade except the base model. The SUVs are otherwise similarly equipped with only a few key differences. The hybrid’s configurable 12.3-inch driver display (it’s coming to gas models next year) lets users toggle between navigation, focus, and old-school dual-gauge screens and makes a commendable companion to the Forester’s 11.6-inch central touchscreen.
This is the same practical and somewhat charming interiorthat’s in the newest gas model. Sport and Limited trims feature StarTex faux leather upholstery, while the Touring top model comes with real hides. Outside, hybrids get an exclusive new paint color, Daybreak Blue Pearl, and the top trim is available with a two-tone exterior that employs a contrasting Crystal Black Silica roof.
The front of the Forester Hybrid is lined with more insulation than the already quiet gas model and indeed the gas-electric version is even quieter on the road. It does an effective job muffling the warbly gas engine the rare times it is stressed under heavy throttle inputs. It’s tougher to discern whether the Forester Hybrid is any quicker than the gas model, though. Once we have the chance to run a Forester Hybrid through our instrumented testing, we’ll know for sure whether the extra power is enough to offset the Subaru’s added weight and outrun a gas model.
Luckily, the Forester is already a solid driver’s SUV, and the hybrid only delivers more to like. Power delivery feels smoother because of the electric motors (on slower takeoffs, the SUV almost glides away). Consistency in brake pedal action can be a sore spot for hybrids generally, but here the handoff between the motors’ regen under braking and the friction brakes is imperceptible to the driver’s foot.
Like in the gas model, steering is direct, in part because of the crossover’s WRX-derived electrically assisted dual-pinion steering rack, and the ride is well composed. The Forester is an equally easy and engaging small SUV to drive, and the hybrid only builds on that.
Still Has the Off-Road Goods
To drive home the point that its AWD system is more capable—or at least a friendlier partner in the dirt—than those in other compact SUVs (hybrid or otherwise), Subaru let us loose on a forested gravel loop rife with ruts, whoops, and all manner of fire road terrain. It’s kind of amazing what the Forester can accomplish with 8.7 inches of ground clearance, Subaru's AWD prowess, and its X-Mode off-road setting with Hill Descent Control. We closed the exercise by driving our Forester Hybrid, as well as its main rivals, the RAV4 Hybrid and CR-V Hybrid, up a short, steep hill climb. It was a cinch for the Subie, but the Toyota’s brain was a little confused trying to vector power, and the Honda didn’t make it up at all.
Most Popular Forester Award Goes To...
The hybrid and Wilderness models were the two biggest holes in the new Forester lineup, though Subaru filled the latter by extending the previous-gen Forester Wilderness an extra model year and selling it alongside the new mainstream Forester models. With both on their way, and having not yet sampled the 2026 Wilderness yet, we’re having trouble stifling the expectation that the Forester Hybrid won’t be one of the most popular versions. The compact SUV generally is already the company’s hottest seller, and this hybrid addresses its lackluster efficiency and so-so power in one appealing package.
Depending on trim, the markup over the gas model ranges from as little as $1,400 for the Touring trim to as much as $3,185 for the Sport. Its rivals here are generally slightly more affordable, but the trade-off is the Subie’s capability and pleasant packaging.
My dad was a do-it-yourselfer, which is where my interest in cars began. To save money, he used to service his own vehicles, and I often got sent to the garage to hold a flashlight or fetch a tool for him while he was on his back under a car. Those formative experiences activated and fostered a curiosity in Japanese automobiles because that’s all my Mexican immigrant folks owned then. For as far back as I can remember, my family always had Hondas and Toyotas. There was a Mazda and a Subaru in there, too, a Datsun as well. My dad loved their fuel efficiency and build quality, so that’s how he spent and still chooses to spend his vehicle budget. Then, like a lot of young men in Southern California, fast modified cars entered the picture in my late teens and early 20s. Back then my best bud and I occasionally got into inadvisable high-speed shenanigans in his Honda. Coincidentally, that same dear friend got me my first job in publishing, where I wrote and copy edited for action sports lifestyle magazines. It was my first “real job” post college, and it gave me the experience to move just a couple years later to Auto Sound & Security magazine, my first gig in the car enthusiast space. From there, I was extremely fortunate to land staff positions at some highly regarded tuner media brands: Honda Tuning, UrbanRacer.com, and Super Street. I see myself as a Honda guy, and that’s mostly what I’ve owned, though not that many—I’ve had one each Civic, Accord, and, currently, an Acura RSX Type S. I also had a fourth-gen Toyota pickup when I met my wife, with its bulletproof single-cam 22R inline-four, way before the brand started calling its trucks Tacoma and Tundra. I’m seriously in lust with the motorsport of drifting, partly because it reminds me of my boarding and BMX days, partly because it’s uncorked vehicle performance, and partly because it has Japanese roots. I’ve never been much of a car modifier, but my DC5 is lowered, has a few bolt-ons, and the ECU is re-flashed. I love being behind the wheel of most vehicles, whether that’s road tripping or circuit flogging, although a lifetime exposed to traffic in the greater L.A. area has dulled that passion some. And unlike my dear ol’ dad, I am not a DIYer, because frankly I break everything I touch.
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