Today’s cars are great for outdoor pastimes. Just being able to go off-road isn’t enough anymore; you also have to hype it up. More than anyone else, Jeep has fully accepted this. Recently, the company backed the idea of subduing nature (or at least the nearby Starbucks drive-thru). So, the somewhat naive and old-fashioned idea of walking gently is up for grabs, and Subaru is in a good position to take advantage of that. Subaru was an outdoor brand long before it became trendy, which often hurt the company. Subaru has been preparing itself for success in the modern car industry since many of its potential buyers were babies, thanks to standard all-wheel drive and the ability to give much more ground clearance than other brands. What better way to practice “tread lightly” than with a clean, peaceful hiking buddy? To sum up, the Subaru Forester Hybrid is mostly the same as the Forester, but it relies less on its boxer engine. In most cases, it’s better, but should you get one now? The Forester Hybrid is one of those vehicles that feels like a logical and well-thought-out choice. It comes out this year. It’s more normal to offer a hybrid in the small crossover/SUV market than not. Subaru used to focus on being the all-wheel-drive brand, but that’s less meaningful today. Still, it improved their cars’ fuel economy. I got a Subaru Sport with bronze trim and wheels that are slightly angled. In fact, though, this is an average trim level; it’s not as well-equipped as the Limited or Touring or as basic as the Premium. If there were a really simple model, it would die in the middle of a five-person group. This isn’t likely to happen unless the trade rules change. Inside, it feels like the middle child. Even though the bronze design is a little browner than bronze on the flatter inner materials, it breaks up. It makes the rest of the interior, okay but boring, better. The new Outback is a much more interesting place to be. The combination looks strange at first. Subarus are usually linked with flat-four engines, so it’s odd to hear something else at the start. It’s even weirder to hear nothing at all. There is normally nothing that meets you when you first turn it on, but you do get used to it after a while. Because Subaru and Toyota work so closely together, it’s easy to think that Subaru just took the hybrid system from a RAV4. That’s not true. Even though it came late, the Forester’s hybrid system is still built on a 2.5-liter boxer-four. When the 88-kilowatt electric motor is added, it reaches a high output of 194 horsepower. Subaru doesn’t specify the total torque, but the electric motor adds 154 pound-feet to the engine’s output. Just remember that the base 2.5-liter Forester only has 178 lb-ft of torque, which is a lot less. These days, hybrids don’t seem very fun to drive, and the Forester is one of them. But it does give more power, which is what we’ve been asking for with this chassis. The Forester line has been lacking in horsepower since Subaru pulled the turbocharged XT. The hybrid’s strong electric motor makes me want a turbine-fed push and a full meal. It also makes the Forester almost 300 pounds heavier. You can feel it in the corners, and there are about two average-sized people in the back seat. I agree that the 19-inch wheels are a mistake. They look fine, but they’re a little awkward on rough ground and don’t seem to fit with the hybrid’s thriftiness and calmness. The Forester usually offers two benefits: a lot of ground clearance and a low center of gravity. The mix does not throw off the balance. The chassis successfully absorbs the impact, even though it’s heavier. Since this isn’t a desert, you won’t have to deal with noisy tread patterns or stiff tire compositions. It’s calm and pleasant, and it’s often quieter than a regular Forester. The Forester’s biggest letdown is its touchscreen, and the hybrid isn’t the only one. Sadly, Subaru just started improving its tech when the new Forester was revealed. The Outback’s screen is faster, sleeker, and more attractive, and there are a few exciting features that aren’t yet hidden beneath the surface. The Forester had to use old tools because it was a year too early to join in the party. Outdated systems that still handle Apple CarPlay and Android Auto make this not a deal-breaker. Using your phone for guidance helps you avoid most of the annoying issues that come up with entertainment systems. But if you have to mess with the temperature control (which the Outback has a physical interface for), that advice won’t help much. Features, choices, and rivals of the Subaru Forester Hybrid 2025. The Sport is more expensive than the Forester Hybrid Premium, the cheapest option. When you move up to the Sport trim, you get a larger touchscreen, bronze exterior and interior features, and a fancier X-Mode system with hill descent control. I would pay an extra $2,000 for the Limited because it has a 10-way power-adjustable seat, while the Sport and Premium do not. The Forester isn’t the most efficient or fun car to drive, so it has to depend on something else to stand out. In this case, that something is that it’s a Subaru. The Forester isn’t as famous as the Outback (which is similar to a wagon). However, its Subaru-ness remains a unique part of what it offers, and people who own one are usually pretty loyal. Like the standard gas-burner, the Forester Hybrid has worse fuel economy than its rivals. Overall, even the Mazda CX-50 Hybrid is better, and the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 Hybrids with all-wheel drive get 5 and 6 more mpg on the highway, respectively. The Forester gets 34 mpg on the highway, 35 mpg in the city, and 35 mpg combined, but it could do better. As mentioned before, Subaru could only go up, and the hybrid gets about 35 mpg in town compared to 26 mpg for the regular Forester, making it about 33% more efficient. However, I don’t think I got a true feel for how much gas it used in the real world while I had it. If price is your top priority, the standard Forester is the best option. If you just need a hybrid and don’t care about the name, you’ll likely want a Honda or a Toyota. I don’t get why, but you do. If you don’t care about all-wheel drive, it’s even more true that front-wheel-drive hybrids are better than the Forester for less money. If you want a Subaru with a hybrid engine, or something a bit more powerful that doesn’t take as long to start, the Forester is a great choice. That said, the Forester’s entertainment system is very popular. I’m just not sure because Subaru has better technology, but that hasn’t stopped me from suggesting the car before. Even though it can only be used in the Outback right now, updates spread more quickly in famous areas like this one. The Forester’s new entertainment system might be coming sooner than you think.
