The 2024 Subaru Forester’s 2.5-liter flat-four naturally aspirated engine will carry over to the 2025 model. However, Subaru is expanding its powertrain selection. At the Los Angeles Auto Show on Thursday, the company displayed the 2025 Forester and announced that a hybrid version would be released a year after its launch. As the new Forester was being shown off, Subaru CEO Atsushi Osaki said, “While the all-new Forester will begin sales with [internal-combustion] engines, a next-generation hybrid Forester will follow in yet another year.” “This will be the first-ever Subaru Forester Hybrid; it represents the next step in our new electrification plan, with more electrified models to follow quickly.” The last version of the Forester was sold in Europe with an e-Boxer hybrid drivetrain, so this isn’t the first electric Forester. During the reveal news conference, the company didn’t say anything else about the engine. Subaru does not sell hybrid cars in the US right now, but the Crosstrek plug-in hybrid will be available soon. You can get a hybrid engine in the Toyota RAV4, the Honda CR-V, the Kia Sportage, or the Hyundai Tuscon. All of them, except for the Honda, can also be bought as plug-in hybrids. Subaru has said that the 2025 Forester will be in stores in the spring of 2020, so the hybrid should be ready for the 2026 model year. As part of the bigger move to electric cars, automakers are putting more attention on hybrids again, so there is still time.
