Preview: 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid Brings More Power, Greater Efficiency

Subaru is augmenting its splendid small SUV with a hybrid powertrain that boosts both power and fuel economy. This new powertrain uses a mechanical all-wheel-drive configuration, rather than electric assist, to ensure the Forester Hybrid has the off-pavement traction to match Subaru’s other models. This is a promising combination that we look forward to testing. 

We are enthused to see that the “EyeSight” suite of active safety and driver assistance features that is standard on all Foresters is heightened with the hybrid to include blind spot warning (BSW) and rear cross traffic warning (RCTW). Both are optional on regular Foresters. 

We like the updates experienced in the redesigned Forester, which we already tested. It retains the core virtues of space-efficient packaging, easy access, comfortable seating front and rear, great visibility, and a smooth ride. It is again a smart all-around package that looks poised to become even more appealing with the hybrid powertrain.

The hybrid looks just like a regular Forester, essentially. Spotters will look for the telltale badging by the side mirrors and on the rear liftgate. There is one hybrid-exclusive exterior color—Daybreak Blue. Plus, some body colors will be available with a contrasting black roof.

The cabin is essentially unchanged from the regular Forester. All hybrids feature a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and an 11.6-inch vertical center screen for infotainment and climate controls. We found navigating through the center screen to be straightforward, although having key climate features on the screen can make them frustrating to use while driving. We do like that there are physical buttons for some common functions, such as temperature and volume. 

The five-passenger interior can be upholstered with water-repellent StarTex, an animal-free material.

The Forester Hybrid features a 2.5-liter flat-four engine teamed with a 1.1-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. It uses a continuously variable transmission, and power can be routed to all four wheels as needed. The total system output is 194 hp, marking a 14-hp advantage over the nonhybrid 2.5-liter engine. 

Subaru says the Forester Hybrid will be EPA-rated at 35 mpg city and 34 mpg highway, for 35 mpg combined. That figure is right in line with its primary competitors, and it marks a notable improvement over the 29 mpg overall that we recorded on the regular Forester we tested—which is the best mpg for a nonhybrid compact SUV in our tests.

The hybrid has the same-sized 16.6-gallon gas tank as the regular Forester, meaning the fuel economy gains are certain to extend the range per fill-up beyond 550 miles.

All trim levels have standard all-wheel drive with hill descent control and X-Mode, allowing the driver to optimize traction for, say, deep snow, dirt, and mud. Subaru says the all-wheel-drive system mechanically couples all four wheels, as with nonhybrid Subaru models, and therefore maintains their same capability. Some hybrid competitors, such as models from Toyota, use a separate electric motor for the rear wheels to enable all-wheel drive just at low speeds.

The Forester Hybrid comes with the latest EyeSight driver assistance suite that boasts improvements over the prior iteration with a wider field of view, updated software, and an added electric brake booster. The standard system includes automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, automatic emergency braking that operates at highway speeds, lane centering assistance (LCA), lane departure warning (LDW), lane keeping assistance (LKA), and adaptive cruise control (ACC). The hybrid version also gets standard BSW and RCTW, unlike the regular Forester.

A driver monitoring system, which Subaru calls DriverFocus, is standard but only available on the top Touring trim.

A new standard feature for 2025 is an Emergency Stop Assist system, which can determine whether a driver has become unresponsive when they are using ACC and LCA. If the driver fails to respond to warning signals, the system will slow the vehicle to a stop, turn on the emergency flashers, unlock the doors, and call emergency services.

A rear occupant alert system is also standard. This system is designed to remind the driver—based on rear-door logic—to check the rear seat when they turn the Forester off to help prevent children and pets from suffering heatstroke or hypothermia when unintentionally left behind in the vehicle.