2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid First Drive Review: Mainstream Mountaineer

If there’s one car company living its best unbothered life right now, I’m betting it’s Subaru. Including March 2025, the Japanese automaker has enjoyed 32 consecutive months of sales growth. Uh, who even does that anymore? With hybrids heating up the market, Subaru aims to sell even more cars by electrifying its lineup.

After an on-again-off-again experiment with its electrified Crosstrek, Subaru’s settled on a hybrid formula that now finds itself powering the new 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid. Yep, it’s been a long time coming, but with more power, improved fuel economy, and a quieter cabin than its gas sibling, the Forester Hybrid can be forgiven for showing up after hours.

The Basics 

The Subaru Forester was completely redesigned for 2025 and given a brawny new exterior design, a revised engine, a stiffer chassis, and, of course, more technology.

The design differences between the gas and hybrid Foresters are subtle. Its “HYBRID” badges are the most telling, but the HEV also gets Daybreak Blue as a paint choice, 18-inch wheels are standard, and Touring models can be optioned with a contrast black roof.

The Forester Hybrid interior features vegan leather, except on this top Touring trim, where it is apparently real. The more expensive the vehicle, the more genuine the leather, I guess. Also standard is a hybrid-only 12.3-inch digital cluster display that can project your choice of native navigation or Apple CarPlay. The hybrid has standard wireless Android Auto and CarPlay, but only CarPlay can appear within the gauge screen. Interestingly, if you want, you can have the in-car navigation display in the cluster, but Apple or Google Maps on the center touchscreen. In some BFE locations, one might work better than the other.

Speaking of location and because this is A Thing now, 2025 model year Foresters are built in Japan, but all U.S.-bound Forester production will move to Indiana for the 2026 model year.

Driving Experience 

The Forester Hybrid powertrain is a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated flat-four coupled with a high-capacity lithium-ion battery and a pair of electric motors (one for start/stop, the other for all-wheel drive). Subaru supposedly couldn’t divulge the battery size but hinted that it’s “very similar” to the Crosstrek Hybrid’s, which is 1.1-kWh. Combined, the output is 194 horsepower (versus 180 hp from the regular gas model). As for torque, Subaru says “there is no industry standard for combined torque,” but the gas engine makes 154 lb-ft while electricity provides 199 lb-ft.

To test the Forester Hybrid out, we drove everywhere, at every speed, and on everything (sorry, squirrel) during a 224-mile journey around the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s Central Coast region. The Forester Hybrid’s powertrain is serviceably fine, except when you go for a pass, at which point it feels underpowered. Subaru says acceleration is improved by 10-15% with the hybrid, but that didn’t feel like enough. The CVT just takes too long to spool up during moments of “we need to move right now,” and overtaking slower vehicles feels like moving in slow motion itself. If only there were an overtake button or a setting to nudge the engine awake.

The rugged looks of the new Forester Hybrid also match its rugged ride. OK, I’m kidding. Sort of. On anything other than a smooth surface, you’re bouncing all over the place. Winding mountain roads can be fun in the right vehicle, but southbound on Highway 35/Skyline Blvd through San Mateo County was a lively time with the Forester, to say the least. 

Seats lacked bolstering in that I was jostled around as both a driver and a passenger. If only everyday crossovers like this came with racing harnesses. My sports hatch on the same route felt less bouncy, probably because I sat lower to the ground. In which case, the Forester’s 8.7-inch ground clearance was more punishment than perk.

The good news is that everywhere else, the Forester was more refined and ridiculously quiet. Improved sound deadening and updated suspension are definite highlights. Also, damn, is the Forester really good at that off-roading stuff. Over about nine miles of dirt tracking and rut climbing in Hollister Hills, the vehicle felt right at home. 

Traveling toward the Hector Heights Overlook at about 2,400 feet was a cinch, and we did the entire uphill route in Normal mode. Heading down, I utilized the X-Mode Snow/Dirt setting, which allowed hill descent control to kick in. HDC will work at speeds up to 12 mph, but this was off-camber, trench-heavy terrain where 5 mph was just fine. Any faster and you’ll dislodge an underguard. 

Subaru also set up a short hill climb competition with hybrid versions of the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. The challenge was to drive up a 23-degree grade, come to a complete stop about two-thirds of the way, and then continue over the hill. The RAV4 scraped a bit due to its 8.1-inch clearance but proved to be capable of completing the task. The CR-V had a 0.1-inch ride height advantage over the Toyota, but from the stopped position, its AWD was futile. We rolled that struggle bus backward to the starting point. As for the Forester, we did the climb twice just because we knew we could.

Subaru Forester Hybrid Features, Options, and Competition 

• Premium: The 2025 Forester Hybrid price starts at $36,415 for the Premium trim. Standard equipment includes a hands-free power liftgate, an 11.6-inch infotainment touchscreen, a panoramic sunroof, wireless device charging, and EyeSight Driver Assist safety tech.
• Sport: Moving up to the $38,415 Sport adds 19-inch wheels, black exterior trim, a Harman/Kardon sound system, StarTex animal-free upholstery, and reverse automatic braking.

• Wilderness (coming soon!): A rugged Wilderness version of the Forester Hybrid is going on sale later this year. Price is TBD, but if the regular Forester’s trim structure is any indication, it should slot in between the Sport and the Limited.
• Limited: The $40,830 Limited swaps out black for chrome, adds accent stitching to the StarTex seats, and includes features like rain-sensing wipers and a power-adjustable front passenger seat.
• Touring (tested): The fully-loaded Touring trim tested costs $43,115 and gets a 360-degree view monitor, a smart rearview mirror, and creature comforts like heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, and a heated steering wheel. With the fancy paint, the Forester tested here hit a price of $44,005.

The compact crossover segment is one of the more crowded groups, and Forester Hybrid competitors include high-volume nameplates like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. The Ford Escape, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5/CX-50, and Mitsubishi Outlander all offer hybrid variants. Price-wise, the RAV4 Hybrid starts at $33,695, but when equipped to match the Forester Premium Hybrid, that MSRP goes up to $36,820.

Fuel Economy

Opting for a Hybrid Forester over the gas, hp is up, but so is fuel economy. The most fuel-efficient gas Forester returns an EPA-estimated 29 mpg combined, while the Forester Hybrid gets 35 mpg combined. Given that, my daylong test on all manner of roads returned just 29 mpg. Comparing official figures the Forester lags slightly against its direct rivals from Toyota and Honda. The hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander, meanwhile, is a plug-in.

The Early Verdict 

Subaru knows its target audience and how to cater to them. Its continued sales growth confirms that. However, the automaker knows it’ll have to expand its audience to maintain such success.

The new Forester Hybrid could be the mainstream hit the brand is looking for. Admittedly, on-road handling remains uninspired, and you’re still going to hear that signature Subaru engine whine. But as far as sales are concerned, that stuff hasn’t stopped Subaru fans from snapping these things up left and right. For them, the Forester Hybrid is the right blend of attractive styling, competitive pricing, standard premium features, and unmatched off-road skills. 

Quick Take

The Subaru Forester Hybrid may be a little late to the game but shows up with plenty of value and off-road prowess to be a competitive player.

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