All New, Instantly Recognizable: The 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid

The Subaru Forester is all-new for 2025, but Subaru's not about to get carried away with a clean sheet of paper.

In its previous five generations, the Forester has helped define and expand the Subaru brand in the U.S.

In its first model year, 1998, the rest of the Subaru lineup was the Impreza sedan, the Impreza Outback Sport station wagon, the Legacy sedan and the Outback (at that time a Legacy wagon).

Today, only the Impreza, the Legacy and the Outback remain, and two of those three are mightily changed---the Impreza is now only available as a four-door hatchback, and the just-unveiled 2026 Outback has completed its metamorphosis from wagon to straight-up SUV.

With the smaller Crosstrek having become a hit in its own right and the Outback moving into the SUV ranks with the larger Ascent, this fresh Forester now is in a great position to take on the horde of compact SUV competitors, including Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5, Ford Bronco Sport, Volkswagen Tiguan, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Ford Escape and Nissan Rogue.

A big change this year is the availability of a Forester Hybrid. It's a newly developed 2.5-liter four-cylinder BOXER engine with two electric motors, a continuously variable transmission and symmetrical all-wheel drive. Total system output is 194 horsepower, up from 180 in gasoline-powered Foresters.

Subaru says fuel economy is up 40% from the internal combustion Foresters---the EPA estimates are 26 city/33 highway/29 combined.

There's a solid 8.7 inches of ground clearance, so the Forester is off-roadable.

Rear cargo volume is 27.5 cubic feet with the rear seats in place, 69.1 cubic feet with them folded flat.

And the rear seat legroom is generous for the class---39.4 inches.

The 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid trim levels go Premium-Sport-Limited-Touring, with prices of $34,995, $37,995, $39,410 and $41,695 respectively. Our tester was the Limited, and with destination, the base price is $40,830.

At this writing, tariffs have been announced, and the 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid is assembled in Japan. Pricing at the dealer could be considerably higher by the time you read this.

That base price brings a long list of standard features: 19-inch alloy wheels, a comprehensive suite of active safety features, power hands-free liftgate, navigation, X-Mode dual mode with hill descent control, gloss black front grille, 11-speaker, 576-watt Harman Kardon audio system, navigation, reverse automatic braking, eight-way power-adjustable front seats, rain-sensig wipers, chrome and black exterior badging and animal-free StarTex upholstery.

Our Forester Hybrid Limited had no extra-cost options, so the window sticker stops at $40,830 (again, that may change by the time you read this because of tariffs).

I've been a fan of the Forester since the beginning. This new one is the best yet, and the addition of the hybrid makes it better still. Toyota and Honda should not get too comfortable.