2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid Gets Genuine Off-Roadability

Yahoo

03-04-2025

Subaru adds a hybrid drivetrain to the Forester SUV, with some shared Toyota hybrid components and its own take on all-wheel drive.
The new setup proved quite capable off-road.
On-sale now, the Forester Hybrid ranges from $36,045 to $42,495.
There are a lot of improvements to the 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid, only the third hybrid in the Subaru lineup after the 2014 Crosstrek and 2019 PHEV Crosstrek paved the way for electrified powertrains for the marque.
The first and most obvious improvement to the 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid is the all-new two-motor/one engine hybrid powertrain shared at least in part with the Toyota RAV4 and other Toyota models. Hybridizing the Forester is good for 14 more peak horsepower, up to 194 hp, while efficiency is up to 35 mpg city, 34 highway, and 35 combined. Together with its standard 2.5-liter internal combustion flat-four, operating on the Atkinson cycle for greater efficiency and making 162 hp, and the two AC synchronous motor-generators making 118 hp, you can now go 581 miles between fill-ups in your Forester.
It also gets improved comfort, refinement, and driving dynamics, thanks to greater torsional rigidity and more sound deadening. Its standard all-wheel drive is improved with a new center differential that distributes torque faster as a result of improvements to that unit's electronics.
Pretty good for what might not even be a mid-cycle facelift for a model that was all-new just last year.
But the most impressive thing about the new Forester Hybrid was that it can actually go off-road a respectable amount.
As part of the new crossover's introduction, we took Forester Hybrids to Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area about an hour southeast of San Francisco. This area, one of several throughout the state, is like a gym for your 4x4. There were wild whoop-dee-doos and purpose-built sections of terrain that would require a short-wheelbase Wrangler—or a tank—to get over. We didn't try those sections. This is still a family-haulin' suburban grocery getter, after all, in addition to its other talents.
So we goofed around on a few steep dirt hills just so we truly believed in the power of symmetrical AWD, and then off we headed to the highest point in the whole SVRA, a peak called Hector Heights Overlook.
Granted, it was mostly graded dirt road, but there were sections with semi-washouts and some steep rocky parts that might give you pause when you thought that this was a basic street vehicle at heart. There were actual Jeep Wranglers on this road we were climbing. In fact, Jeeps were the only other vehicles we saw all day. But the Forester Hybrid's 19-degree approach angle, 19.3-degree departure angle, and 24.6-degree breakover angle—combined with 8.7 inches of ground clearance and the aforementioned all-wheel drive—got us up a mountain we might not have thought a Subaru built for the street could have climbed.
When we got to the top, the Wranglers followed, somewhat amazed to see a couple mere Subarus there.
'Do you think you have big enough tires?' a colleague asked them, with just a little good-natured sarcasm.
The Jeeper got out, doffed his cap, and gave a curt bow.
'Congratulations,' he said. 'I wouldn't have thought you'd make it.'
And yet there we were.
On the way down, we utilized Subaru's X-MODE with Hill Descent Control a few times but, this being California, we didn't need Snow or Deep Snow/Mud modes.
You can get Yokohama Geolander 235/60R-17 A/T tires on the Wilderness trim level of the Forester Hybrid. That will be a good idea for anyone planning to go off-road at all. Not only will the tread bite into the dirt and mud better, but the more robust construction of the A/T tire will be more resistant to punctures, which you don't want when you are far from AAA coverage.
If you're not going off-road, the other Foresters get all-season rubber. The latter will be quieter on pavement.
It does have a CVT like so many competitors, including the top-selling Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and Honda CR-V Hybrid. Maybe most people won't notice, but if you do, you'll be longing for the days of the automatics.
Regardless of whether you go off road or not, you'll appreciate the new digital gauge cluster and 11.6-inch infotainment control screen. There's even a MySubaru Concierge service that integrates everything from NAV to scheduling service appointments. And you get 69.1 cubic-feet of cargo space with the rear 60/40 seats folded down.
Does a Forester Hybrid make good business sense? Ward's Intelligence said that combined sales of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles increased from 19.1% of total new light-duty vehicle sales in the United States in the second quarter of 2024 to 21.2% in Q3. Subaru cited an S&P forecast that said by 2036 electrified vehicles will make up 95% of sales: 58% EVs, 28% PHEVs, and 10% Hybrids.
And if you're going to go electric, you might as well be able to go ff-road, too. While you still can.
Are you ready for electrification? Let us know below.