2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid preps for efficient adventures

Most compact crossovers now offer hybrid powertrains, but the Subaru Forester has been a notable exception. That changes this year.

Revealed Thursday at the 2025 Chicago auto show, the 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid goes on sale in the U.S. this spring as the first hybrid Forester for this market, and the first hybrid Subaru since the plug-in hybrid version of the Crosstrek was discontinued after the 2023 model year.

The Forester Hybrid doesn’t have a plug, instead combining a 2.5-liter flat-4 engine running on the more efficient Atkinson cycle with what Subaru describes as a pair of motor-generators integrated with a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

Total system output is 194 hp, compared to 180 hp for the non-hybrid Forester, Subaru quotes EPA-estimated fuel economy of 35 mpg combined (35 mpg city, 34 mpg highway), up from a best of 29 mpg combined (26 mpg city, 33 mpg highway) for the non-hybrid model.

The hybrid system is integrated with a standard all-wheel-drive system that incorporates torque vectoring, Subaru’s rough-road X-Mode, and hill descent control, like other Forester models. The Forester’s 8.7 inches of ground clearance isn’t affected by the hybrid system either. That’s likely in part because Subaru didn’t make any sheetmetal changes specific to the hybrid model, which looks like any other Forester apart from subtle badging.

Subaru plans to offer Premium, Sport, Limited, and Touring trim levels. Premium models start at $36,415 after a mandatory $1,420 destination charge—$3,000 more than the non-hybrid Premium grade. But Subaru also offers a base model below the Premium with the non-hybrid powertrain, so the effective difference in the price of entry is $5,300.

The Forester Hybrid Premium comes standard with 18-inch wheels, an 11.6-inch touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, cloth upholstery, a power tailgate, Subaru’s EyeSight driver-assist systems, and hill descent control. For $39,415, the Sport grade adds 19-inch wheels, an 11-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, and synthetic leather upholstery, among other features.

The Limited grade starts at $40,830 and includes a heated steering wheel, rain-sensing wipers, blue accent stitching, and black-and-chrome badging on top of the features from lower grades. The top Touring grade adds a surround-view camera system, a driver monitor, leather upholstery, a digital rearview mirror, and two-tone paint options for $43,115.

Subaru launched the current-generation Forester earlier in the 2025 model year. The redesigned Forester earned a 2025 Best Car To Buy finalist nod, but Subaru was clearly leaving something on the table. In addition to the Forester Hybrid—which finally gives Subaru an answer to hybrid versions of compact crossovers like the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, and Toyota RAV4—the Forester is due to gain a redesigned Wilderness off-road variant later in the model year.