While the title might sound like an advertisement for haircare, I can assure you that this is still a review of Subaru’s new Forester AWD Hybrid Touring. On the topic of marketing, that is quite literally what this car promises with a new “Strong Hybrid” powertrain allowing the car to reach a claimed 1000km figure on a full tank. Whether the claims stack up, that’s a whole different conversation and one that I will be exploring in this review, but first, a history lesson.
Now, Subaru can be considered one of New Zealand’s darlings where the automotive scene is concerned. Their range of vehicles focuses on lifestyle, whether that be on or off-road. If you wanted a new car from the brand today, you have the choice of the Impreza, WRX and BRZ while the Crosstrek, Outback and Solterra complete the SUV lineup. Sure, there’s plenty on offer these days to suit most lifestyles but it must be noted that the Forester was an SUV before the Impreza & Legacy were properly put on stilts and the thought of an electric Subaru wasn’t even on the radar!
Debuting in 1997 and now in its sixth generation, it’s safe to say that the Forester is one of the SUV segment’s legacy nameplates, pun intended by the way.
This sixth generation Forester brings so much change inside and out to the nameplate that we’ve come to know but there are plenty of hints around to denote that this is still the SUV we know and love underneath. For starters, the Forester has often been the choice of daily driver for those who need a car that’s as comfortable on the tarmac as it is on dirt tracks and muddy paths so ruggedness is a must. The new generation car sticks with that theme, featuring its fair share of black protective cladding around key contact areas like the lower bumpers, side skirts and wheel arches.
Looks aren’t everything though because the Forester walks the talk too, boasting 220mm of ground clearance, enough to clear most things including the super city’s ‘speed tables’. An important point to note because the Forester’s lifestyle appeal means it will spend its days in town in between weekends outdoors. Dimensionally, it needs to be spot on then to fit into multi-storey car parks and squeeze down ever tightening suburban streets. It measures in at 4.65m long, 1.83m wide and 1.73m tall so while it has grown, it still remains comfortably within the required dimensions for both its category and city life.
Our review model photographed here is the range topping AWD Hybrid Touring model and it brought a few extras to help sweeten the offering. For one, there’s some low profile roof rails, 19 inch machined wheels with a gloss black finish, a look that also features on the front grille, door mirror covers and other accents. There’s also a choice of 11 body colours with our review model coming painted in ‘River Rock Pearl’ which is one of the duller shades in the lineup. Unfortunate because there’s some real standouts, my picks would be ‘Crimson Red Pearl’, ‘Sapphire Blue Pearl’ or ‘Autumn Green Metallic’.
While there’s plenty to note with the Hybrid Touring’s exterior, the interior brings so much more where features are concerned. In the way of luxuries, you will find a 10-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, an electric sunroof and heated/ventilated leather seats with Ultrasuede accents. Leather also features on the steering wheel and gear shifter, a fact that I was surprised to learn as both surfaces are quite rough, more so than what you would normally expect from cow hide. The interior in general features a generous dosing of scratchy black plastics and harder materials but then again, this has to be considered from the point of view of a Forester driver. They aren’t like most SUV buyers because their cars actually tend to see mud, dirt and the outdoors, so being easy to clean becomes an important factor and a brief that the new Forester indeed satisfies.
It’s not just in the luxuries too where the Forester packs a punch but also in its technology, the infotainment is Subaru’s latest generation Starlink unit, in a portrait orientation as always, connectivity options are generous too with the standard Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay on offer. Safety tech has also been stepped up with the EyeSight and DMS (Driver Monitoring System) making sure you keep alert and focused on the road. There’s also 360 degree cameras to help you keep your eye on your surroundings. Technology and connectivity is good overall but the DMS can get annoying particularly when the sun is low as its rays seem to mess with the system on occasion.
Something that Subaru have messed with though is the powertrain as this generation Forester now features its latest ‘Strong Hybrid’ technology. Underpinned by a 2.5L e-Boxer engine coupled with a 90kW electric motor that draws from a 1.1kWhr battery. The recipe ensures that there’s enough of electric help on offer to make life easy for that petrol engine. Power is rated at 121kW, not exactly what I would call strong but then again, that’s plenty for most people and is actually less than the pure petrol Foresters, go figure! Torque is also a moderate figure of 212 Nm but it will still tow 1.2 tonnes braked, plenty for small trailers as well as loading kayaks and bikes, important considerations for prospective Forester owners. Though, thanks to those reserved power figures, Subaru can claim an efficiency figure of 6.2L/100km, not bad at all. During our test, we averaged around 6.7-7L/100km which wasn’t too far off the pace of that claimed figure.
The key standout here was that Subaru wanted to ensure that this car could wear its famous ‘symmetrical AWD’ badge despite featuring an electrified powertrain and it was something that they achieved. Torque is split through an electronically controlled AWD system. Thanks to the combination of all of that, this Forester features two different ‘X-Mode’ options, highlighting its off-road capability and one that was certainly demonstrated during its New Zealand launch earlier this year.
Now, Dave has already tested out this new Forester’s off-road capability on the launch linked above but what was missing was a test of its abilities on the road over a longer term, something that’s important as the new model is 10% more rigid than its predecessor. Indeed, this does help while on the tarmac, the cars rolls a lot less and feels more planted going around corners, an improvement to a ride that was already quite comfortable and certainly hushed. The suspension set up is well suited to our roads with the Forester having the ability to take bumps in its stride while also remaining at home on longer motorway journeys, although the steering does feel a little vague/lightweight at times.
The Verdict
Between its abilities on and off road, the new sixth generation Forester AWD Hybrid Touring marks a significant step up from the outgoing model. Not only that, the styling has taken a considerable leap forward as has cabin quality and the list of equipment on offer, the safety tech in particular helping progress towards Subaru’s goal of having zero fatal road accidents in its cars by 2030. To the question raised in the title, a claimed figure of 1,000km on a full tank might be tricky to achieve but still, 800/900kms on a 63L fuel tank is pretty damn good!
Yes, that’s all great but what about the price? The range starts at an impressive $49,990 and tops out with the Touring Hybrid at $60,990, making it a very appealing package and ensuring that it will hold its own again an onslaught of cheaper competitors emerging from a particular country.
2025 Subaru Forester AWD Hybrid Touring: 4.5/5
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Car courtesy of Inchcape and Subaru New Zealand. Words and photos by Matthew D’Souza.
