2025 Subaru Forester

The interior update centers on an 11.6-inch touchscreen display on all but the base model, and that mimics the exterior ends of the car with a vertical projection flanked by vertical vents. A low beltline and low dash, as well as a tall windshield lets in tons of light and lets out even more vision. The functional but dull plastic panels of the old Forester get a glow up, with available two-tone bronze and charcoal synthetic leather upholstery and trim parts. A hexagonal pattern puffs out from the passenger-side dash like a small pillow, and the blend of metallic trim and fake textured leather carries over to the door panels, where it meets more traditional Subaru touch points of hard plastic on the handles and latches. It’s not luxury level, or even premium, but it’s sophisticated in a specific Subaru way.

Sport and above models get dual-function X-Mode that adds a Deep Snow/Mud mode to the single-function Snow/Dirt mode. Activating the modes requires a press or two of the touchscreen’s narrow top menu bar, whereas a console or steering button would be quicker. The Dirt mode activates hill descent, but drivers can’t set the descent speed. Instead, when the system detects the crest or when you push it on the downslope, it will automatically stay at that speed. It can be overridden with the throttle to speeds of up to 20 mph, and if you dip back below it, it will return to hill descent control. At 25 mph it automatically shuts off the mode entirely. If you brake on a steep descent instead of maintaining the preset speed, then you’re in control. A steering wheel control to decrease the speed but stay in the mode with the system operating the brake would be welcome. 

The dual-function component combines the descent control by limiting traction control to allow for more wheelslip. This is for low-speed situations if you’re stuck in deep mud or a spring snow bank like wet cement. 

The ground clearance remains 8.7 inches, so these Foresters can easily handle most rutted access roads. For trickier terrain, consider the more off-road capable Forester Wilderness that carries over unchanged from the 2024 model year. 

How fast is the Subaru Forester?

Oh, that’s not really what the Forester’s about. Though, Subaru revised the 2.5-liter flat-4 to 180 hp and 178 lb-ft, from 182 hp and 176 lb-ft in the 2024 model. Peak torque comes on sooner at 3,700 rpm instead of 4,400 rpm, and you feel more gusto at about the 3,000-rpm mark. Sport models have a Sport and Intelligent setting via steering wheel controls that in Sport let the engine rev higher but otherwise optimizes efficiency at the sake of power.

Once cruising, the driver can use the paddle shifters to mimic a downshift from the CVT, which, like the Wilderness, now has eight steps or “gears,” instead of seven from last year’s model. The extra step is mostly to use while engine braking down mountain grades. 

The most noticeable improvement to the Forester comes from the absence of noise from the engine bay. Greater structural rigidity and more sound deadening really allow only tire and wind noise into the cabin. It’s a stark and welcome contrast from past Foresters. 

Steering remains on the light side, even though Subaru migrated the dual-pinion power steering system from the sportier WRX. It feels calmer in the hands with less jitters over bumps. MacPherson front struts and a double-wishbone rear hold down the fort, but pushing it in corners make the tall-riding Forester rock in the wrong ways.

The base model accounts for only 6.5% of Forester sales, and all models but it have a heated power driver’s seat with power lumbar support. Subaru claims the front seats have a new design with new mounts that stabilize the pelvis and keeps heads steadier, but what we noticed was good comfort with bolstering that was neither too soft nor too firm. The 60:40-split rear seats are spacious as well, with good above average headroom and legroom.

Softer materials, contrasts of metallic trim and textured interior parts on the dash and doors, as well as plenty of sound deadening, elevate this Forester over its predecessors. Even though most versions have synthetic leather and characteristics that lean more towards durability than luxury, the upgrade in cabin materials is noteworthy.

The Forester still has great outward vision with a tall greenhouse, low beltline, and thin pillars. It’s easy to see out of front, rear, and sides.

Subaru’s standard 3-year/36,000-mile warranty is average.

Which Subaru Forester should I buy?

The $33,390 Premium upgrades to a tablet-style 11.6-inch touchscreen with wireless smartphone compatibility, USB-A and USB-C ports, a wifi hotspot, heated front seats and side mirrors, a 10-way power driver's seat, roof rails, a sunroof, and an off-road mode with hill descent control. We’d add the $1,200 option package for blind-spot monitors and a power tailgate. 

If looks could kill, and you want that dagger, the Sport costs $35,890 and flashes 19-inch wheels trimmed in bronze, some chrome and bronze badging inside and out, black exterior trim bits, an interior with more soft-touch padding, synthetic leather, paddle shifters that mimic an 8-speed automatic, and Subaru’s dual-function X-Mode system with a deep snow/mud function that cuts traction control to loosen the wheels in the thick mucky stuff. Yup, we just talked ourselves into the Sport. It’s a half-step to the unchanged 2024 Wilderness that cost $36,315 last year. Subaru hasn’t announced a price change on that model. 

How much is a fully loaded Subaru Forester?

The $41,390 Touring tops the lineup with memory front seats that are heated, cooled, and covered in perforated leather. It also has heated rear seats, a lower profile roof rack, a surround-view camera system, and the Harman Kardon sound system.

How is the Subaru Forester’s infotainment system?

All but the base model has a vertically-oriented 11.6-inch touchscreen that houses not only the infotainment system but most climate and vehicle drive controls. Temperature and defrost buttons flank either side, as do volume and tuning knobs, in a surround of glossy black plastic, and Subaru has made the lower part of the touchscreen a permanent climate panel. Still, it can be narrow, and more to fidget with than a traditional fan speed dial.

At the top is a display for drive mode gauges and settings, but it takes a few swipes to access the three X-Mode all-wheel-drive settings. A button would be preferred, and safer and easier to toggle through. 

Overall, the system is more responsive and brighter fonts with darker background means it doesn’t get as washed out in direct sunlight as in the past. The actual display does a good job of mimicking a smartphone interface, but Subaru’s system is still a generation away from resolving where to put all the buttons and functions in the safest, easiest way.

The larger 19-inch wheels on Sport and Touring models lower the EPA rating to 25/32/28 mpg. The Forester Hybrid should get somewhere in the 38-mpg combined range.