SUVs tend to look so alike these days that it’s rare for a new one to radically divide opinion. But Subaru’s 2025 Forester has definitely done that after a flurry of images made their viral voyage through the internet, and the beef seems to be that it looks too much like at least one other well known off-roader. The 2025 Forester unveiled today at the LA Auto Show isn’t all-new, but you could be forgiven for thinking it is because Subaru has treated it to a major update that’s resulted in an entirely new exterior skin as well as a new interior, plus the promise of hybrid power next year for the 2026MY. Out goes the old BMW X1-style body with its pronounced curves and relatively low (for the sector) hood for one that’s much blockier, macho and modern, but arguably less characterful.
It’s not hard to pick out a resemblance to
the Forester’s Toyota RAV4 rival in the profile side profile, with its squared
arches and little kink at the base of the D-pillar. And there’s good reason for
that: Toyota shifted almost 400,000 RAVs last year, making it the
fourth-best-selling vehicle in America, while the Forester only registered
114,000 sales and didn’t even make the top 25. But it’s the Forester’s
similarity to another SUV that has really got people talking. The new, squarer
front end is dominated by a large, upright grille flanked by a pair of
headlights that spread out into the surrounding bodywork like a pair of wings.
It’s nearly the exact same treatment Ford used on its older, fifth generation
Explorer from 2010-2019.
The interior, though, is all Subaru’s own
work. It’s clearly an evolution of the one we’re familiar with, the focal point
being a portrait-layout touchscreen that’s embedded into the dashboard between
a pair of vertical heater vents. Base cars get a 7.0-inch screen but an
11.6-inch alternative is sure to be popular and comes with wireless Apple
CarPlay and Android Auto. Fans of analog dials will be pleased to see a pair of
traditional clocks inside the instrument binnacle, rather than a completely
digital display, but sadly, the handy rotary dials for the climate controls
that are usually found below a Subaru’s touchscreen have been scrapped.
Fortunately, the temperature controls and audio controls are at least physical
items embedded in the screen bezel.
Being a reskin, rather than an entirely
new car, the 2025 Forester throws up no real mechanical surprises, at least
until a hybrid model joins the lineup a year after the ICE car’s 2024 arrival.
Subaru dealers will still point EV fans in the direction of the Solterra, but
plenty of brand devotees will be relieved that while the latest Forester’s
styling is all-new, it still features the same 2.5-liter boxer engine and
standard all-wheel drive transmission. Power actually drops by 2 hp to
180 hp for 2025, and the outgoing car was already looking weak in the
performance stakes, taking around 8 seconds to reach 100 km/h. But
torque is up fractionally, from 239 Nm to 241 Nm.
The 8.7 inches of ground clearance Subaru
quotes is identical to the one it claims for the 2024 car, but the new Forester
does have the advantage of a 10 percent stiffer chassis structure and a new
electric power steering system inherited from the WRX sports sedan. Base and
Premium models make do with diddy 17-inch wheels while the Limited gets 18s and
the posh Sport and Touring grades feature 19s that are bronze-colored in the
case of the Sport’s. New-for-’25 equipment includes an available panoramic roof
and a power tailgate activated by foot gestures, but chiming with Subaru’s
safety-first image, the bigger news is an improved EyeSight driver assist
package that now has a wider field of view and can identify cyclists and
pedestrians more quickly.
The really big news, though,
remains that confirmation that the Forester is finally getting hybrid power.
Subaru didn’t give away any details of what form that powertrain might take or
how much power it might have, but it sounds like it might be worth holding off
ordering one of the cars unveiled today until we find out more, hopefully some
time in 2024.
