GREEN FORESTATION (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

The sixth generation Subaru Forester continues with Hybrid power and offers a familiar capable recipe for mid-sized SUVs. Jonathan Crouch talks a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 47

In sixth generation form, Subaru's Forester serves up a very similar recipe for loyal customers wanting a more seriously capable kind of mid-sized SUV. It's still a full-Hybrid, it's still great off-road, but rural folk might now find this car just that bit easier to live with.

Backgroundword count: 190

Wouldn't it be nice to find a properly capable mid-sized family SUV? A car that could walk the walk as well as talking the talk? A car like this one, Subaru's sixth generation Forester. Over almost three decades, the Forester's been almost all things to quite a few different people. The first generation SF series model of 1997 was an estate, as was its SG series successor of 2002. With the third generation SH design of 2008 and the fourth generation SJ series car of 2012, a crossover theme was pursued. Only with the MK5 SK series model of 2019 did the Forester really become what the 2025 model year MK6 model is today - a fully-fledged SUV. It's accurate to think of this latest SL design as an evolution of its predecessor - much is after all shared. But the car is now bigger and sits on a much more sophisticated version of the Subaru Global Platform. There's also a smarter, more digitalised cabin. As before, there's full-Hybrid E-BOXER power and Subaru's legendary Symmetrical 4WD system, creating a more capable kind of mid-sized SUV. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 383

Very few mid-sized SUVs these days are properly capable in the rough. And even fewer of these are full-Hybrids, as this Forester has been since 2019. We'd hoped that the 2.0-litre direct injection electrified e-BOXER petrol unit in question might have evolved significantly for this sixth generation SL model. But in fact, it's much as before, albeit with a few legislation-driven tweaks which have unfortunately reduced its previous 148bhp output to 134bhp, slowing the 0-62mph time to 12.2 seconds (about half a second slower than before). Happily though for the needs of most customers, even though torque has decreased from 190Nm to 182Nm, the towing limit remains a useful 1,870kg. That's helped by provision of the same Symmetrical permanent four-wheel drive system as before. Most rivals have an on-demand 4x4 set-up that only activates the rear wheels when a lack of traction demands it. By which point off-road you might already be stuck. That's a lot less likely to happen in a Forester, something also aided by the same generous 220mm of ground clearance as before. That's vastly more than most rivals, which Subaru considers essential since 84% of Forester customers live in rural areas - and appreciate the relatively lofty 500mm wading depth. Further helping in the mud is Hill descent control and the brand's X-Mode system with its two off-road drive settings - 'Deep Snow/Mud' and 'Snow/Dirt'. The traction control and Hill descent control systems now also work in reverse too. Where the Forester needed to improve though, is in its on-road demeanour. To that end, the Subaru Global Platform that it sits on has been substantially evolved, now using 27-metres of structural adhesive instead of 8-metres. As a result, it's lighter and 10% more torsionally rigid. Which in turn should improve body control over bumps in a way that a previous owner would notice. They might well appreciate the more direct steering too. A convert from a less capable SUV might still think the tarmac drive dynamics to be behind the class standard. And also might object to the gruff Boxer engine note and relatively lethargic CVT auto gearbox. But if you want to go almost everywhere in an SUV of this sort, you might well now think the latest version of this Forester to be a much better compromise.

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