2025-26 Wheels Car of the Year Contender: Subaru Forester

Maybe it’s because the brand itself is part of the landscape. Perhaps it’s the fact that the car in question knows what it is, where it fits in and who’s buying it. Maybe it’s because there are no pretensions or inflated boasts to harpoon during the first drive. Whatever, the Subaru Forester is four-wheeled comfort food.

Lacking the Darth-Vader styling of some of its mid-sized SUV peers, and without the buzzing, whirring pure-electric driveline that continues to polarise the marketplace, the Forester is wholesome and satisfying. Just like Grandma used to make.

That said, just as time-honoured recipes get constantly tweaked, the latest Forester has grown an evolved hybrid element to its driveline, in this case a pair of electric motors teamed with the trademark flat-four petrol engine. But don’t assume the two motors act directly on the front and/or rear axles, because this technology – borrowed from Toyota, it should be noted – is quite a bit more sophisticated than that.

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The 2.5-litre petrol engine is connected inline with the first electric motor, the latter providing starting duties for the flat-four as well as charging the hybrid battery. The second electric motor is the bigger hitter, is also mounted inline and provides drive to the wheels as well as harvesting otherwise lost power through regenerative braking. The combined 145kW and 276Nm then drive through what’s called an E-CVT, although that’s a bit misleading. That’s because this is a CVT that uses no belts or cones, but instead calls on compound planetary gearsets (like a conventional automatic) and then sends the (moderate) urge through a transfer case and centre differential to each wheel.

The result is a car that maintains mechanical (rather than mechanical/electric) all-wheel-drive and allows Subaru to cut-and-paste its ‘symmetrical four-wheel-drive’ paragraph from the old brochure to the new one.

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Although Subaru tags the system as a ‘Strong Hybrid’, the apparent gains are less chest-pounding. Sure, the Forester never feels lame nor lacking the will to accelerate, but equally, there are other hybrid systems that are clearly calculated and calibrated to offer more zing. And 6.2 litres per 100km? Not bad, but no PHEV.

But the driveline is smooth and flexible even if, after all these years, the horizontally opposed layout still plays that familiar, quirky tune.

The steering is vice-free, logical in its gearing and weight, and bordering on actually entertaining. The Forester never actually encourages you to press on, but you may just find yourself doing so anyway… it’s that sort of car.

The Forester’s other point of difference remains its off-road chops and, while the Sube won’t take you to The Cape on the Old Telegraph Track, it will get you to mountain-bike tracks and campsites that plenty of other SUVs with bulging wheel-arch flares and chunky alloy wheels simply will not. Just as Subaru has persisted with the boxer engine layout and its all-wheel-drive platform for so long, neither will it be allowing the soft-roader to become any softer.

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Inside, the Subaru is laid out in a conventional way apart from the 11.5-inch central screen that is mounted portrait rather than landscape. It’s nice to see there are at least some hard buttons for commonly used functions and the usual slew of USB charging points and cup-holders are present and accounted for.

The company says the front seats have been made more comfortable and even a short stint at the helm bears this out. Thankfully, the rear seat is roomy in every direction, too, with plenty of foot room and a cabin wide enough for actual rear-seat adults.

If this is all sounding like a triumph of considered moderation over risky flamboyance, so be it. But long after you’ve forgotten about the lack of fire-breathing pace or trendy tech, you’ll still be appreciating the grown-up result this $46,490 car represents.

That the Forester survived our first edit when so many of its mid-sized SUV brethren did not, proves the point that, even in a stove-hot market segment, sometimes, a generous serve of something competent and familiar is all you really want.

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Specs