Subaru Forester Hybrid Long Term Review

Subaru has never struggled to sell the Forester, but it has found it a challenge to develop more frugal versions of its ‘boxer’-engined midsize SUV.

The first diesel model was manual only for five years, and when an auto finally arrived in 2015 the efficiency was nothing remarkable for the segment.

Another five years later came the first petrol-electric Forester – a variant that promised to be Subaru’s answer to the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid yet, in real-world testing, was barely any more economical with fuel than the petrol-only Forester.

It’s with much curiosity, then, that the Japanese brand’s second crack at a hybrid Forester arrives in the Chasing Cars garage for a few months of ‘long-termer’ testing.

In a kind of ‘If you can’t beat them, join them’ scenario, the petrol-electric Forester borrows some components from Toyota’s hybrid system – though Subaru devotees can rest assured that the petrol engine’s pistons remain horizontally opposed.

The new set-up shaves half a litre off the official fuel consumption – improving from 6.7 litres per 100km to 6.2L/100km.

Naturally, real-world fuel consumption will be one of our key areas of focus during our extended stint with the Forester.

Can the hybrid Forester, for example, achieve more than 1000km on a tank as suggested by Subaru? For now, the first thing we know is that upon collection with a full tank, the Subaru’s trip computer was estimating an 890km driving range.

So, which variant do we have from a Forester showroom line-up that comprises four petrol models and three hybrid models?

We opted for the most affordable petrol-electric grade simply known as the Forester Hybrid AWD.

It’s priced from $46,490, before on-road costs, or $51,819 based on current Sydney driveaway pricing.

The list price is a $2400 increase over the previous entry-level Forester hybrid, reflecting a rise in costs across the board. With the base petrol Forester costing from $43,490, it means the Hybrid carries a $3000 premium.

The Hybrid’s equipment list includes the following features:

Exterior

• Dual Mode X-Mode with hill descent control
• Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
• 18-inch gloss-finish alloy wheels 
• Steering Responsive Headlights (SRH)
• Dusk-sensing self-levelling LED headlights with auto off
• Door mirrors – heated & power-folding
• Front cornering lamps
• Front and rear LED foglights
• Roof rails – ladder style
• Rear spoiler

Interior

• Cloth seat trim
• Heated front seats  
• Dual-zone climate control  
• Leather steering wheel (with silver stitching)
• Auto-dimming rear view mirror
• 11.6-inch central infotainment touchscreen
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity
• Wireless Qi charger
• 6-speaker audio
• 4.2-inch LCD driver cluster display 
• Sports regeneration paddles

It’s not straightforward from a budget perspective if you want more features in your Forester. The next model up, the Hybrid Sport, costs from $54,990, before on-road costs.

For the extra $8500, key additional features include:

• 19-inch bronze alloy wheels
• Low-profile roof rails
• Auto tailgate with ‘kick sensor’
• Electric sunroof
• Harman Kardon audio with 10 speakers
• 12.3-inch digital driver cluster
• Electric front seats plus driver’s 2-position memory and lumbar adjustment
• Synthetic leather upholstery (grey/black; water repellent)
• Integrated navigation
• Bronze instrument panel garnishing
• Brown stitching for steering wheel

You may have noticed from our pictures that our Forester has something extra fitted.

Subaru added the Roof Cross Bars – Aero Extended ($644.60 RRP fitted) and dual Thule ProRide silver bike holders ($447.65 each) accessories so we could test the long-termer like a typical Aussie family.

We could have instead opted for ski holders as we’ve already started our Forester adventures with a trip to the snow! More on that in our second report.