All-New 2025 Subaru Forester review // Can you get behind the design?

You guys are getting better and better with the videos. Well done!!

my 2010 Forester died on the FDR bridge at 210,000 miles. The timing belt gave out( I blame my mechanic he had changed it at mile 160) I love my 2023. I love this 2025. Maybe in 2037, my 2023 will give out, and I'll be in the market for a new one. Great video guys!

Love the “more cowbell!” Reference… one of my favourite SNL skits of all time

I purchased my first Subaru ('21 Forester Sport) in October of '21. I really wanted a Rav4 but due to the car shortage I wasn't able to get a new one. With almost three years of ownership I have been pleased with the Forester. It's true that additional power would be nice but it does have "adequate" power. It is VERY practical. I live in N. IL and we receive a fair amount of snow in the winter. Subaru's AWD system is the best AWD system I've ever used. I have almost 60,000 miles on my Forester and other than routine maintenance I have not had any other issues. I have two dogs and do enjoy hiking and camping so the Forester is great for all my outdoor activities. Child car seats are easy to install with the large doors and the cloth seats clean up very easily with any spills or mud from the dogs. Safety is truly job 1 with Subaru to the point I turn some of the safety features off. Will I buy another Forester? IDK, I'll have to evaluate that when the time comes but I certainly would never discourage anyone from purchasing one.

Thanks for the video! We had our minds made up on the 2025 Forester, then we test drove an Outback XT... and the rest is history!😮

I feel like the only person that hates giant infotainment screens like this. When that screen inevitably freezes or stops working, now I lose access to everything.

My first Forester was the XT, then I bought the 2019 (no turbo anymore). I got used t0 the 2.5 atmospheric pretty quickly. Of course if you jump from one to the other you DO see the difference. But for daily driving, that 2.5 atmospheric does the job (and save you quite some gas money). Our second car is Tesla (hello acceleration!!) and I dont cry when I go back to my trusty Forester. I actually love my Forester! Fully agree with your comment “just drive it and you’ll be happy”. PS: The Forester is so much better with AT tires if you do any “not asphalt” roads or towing a bit. Love the Falken AT Trails. Smooth, grips and stiffer/tougher (thicker sidewalls).

just made my last payment on my 2019! tempting to get the 2025, but I'll wait. I will get another Forester though. love the video!

One of my favourite Subaru features is when you flick the cruise control it moves by 5kph. Such a little thing but a real joy for driving in rural southern Ontario - highway then town then highway then town etc.

Im liking the restrained use of cladding on this one.

Front end reminds me of some Honda and Ford SUVs. Could use more HP?

We bought a used 2018 Subaru Forester with the non-Turbo engine and eyesight primarily for my mom to use to get to and from work. Its a great runabout suv for in-town errands, but taking it on a roadtrip to Florida after our minivan was out of commission revealed a few inherent flaws that im glad to see the newer models have mostly fixed. The eyesight was really nice over a long roadtrip and actually has me turned off of regular cruise control on my 15 year old CR-V haha. I also really like its tight turning circle and to me despite its 2.5L 4-cyl and CVT, off the line it feels pretty spritley and faster than its quoted 9 second 0-100km/h time. What I dreaded in that Forester was the backseats and it's the one reason I wouldn't recommend the car to anybody travelling regularly with more than two people. It seems Subaru cheaped out on insulating the doors because driving on the highways in December my feet were freezing while sitting in the back. And in the 2018 model year at least it surprisingly didn't have vents for the second row so there was no way to heat up the passenger space in the back. Additionally after awhile of driving the windows would also start to fog up, even with the climate controls up front active and using defrost mode. It seemed like Subaru didn't spend a lot of time testing the Forester for winter usage. Additionally the seats also don't recline back as they're anchored in place to the sides of the car. I guess this is common in a lot of suvs these days (fwiw my 15 year old CR-V has independently reclining seats in the back) but it really made it difficult to nap in the back while on a roadtrip. Some other nitpicky issues I found was a slow to respond power liftgate, memory seats that only remembered the seat adjustment and not the mirror placement. And the front seats I found to be a bit narrow and short in terms of thigh support. TL;DR 2018 Subaru Forester was a fine suv for a single rider or couples but fell short in terms of comfort on longer journeys although it seems most of those issues have been resolved with the new models.

Thanks for the great reviews.. We were looking for a forester hybrid.. but once it was announced for 2026 we went rav4.. love that you cover Canadian models and the differences..

I had a Turbo 2004 Forester, gave to a daughter, was great and lasted 12 years no issues....I think the 2025 looks great and would pop for one today...if they brought the turbo to the US for the Forester (I don't like the Outback wagonee look.... but does offer the turbo). I too read they might be using the "Toyota hybrid system" in the Forester I guess in 2026...so I think I will wait!

Excellent review. Thank you.

Why does it look 20 years old already?

Bought a new 2023 Forester and love the suv. Recently, I rented a competitors model to go to the Indy 500. After the trip I was delighted that I bought the Forester over the competition.

"Sufficient...... sufficient power." 😂. Remember when there was a Subaru Forester XT with a 250HP/258TQ turbo?

To think you guys were 5 minutes away from my home, up in Bear Mountain, and I could’ve seen you drive around and yelled “Mazdah/Mezda” in the background😂 You guys do such a great job, these videos are not only informative, but also entertaining!

Another amazing review, thank you so much. I fell out of love in the first 2 minutes when it was floored and the transmission was just howling. I just don’t get who could enjoy that feeling and sound.