The 2025 Subaru Forester gets a new hybrid powertrain

Remember the sixth-generation Subaru Forester, which was revealed in 2023? One of the biggest moot points of that update was the retention of the naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder boxer engine and the Lineartronic Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT).

But with this update being centered around the US market, it didn’t receive any form of electrification, including the e-BOXER hybrid drivetrain that the previous-generation model enjoyed in other markets, at least, until now.

What makes this hybrid drivetrain different (as Subaru USA dubs it a “next-generation hybrid powertrain) is that it utilizes a brand-new 2.5-liter Atkinson and Miller-cycle flat-four, mated to a high-capacity lithium-ion battery and an electric motor generator and electric traction motor, meaning it’s a series-parallel hybrid.

Subaru is still mum on exact figures, but it can reveal that it has a total power output of 194 horsepower, and up to 935km of range on a single tank of gas. It also says that it is up to 40% more efficient than the non-hybrid model with at least a combined fuel economy rating of 12.3km/L.

Of course, being a Subaru, it comes with the Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system, X-Mode, the EyeSight suite of safety systems, and 220mm of ground clearance, meaning it can go off the beaten path when you want it to and have the same confidence on the road.

Otherwise, it’s all visually similar to the update, sans the mandatory Hybrid badging, and the exclusive Daybreak Blue Pearl color. The question is, will Motor Image Pilipinas (the distributor of Subaru in our market) bring in the new Forester, and with what powertrain?

^{Photos from Subaru}