**2025 Subaru Forester: A Practical and Feature-Rich SUV**

The 2025 Subaru Forester is a well-rounded SUV that has always been known for its practicality, functionality, and reliability. This latest iteration of the Forester builds upon its strengths and introduces some new features to make it an even more desirable option in the small SUV market.

One of the standout features of the Forester is its interior design. The dashboard layout is straightforward and easy to navigate, with a traditional gear selector that many drivers will appreciate. The inclusion of a volume and tune knob adds to the sense of familiarity and control. The 11.6-inch portrait-oriented infotainment screen is also a notable feature, although some users may find that certain functions are buried down in this area.

The Forester's interior is well-organized and easy to use, with most features accessible through simple and intuitive controls. However, some users did experience a mild but consistent delay when interacting with certain commands. Despite this, the overall sense of usability is high, making it an excellent choice for those who value ease of use.

In terms of technology, the Forester offers several notable features, including wireless phone charging, Wireless Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay compatibility. These features make it easy to stay connected on the go, without needing to manually plug in your device. Additionally, the Forester's cabin storage is limited, but still provides the essentials.

One area where the Forester excels is in its cargo capacity. The large, wide-opening cargo door and flat floor make it easy to load and unload items. The split rear seats also allow for greater flexibility when loading longer items. Subaru has also added some thoughtful touches, such as extra hooks to hang items and a cargo tray, which are nice features that add to the overall practicality of the Forester.

In terms of driving position, the Forester works very well for most drivers. The seat provides excellent cushioning and support, although taller and longer-legged drivers may find that the seat is too short for them. However, this can be mitigated by adjusting the seat height or using the available lumbar adjustment.

The Forester's Airy outward view from the driver's seat is also a significant strength. The low dashboard, tall windshield, narrow front pillars, and elevated driving position all contribute to an exceptional sense of visibility. This makes it easy to spot pedestrians, other vehicles, and obstacles while driving, which is especially important in heavy traffic or mountainous terrain.

In terms of fuel economy, the Forester is stickered at 29 mpg, although we will conduct our own tests to see where this rating falls. The all-wheel drive system remains a key feature of the Forester, and it continues to excel in mild off-road situations. Subaru's X Mode system allows drivers to customize the distribution of the all-wheel drive, traction control, and throttle response for different driving conditions.

Finally, the Forester is equipped with Subaru's renowned Eyesight Suite of safety features, which are standard on all models. These features include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane centering assist, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning (optional), and rear cross traffic warning (optional). The Forester also comes equipped with a rear occupant alert system, designed to protect pets or children from suffering from heat stroke if left behind in the vehicle. While our premium trim model does not include Subaru's Driver Focus system, we expect this feature to trickle down to lower trims over time.

Overall, the 2025 Subaru Forester is a practical and feature-rich SUV that builds upon its strengths while introducing some new features to make it an even more desirable option. Whether you're looking for a reliable daily driver or an adventure-ready companion, the Forester is sure to impress.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI'm Jennifer stockberger and this is the review of the 2025 Subaru Forester this 2025 marks the sixth resign iteration for the Forester and along with the Outback the Forester is Subaru's best-selling models in the United States so we expect they don't want to alter it too too much to remain loyal to that customer the Forester is a vehicle that works well for so many it's a great car for a young driver it's a great car for a young family it's a great car for my 87-year-old mother she is currently driving her eighth Subaru Forester pricing for the 2025 Forester starts at $ 29,6 N5 for the base trim and then walks up to $39,995 for the top trim touring we just took delivery of a premium version for our testing with $1,200 option package that included blind spot warning rear cross traffic warning and a power lift gate plus other minor options including all weather floor mats and a cargo tray with a $1,395 destination charge our total purchase price came to $3,518 body changes aren't Earth chattering but you may notice chunkier or fender flares a bear Grill and Slick headlights if you expecting big Power gains think again again Subaru's 2.5 L flat 4 also known as horizontally opposed or a boxer engine due to its unique cylinder layout is not a change nor is the fact that it's coupled with a CVT Transmission in fact the engine actually lost two horsepower along the way down to 180 what it does benefit from is more low-end torque which is important in everyday drivability the torque peak of 178 lb feet now arrives at 3,700 RPM versus 5,400 RPM and while some cbts tend to allow the engines to rev very high during even moderate acceleration the Forester does a good job of keeping revs at least somewhat low and if you're looking for a more fuel efficient powertrain the new Forester will be joined later by a hybrid version for the first time small SUVs as a segment are some of the easiest vehicles to get in and out of and the Forester is no exception when you take the near ideal seat height that you just kind of slide into and sit down upon and combine it with the tall Square doors and the low sill and even the conventional door handles getting in and out of the Forester is a breeze in terms of fit and finish the Forester is good for the price everything is well assembled and there are some nice touches like stitching on the wheel on the dash on the doors but the surfaces tend to be more grippy than padded we rented a top trim touring version of the Forester and by comparison to our premium trim there wasn't much difference that's a great thing for the premium trim buyer but this is not an area that may differentiate itself in a top trim one other cool thing is there's some meat Easter eggs in that there are small images of birds and mountains in some of the windows in terms of the control layout in the Forester like other things it isn't flashy but it's pretty user friendly we really like the traditional gear selector and the inclusion of a volume and tune knob most Foresters will get this 11.6 portrait oriented uh infotainment screen and sometimes with portrait orientations like we've seen in other vehicles it puts some of the functionality like the climate in this case down low in terms of the infotainment screen we found that most aspects are simple well organized and easy to use we did find that some commands met with kind of a mild but consistent delay the Forester also has wireless phone charging as well as Wireless Android auto and apple carplay compatibility cabin storage is not a strong point for the Forester while it has the basics you're not getting anything extra and testers noted that the front door Pockets were pretty narrow and the same goes for the back and like the front though the forester's rear seat doesn't have a lot of storage what it does have have is again super easy access and a ton of room there is tons of knee room great head room even Good Foot room underneath the front seat and rear seat passengers will appreciate that those rear seats recline a little bit though the loop to do it is a little hard to find cuz it's right underneath your butt the other nice thing is that child seat features like the lower latch anchors are visible really easy to find and use and a flat seat like this often means easier child seat installation cargo access and area have always been a Forester strong point and the Big Wide Square opening the flush load floor and the mostly Square cargo continue to make this a benefit of the Forester the split rear seats allow you to load longer items and Subaru has added some nice features with some extra hooks to hang things and though optional the cargo tray is a nice feature in terms of driving position the Forester works very well for me and was the same for other drivers plenty of adjustability nice view out good cushion and Zep back Contour taller longer-legged drivers weren't quite as happy some of them got in and immediately wanted to push the seat lower and it only went to a certain limit and their long legs found that the seat cushion was a little too short for supporting them everybody seemed genuinely happy with the generous seatback bolsters which held Us in place look at that little donkey isn't he the cutest thing there's a couple oh my gosh they're so cute the Airy outward view from the Forester has always been a strength and this one is even better forward visibility from the low Dash tall windshield narrow front pillers and the elevated driving position make forward visibility truly excellent and the side windows are also big and square even the third row side window gives that view out as opposed to many more sloping L styled SUVs where that 3/4 blind spot is so large it really sets the Forester apart terms of fuel economy our forest are stickered at 29 m per gallon that's one more than our tested old version but of course we'll do our fuel economy tests and see where it falls all-wheel drive REM Remains the only way that you can get a Forester and it's always had some chops in mild off-road situations like the one we're on now and it retains that distinction the X mode system lets you customize the distribution of the all-wheel drive along with the traction control and throttle response for different situations Subaru's well-known eyesight Suite of safety features is standard on all Foresters which includes automatic emergency Brak breaking with pedestrian and cyclist detection automatic emergency braking that operates at highway speeds Lane centering assist Lane departure warning Lan keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control what the eyesight system notably doesn't include are blind spot warning and rear cross traffic warning both of those are optional a rear occupant alert system is also standard it's designed to help protect pets or children from suffering from heat stroke if they're unintentionally left behind in the vehicle it's based on the rear door logic and rear door use and it reminds the driver to check the rear seats when the vehicle is turned off the top touring trim comes with a driver monitoring camera called driver focus it watches the driver's face and warns them if they're looking away from the road for too long and is designed to work with their active driving assist system Although our premium trim model doesn't have it we do expect the driver Focus system to trickle down to lower trims over time and we will certainly be putting it to the test as part of Subaru's active driving assistance system so that's the 2025 Subaru Forester it iterates on what it's always done best but makes it a nicer Driving Experience it remains a sturdy practical functional small SUV for more on SUVs go to consumerreports.orgI'm Jennifer stockberger and this is the review of the 2025 Subaru Forester this 2025 marks the sixth resign iteration for the Forester and along with the Outback the Forester is Subaru's best-selling models in the United States so we expect they don't want to alter it too too much to remain loyal to that customer the Forester is a vehicle that works well for so many it's a great car for a young driver it's a great car for a young family it's a great car for my 87-year-old mother she is currently driving her eighth Subaru Forester pricing for the 2025 Forester starts at $ 29,6 N5 for the base trim and then walks up to $39,995 for the top trim touring we just took delivery of a premium version for our testing with $1,200 option package that included blind spot warning rear cross traffic warning and a power lift gate plus other minor options including all weather floor mats and a cargo tray with a $1,395 destination charge our total purchase price came to $3,518 body changes aren't Earth chattering but you may notice chunkier or fender flares a bear Grill and Slick headlights if you expecting big Power gains think again again Subaru's 2.5 L flat 4 also known as horizontally opposed or a boxer engine due to its unique cylinder layout is not a change nor is the fact that it's coupled with a CVT Transmission in fact the engine actually lost two horsepower along the way down to 180 what it does benefit from is more low-end torque which is important in everyday drivability the torque peak of 178 lb feet now arrives at 3,700 RPM versus 5,400 RPM and while some cbts tend to allow the engines to rev very high during even moderate acceleration the Forester does a good job of keeping revs at least somewhat low and if you're looking for a more fuel efficient powertrain the new Forester will be joined later by a hybrid version for the first time small SUVs as a segment are some of the easiest vehicles to get in and out of and the Forester is no exception when you take the near ideal seat height that you just kind of slide into and sit down upon and combine it with the tall Square doors and the low sill and even the conventional door handles getting in and out of the Forester is a breeze in terms of fit and finish the Forester is good for the price everything is well assembled and there are some nice touches like stitching on the wheel on the dash on the doors but the surfaces tend to be more grippy than padded we rented a top trim touring version of the Forester and by comparison to our premium trim there wasn't much difference that's a great thing for the premium trim buyer but this is not an area that may differentiate itself in a top trim one other cool thing is there's some meat Easter eggs in that there are small images of birds and mountains in some of the windows in terms of the control layout in the Forester like other things it isn't flashy but it's pretty user friendly we really like the traditional gear selector and the inclusion of a volume and tune knob most Foresters will get this 11.6 portrait oriented uh infotainment screen and sometimes with portrait orientations like we've seen in other vehicles it puts some of the functionality like the climate in this case down low in terms of the infotainment screen we found that most aspects are simple well organized and easy to use we did find that some commands met with kind of a mild but consistent delay the Forester also has wireless phone charging as well as Wireless Android auto and apple carplay compatibility cabin storage is not a strong point for the Forester while it has the basics you're not getting anything extra and testers noted that the front door Pockets were pretty narrow and the same goes for the back and like the front though the forester's rear seat doesn't have a lot of storage what it does have have is again super easy access and a ton of room there is tons of knee room great head room even Good Foot room underneath the front seat and rear seat passengers will appreciate that those rear seats recline a little bit though the loop to do it is a little hard to find cuz it's right underneath your butt the other nice thing is that child seat features like the lower latch anchors are visible really easy to find and use and a flat seat like this often means easier child seat installation cargo access and area have always been a Forester strong point and the Big Wide Square opening the flush load floor and the mostly Square cargo continue to make this a benefit of the Forester the split rear seats allow you to load longer items and Subaru has added some nice features with some extra hooks to hang things and though optional the cargo tray is a nice feature in terms of driving position the Forester works very well for me and was the same for other drivers plenty of adjustability nice view out good cushion and Zep back Contour taller longer-legged drivers weren't quite as happy some of them got in and immediately wanted to push the seat lower and it only went to a certain limit and their long legs found that the seat cushion was a little too short for supporting them everybody seemed genuinely happy with the generous seatback bolsters which held Us in place look at that little donkey isn't he the cutest thing there's a couple oh my gosh they're so cute the Airy outward view from the Forester has always been a strength and this one is even better forward visibility from the low Dash tall windshield narrow front pillers and the elevated driving position make forward visibility truly excellent and the side windows are also big and square even the third row side window gives that view out as opposed to many more sloping L styled SUVs where that 3/4 blind spot is so large it really sets the Forester apart terms of fuel economy our forest are stickered at 29 m per gallon that's one more than our tested old version but of course we'll do our fuel economy tests and see where it falls all-wheel drive REM Remains the only way that you can get a Forester and it's always had some chops in mild off-road situations like the one we're on now and it retains that distinction the X mode system lets you customize the distribution of the all-wheel drive along with the traction control and throttle response for different situations Subaru's well-known eyesight Suite of safety features is standard on all Foresters which includes automatic emergency Brak breaking with pedestrian and cyclist detection automatic emergency braking that operates at highway speeds Lane centering assist Lane departure warning Lan keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control what the eyesight system notably doesn't include are blind spot warning and rear cross traffic warning both of those are optional a rear occupant alert system is also standard it's designed to help protect pets or children from suffering from heat stroke if they're unintentionally left behind in the vehicle it's based on the rear door logic and rear door use and it reminds the driver to check the rear seats when the vehicle is turned off the top touring trim comes with a driver monitoring camera called driver focus it watches the driver's face and warns them if they're looking away from the road for too long and is designed to work with their active driving assist system Although our premium trim model doesn't have it we do expect the driver Focus system to trickle down to lower trims over time and we will certainly be putting it to the test as part of Subaru's active driving assistance system so that's the 2025 Subaru Forester it iterates on what it's always done best but makes it a nicer Driving Experience it remains a sturdy practical functional small SUV for more on SUVs go to consumerreports.org\n"