2020 Subaru Forester Hybrid

By Alex Forrest

When Subaru introduced two new hybrid vehicles at the same time earlier this year, it let consumers know it was keen to catch up on lost time.

Until then, Subaru didn’t have any electric drive vehicles on offer, and with Toyota, Kia, Hyundai and Mitsubishi all offering hybrid or fully electric SUVs in various forms, it was high time Subaru turned up to this ball game.

What we have here then, is the Forester mid-sized SUV and the XV small SUV, both with the same hybrid drivetrain that utilises Subaru’s familiar 2.0-litre horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine combined with a new electric motor and battery.

In both vehicles, the battery is located under the boot floor. This has displaced the spare wheel and there’s a puncture repair there instead, which is not ideal from a convenience and safety standpoint.

On the bright side though, both the Forester an the XV retain their all wheel drive capability, which can’t be said of all electrified SUVs.

The Forester Hybrid L, which in terms of equipment level sits in the middle of the Forester range, costs $44,780 drive away. That will still get you the advanced safety gear that the entry level Forester doesn’t have, such as Subaru’s clever driver monitoring system and AEB that works in reverse and headlights that move with the steering.

Step up to the top-of-the-range Forester Hybrid S and you’ll get leather inserts on the seats, a sunroof and a powerful Harmon Kardon sound system, plus sat-nav and a powered tailgate.

The Forester Hybrid has a laboratory fuel consumption test result of 6.7L/100km, but over the week we tested it, the Forester averaged 8.8L/100km. One factor at play here is the relatively low output of the hybrid powertrain and the weight of the vehicle it has to propel.

For the same outlay as an entry level Forester Hybrid, you could get a non-hybrid Forester Premium with more equipment while using only slightly more fuel and while getting better performance and keeping the spare tyre.

The eight-year warranty on the hybrid’s battery provides excellent peace of mind though, as does the five-year warranty on the rest of the vehicle.

2020 Subaru Forester Hybrid Specifications