MISSOULA, MT. — When the 2025 Subaru Forester was introduced last year, it was introduced as an all-new model. But it really isn’t. The underlying platform has been carried over and the dimensions are almost identical to those of the compact crossover it replaces – almost to the inch. In fact, the changes are so subtle that Subaru can easily sell the 2024 Forester Wilderness model right alongside the 2025 model, at least for the rest of this calendar year.
Despite their subtlety, however, there were enough fundamental changes to call the new Forester a redesign, according to Subaru. And why not? The same was true for the recent WRX redesign; Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference.
What are these little things? You can read our preview article here, but the gist is this: the chassis is now composed of stronger steel and more structural adhesive, making it stiffer; There’s a new steering rack that makes driving more responsive and comfortable, and refreshed styling inside and out, as well as some small changes to the available features and packages.
If Subaru’s improvements are to come to fruition, they would be evident in at least one – and ideally all – of three categories: chassis stability, refinement (particularly NVH), and quality of cabin materials. Luckily for us, all three can be easily evaluated, especially since the first two go hand in hand in some ways.
Our driving route included dirt roads and two-lane highways offset by a fair bit of fire roads and parkways. If it’s something you can drive on in rural (redundant?) Montana, we’ll put tires on it at one point or another.
On firm ground, the new Forester feels stable and composed. Both road and wind noise are muted, and the absence of the former was particularly noticeable on the typically broken pavement of the roads we spent most of our time traveling. We give equal credit to both Subaru’s NVH updates and tire choices. both paid dividends. However, if you live in a place where it snows regularly, consider swapping out the OEM Subaru rubber for something that grips the ice a little better.
We learned this firsthand as we drove the Forester down a snow-covered mountainside. The AWD system helped keep things manageable, but we relied more on the deep ruts in the ice than the tire tread to keep us going in the direction we wanted. Conveniently, however, this weakness revealed one of the best improvements the Forester has received for this generation: new steering hardware.
Subaru put a lot of emphasis on the fact that it was mounted over the WRX’s dual-pinion steering rack, and it’s understandable why. The new setup protects the driver from kickback during sharp impacts without significantly affecting steering feel, eliminating the unpleasant shimmy and wobble previously caused by potholes and speed bumps or by ruts and washboards on those winter gravel roads.
This is also helpful considering how quick the new steering is, particularly on the Forester Sport model. Quick steering and sharp impacts will cause the steering wheel to be ripped from your wrists. Subaru’s updates eliminate this penalty to great effect. High fives everywhere. The sport even manages to feel genuinely ready for something that can never be ridden in anger.
And that’s a good thing, because if you crave speed, the Forester isn’t for you. The engine is virtually the same as in 2024, although with adjustments in power delivery. The naturally aspirated 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder will deliver 180 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque in 2025; Strictly speaking, these are actually downgrades, but we’re talking single-digit amounts here. The continuously variable transmission also returns with paddle shifters, available on virtually everything but the base model Forester.
Peak torque is now at 3,700 rpm instead of 5,400 rpm, improving drivability but adding nothing to ultimate performance. The acceleration is therefore consistent and completely sufficient, but the praise ends there. For more momentum, we’ll have to wait a year for Subaru’s new hybrid; A hypothetical return of the turbo remains a non-starter. The demand simply isn’t there.
If we have one major criticism of the redesign, it’s that the addition of Subaru’s five-year-old portrait-oriented touchscreen isn’t much of an upgrade considering the system is mediocre at best. The screen resolution is decent and there’s a lot of tech behind it, but response times are mediocre and the permanently docked options at the bottom make for a crowded home screen. To Subaru’s credit, most of the regularly used features are included in this mess, but some simple actions require additional steps. For example, to activate the air conditioning recirculation function, you need to navigate to the “Climate Control” page. When I smell skunk, I want to push a button and make it go away, not look for options while the ammonia burns my nostrils.
Taking a step back, there are two salient points that the 2025 Forester team needs to address: the Hybrid and the Wilderness model. The former is due to arrive next spring, while the latter is still up in the air (at the LA Auto Show we heard hints that a reveal was possible next fall). The 2024 Wilderness will have to do for now, but after playing around with the 2025’s new steering rack, we can confidently say the upgrade is worth the wait unless you have to buy a gnarly Forester Right Damned.
As for the rest of the 2025 Forester? Well, for all intents and purposes, you can expect more from it. Cargo space is nominally larger, although we expect it to remain functionally the same (it was already a high-flyer, so that’s okay). It is not significantly faster or slower, heavier or lighter, smaller or larger. And why should it be like that? It sells reliably just as it is, and Subaru largely enjoys class-leading or highly competitive metrics (with the glaring exception of performance).
The 2025 Subaru Forester is a gradual evolution of a solid competition car. If you already own a current Forester, rest assured you’re not missing out on much, but those in the market for a new model can rest assured that FOMO won’t play a role in the decision. With the exception of the Wilderness, there’s nothing that makes the 2024 model better than the ’25 model, and Subaru has that covered.