[DragonSubie7]

I would agree with that. Most normal folks - maybe not the ones who inhabit this forum - use Subaru AWD to keep the rubber side down, the roof up, and the front going forward. Which it does spectacularly well.
This would be especially true in a Hybrid.

Especially in a car that fails miserably compared to the prior year champ, I doubt they would be able to. With the performance noted, I'd question whether the car would even make it up a hill in the snow to go skiing..

 

[DragonSubie7]

Very few owners of hybrid Foresters are likely to do any off-roading at all.

Especially any owners who saw the video and wisely decided to stay home rather than getting stuck, due to an absolutely shocking lack of capability.

 

[indelible]

What the hell is this? It's practically useless

 

[BruceP]

Without IDENTICAL tires.... a "hillclimb" test does not tell us very much.

HOWEVER: I was surprised about the "single wheel" test results with the rollers.
I have never seen a Subie fail this task.

 

[NikT]

Re CarExpert Review
I don't think it was a clean experiment/comparison as so many different types of cars were compared... some were EVs, some hybrid and some ICE... he was comparing apples, oranges, pears... whatever he could get his hands on... he should have Forester ICE only for that comparison as well... otherwise... meh

 

[v23]

Re CarExpert Review
The Hybrid is the most expensive model of the Forester line-up and it would be reasonable to expect it to perform the best. It didn’t do well at all in that test. Having recently driven the latest model Forester thinking I will upgrade from my 2016 car, I walked away disappointed. Fancy electronics are no substitute for solid engineering or ergonomic design.

 

[Spartan1980]

Would you please explain what you mean by this? Using the brakes to transfer/balance torque isn’t a technique with which I’m familiar. Thanks!

In an open differential when one wheel spins it gets all the power, it's just the way an open diff works. Braking the spinning wheel pushes the power to the wheel that is not spinning. Subaru non-hybrids have historically been really good at this in the past. This along with their ability to split torque from to rear and vary that along with the low center of gravity of the boxer engine with less torque steering has allowed subaru to be the king at AWD for a really long time.

 

[OuchDamn]

I know foresters are meant to excel while away from standard pavement.

I typically do not drive my Forester on steel rollers very often or on courses specifically designed to make SUVs struggle and fail.

I understand the video maker was attempting to compare the capabilities of different models, but to me, this does not seem very real world.

It seems, if you really needed to drive off-road regularly, especially on punishing courses and steel rollers, you would get a more appropriate vehicle for the task?

The hybrid may need some tweaking, but for the drivers who primarily keep their foresters on regular to snowy roads or weekend trail hunting and field exploring, I see no real problem.

To me, I wouldn't really want to take a hybrid mudding or seriously off-road.

Plus, you have to blame the factory tires a little. We all know they suck.

 

[Spartan1980]

I'm now glad the hybrids hadn't hit the lots yet when I bought my Sport. I was planning on buying the hybrid solely for the extra power, but I needed the car and couldn't wait another month or two to purchase. Considering the Subaru hybrid Forester still has a rear driveline and differential and the electric motor only assists, this is very disappointing. I doubt the hybrid would ever bother my use case, but it's nice to know I still can take my Sport on some light offloading if I ever need it to do that.

 

[TheKirks]

I think most folks do not get it when they see the word hybrid. Most see it as a way to better fuel efficiency but do not see the real utility of a plug-in hybrid. Having owned a Chevy Volt for several years, as well as a Prius before, I can testify to the utility of a plug-in hybrid that gets 45 miles of pure electrical driving. We went literally months without filling the gas tank. When we decided to trade the Volt, we looked at all the plug-in hybrids on the market, and found only one which had range specifications greater than the Volt. This is where Subaru is missing the mark. If they bult a $55K plug-in hybrid that got 60 miles on a charge we would have given it carful consideration. For another 15K we ended up purchasing a Mercedes GLC-350E, which is getting 60 miles of range on pure EV. It gets an acceptable 39 mpg on long trips where we run on gas only, with the only disadvantage being that it, like its Volt predecessor uses premium gas. I still have the Forrestor, and it is still my main vehicle. We just don't use it as often as we once did. Guess who drives the GLC....

 

[DragonSubie7]

To me, I wouldn't really want to take a hybrid mudding or seriously off-road.

There are many Subaru drivers who NEED AWD, like much of the population here in winter snow country.
I don't go out to find offroad driving opportunities, I live off road, and drive offroad every time I drive.

For them, like me, that calls into serious question whether the Forester Hybrid is a viable option.
It appears that it is not.

For a company that built its reputation on AWD performance, the test results should be an embarrassment.
It's not just the tires.
The total failure on the roller test isn't going to be fixed with different rubber. That's a drive train problem.
I'd like to see a hybrid test in the snow, where I imagine it could be just as disappointing.

Pretty sad when a Hyundai Tucson beats a Forester.

 

[jg.]

[This single video] calls into serious question whether the Forester Hybrid is a viable option.
It appears that it is not...

I too seek out the roller tests to see the confirmation the AWD system of each model is working as it should, but it’s quite evident the vehicle they were testing is operating differently than other YouTube reviewers (as cited by multiple people) in off road conditions. All you have to do is look at the wheels spinning instead of braking to shift torque around to see the difference between reviews.

 

[j3rf]

I'm curious if an older model SK generation Forester would do better on those particular tests. Every time he mentioned the previous generation Forester and it cut to previous testing, they were doing different tests? I didn't go through the channel to find the older video. I would also be interested to see a non-Hybrid model for comparison.

 

[OuchDamn]

Question...

Does anyone know how Subaru tests their vehicles? Obviously the new hybrid is having issues with getting around. I've seen videos from Toyota of them beating the tar out of their trucks on a Toyota owned course. I'm not exactly sure what Subaru does to test their vehicles to feel confident enough to release them for sale? How did they not catch that?

Another question..

For those that know a lot more about the mechanics of hybrids and AWD, is this a software correctable issue or is the hybrid just screwed by design?

 

[Vladder1]

I am leaning toward the video being a one off outlier. Retaining their existing AWD design was the whole point of funneling all combined power through the transmission to all wheels instead of doing what everyone else does, i.e. having an electric motor for the rear wheels and using that as on demand AWD when slipping happens. It does worse on MPG than other small SUVs, but retaining the boxer and the symmetrical AWD is worth it (in their opinion).

If they have lower MPG and a reduction in AWD performance, then it would be the worst of both worlds.

 

[Kevin]

This is a more practical test: https://www.subaruforester.org/thre...reads/off-road-testing-of-the-2025-forester-hybrid-by-driving-sports-tv.869816/

 

[j3rf]

For those that know a lot more about the mechanics of hybrids and AWD, is this a software correctable issue or is the hybrid just screwed by design?

I think we will have to wait and see if it becomes an issue outside of this specific scenario. Vast majority of people who buy Subarus don't take them off of pavement. It is AWD after all, not 4WD.

That being said, I was under the impression the Hybrid AWD system would perform at least on par with the CVT based Active Torque Split AWD system Subaru uses in most of their models. That was the whole idea of stuffing an eCVT inside a Subaru transmission housing so they could keep the symmetrical mechanical AWD system. If it's not at least as capable as the other models, why not just utilize the Toyota hybrid AWD and benefit from the better fuel mileage? Just more questions I don't have answers to, and I don't think even us techicians will if Subaru does not consider it an issue. Customers would have to start reaching out to Subaru and complain about it for them to listen.

 

[DragonSubie7]

I am leaning toward the video being a one off outlier.

That could be, but I didn't see any Subaru negative bias. They had rated the Forester at the top the prior year.
They also seemed genuinely shocked with the cars performance. A drive defect perhaps?

It may be there was a problem of some kind, but the roller test is a gold standard to assess the abilities of a drive system, and the hybrid didn't cut it. I was unable to find any other roller pad test results for the hybrid.
Perhaps someone else has seen one performed...

 

[BruceP]

... at least they did not do the "reverse over a curb" test 😊

I recall when Subaru first came out with CVT xMissions, someone discovered they WILL NOT back up over a 4" curb. There were videos all over the place showing that, indeed, if one reversed until rear wheels were up against a curb.... then try to back over it, there was not enough torque delivered to the wheels to push the car over that curb. (even with throttle on the floor)

Personally: I have been driving for about 50 years and never ever needed to do that maneuver.
Hence, for me, this was a silly test of non real-world conditions.

 

[Wangle]

I watched the video in disbelief. I have watched hundreds of these type of videos through the years, and I have never seen a Subaru fair so poorly. My daughter just bought a 2025 in February, and we contemplated waiting for the hybrid. I did a lot of studying, and agree that a keynote of the design was keeping the symmetrical all wheel drive system. It should be the same. The transmission is different, and maybe they missed something. To me there was a possible telltale. on the rear axle test where they have the two front wheels on rollers and the left rear wheel on a roller and try to climb uphill. That should have been a gimme for a Subaru symmetrical all-wheel-drive system, but it looks like the rear axle does not even engage. I think there was something wrong with their test vehicle. I hope Subaru steps in with some engineers or something, and comes up with an answer for this. Other current off-road test videos I have seen on the hybrid all look like everything is operating correctly, with the rear, axle engaging and the braking system working well, even with one wheel completely up in the air.