Hybrid Bench Test: 2026 Toyota RAV4 v Hyundai Tucson v Subaru Forester

Hybrids are all the rage at the moment, as are medium SUVs, so it’s little wonder more and more brands are targeting the hybrid medium SUV market and its dominant player, the Toyota RAV4.

There’s been a steadily growing list of worthy challengers for the RAV, and while some have even beaten the established champ in head-to-head comparisons, none have come anywhere near close to challenging it on the sales charts.

Hyundai Australia declared war on the RAV4 last year with its diverse Tucson lineup – spanning petrol, turbo-petrol, and turbo-petrol-electric variants – while Subaru is a sneeze away from launching its sixth-generation Forester range, with roughly half of all sales expected to be hybrids.

One key detail here is that Subaru actually leveraged its new hybrid tech from its synergy with Toyota. However, as you’ll read below, the Forester and RAV4 have very different approaches and philosophies to deploying that hardware.

So, with an all-new RAV4 due here within 12 months, the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid gaining sales momentum and the latest Subaru Forester Hybrid just around the corner, here’s how the three heavyweights compare on paper.

As per its predecessor, the 2026 Toyota RAV4 will feature a petrol-electric hybrid system based around a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and either one or two electric motors depending on the drive configuration. Transmission duties are handled by a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

But whereas the current model produces between 160kW and 163kW (variant dependant), the next-gen offering will be capped at a combined 143kW irrespective of its motor count – something Toyota Australia is yet to explain, along with detailing an official battery capacity.

For reference, the outbound RAV4 Hybrid features a 1.5-kilowatt-hour nickel-metal hydride battery pack.

The 2025 Hyundai Tucson takes a very different route with a turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine under the bonnet teamed with an electric motor and a six-speed torque converter automatic transmission.

Petrol and electric power combine for a total system output of 172kW and 367Nm, with the singular e-motor sustained by a 1.49kWh lithium-ion battery.

The 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid meantime sports a 2.5-litre flat four-cylinder engine, one e-motor, a 1.1kWh battery and a CVT, the first two combining for a maximum output of 146kW.

Beyond the boxer engine then, it might sound like the Forester is a rip-off or clone of the RAV4, but the truth is the two vary massively when it comes to their drivelines.

The 2026 Toyota RAV4 has already been confirmed in both front- and all-wheel-drive forms for Australia, the latter coming courtesy of an e-motor mounted directly to the rear axle and providing what Toyota calls ‘eAWD’.

The 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid is also offered in both front- and all-wheel-drive guises, but it uses a traditional on-demand all-paw system involving clutch packs and drive shafts – there is a mechanical link between the internal combustion engine and the rear axle, unlike the RAV4.

The 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid then goes a step further with full-time, mechanical, symmetrical all-wheel drive as the only option; if you want two-wheel drive, look elsewhere.

Subaru Australia management recently declared that while a more frugal and cut-price two-wheel-drive Forester Hybrid was possible, it wouldn’t align with the brand’s core values and identity, let alone with the Forester’s heritage.

So, comparing the three, the RAV’s system is theoretically the most efficient, the Tucson’s the most versatile and the Forester’s the most capable off-road and secure in tricky conditions.

We can’t talk about hybrids without addressing the elephant in the room: fuel consumption.

As mentioned above, there are quite a few details of the 2026 Toyota RAV4 that still need to be confirmed and one of the biggest is its fuel consumption.

Toyota is promising numerous enhancements across the board in this respect and so it’d be a safe bet to assume the next-gen RAV4 will improve on the current model’s official 4.7L/100km claimed figure (4.8L/100km for AWDs).

The 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid by contrast does have concrete figures: 5.3L/100km across the board on the combined cycle irrespective of the drive type, which is a fair bit more than the current RAV4 but not as high as the Forester.

Said 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid has a claimed combined fuel consumption of 6.2L/100km, primarily due to its full-time all-wheel drive and smaller battery capacity.

Note, all these figures are ADR-certified.

This is perhaps the biggest question after the fuel consumption – how much do our hybrid trio cost?

Well the short answer regarding the 2026 Toyota RAV4 is we don’t know yet, but it’s likely to be at least several thousand dollars more than the current version which opens from $42,260 plus on-road costs (ORCs).

The 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid meantime can be had from $45,100 plus ORCs while the box-fresh 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid starts at $46,490 plus ORCs, so they’re all pretty line ball on the dollar front.

When the competition is as diverse and varied as this, which one offers the best value will largely depend on your priorities and what you want from your new hybrid medium SUV.

With next year’s line-up still TBC, there are presently nine 2025 Toyota RAV4s available to choose from across the GX, GXL, XSE and Cruiser trim levels.

Having arrived here last year in full force, the 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid comes in eight flavours across the Tucson, Tucson Elite and Tucson Premium grades, each with a corresponding N-Line version that adds a swish body kit, bigger wheels and a sportier interior.

Finally, there are just three 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid variants to choose from at launch: Hybrid AWD, Hybrid Sport AWD and Hybrid Touring AWD.

The tricky thing about looking for a new car is the way vehicles can outperform or defy their on-paper specs and statistics – that’s where us motoring journalists come in.

We can’t give a definitive verdict on the winner out of this trio without having driven them concurrently or in close succession.

The 2026 Toyota RAV4 will no doubt move the hybrid game on and prove the biggest seller, but here in the present, the 2025 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid has bested the outbound RAV4 in an in-depth comparison and we’re yet to really test the Forester – but its worst-of-the-three fuel economy isn’t a great start.

The flipside? It’s basically guaranteed to be the best off-road.

So, for now at least, the Hyundai has topped qualifying and occupies pole position as a proven class-leader, but the new RAV4 and Forester are right in there and ready to swoop with better fuel economy for the former and more off-road capability for the latter.

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