Next-gen Subaru Forester Hybrid to feature Toyota HEV tech
Japanese brand’s iconic boxer engine will be paired with Toyota-sourced hybrid componentrySubaru’s partnership with Toyota has been a fruitful one so far, yielding two generations of beloved BRZ/86 sports cars as well as each brand’s inaugural battery-electric vehicles (Solterra and bZ4X), but now that collaboration has extended to the sharing of hybrid technology.
According to Subaru of America COO Jeff Walters, the next-generation 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid will pair a flat four-cylinder (boxer) petrol engine with a “Toyota-sourced battery and electric components” when it’s launched in the US about a year after the internal combustion version.
Walters made the revelation in a recent interview with Automotive News but wouldn’t be drawn into any specifics.
“We haven’t announced anything on the specs or performance yet; that will be coming down the road,” he said.
There’s little doubt, however, that the first full-hybrid Forester will be far more effective and efficient than Subaru’s first attempt, which ultimately amounted to little more than a mild-hybrid set-up with only marginal fuel savings – a claimed 6.7L/100km versus 7.4L/100km for its pure-petrol equivalent.
The electrified set-up is also significantly down on power and torque compared to the current Forester’s standard 2.5-litre petrol variants, largely owing to the fact it’s based around a 2.0-litre boxer engine and the electric motor is only good for 12kW/66Nm.
In Toyota-land, the hybrids are comfortably the most powerful variants in the RAV4 and Corolla Cross ranges, as well as the most frugal and most capable, which ultimately bodes well for the new Forester Hybrid.
Subaru has been promising better hybrid systems for the best part of 12 months now, primarily for the XV-turned-Crosstrek, but has also been longing for a more efficient Forester.
“We would absolutely love an advancement in Forester with hybrid,” Subaru Australia managing director Blair Read told carsales in December.
“There’s a really strong place for that.”
Read also said Subaru Australia would be open to plug-in hybrid vehicles if and when they become available – presumably also via Toyota.
Related: LA MOTOR SHOW: 2024 Subaru Forester revealed
Related: Better Subaru hybrid powertrains coming
Related: Subaru Forester – What you need to know
Related: Subaru Forester Hybrid 2020 Review
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