Subaru Forester Hybrid 2020 Review

At $39,990 before on-road costs, the 2020 Subaru Forester Hybrid L is priced just over $3000 higher than the conventional 2.5-litre Forester L on which it’s based.

Our test Subaru Forester Hybrid L arrived fitted as standard with 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, six-speaker audio, digital audio (DAB+), Bluetooth, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay smartphone integration, adaptive cruise control, leather trim for gear knob/steering wheel, trip computer, voice recognition and tyre-pressure monitoring. About all that’s lacking in the Subaru Forester Hybrid L is a conventional full-size spare wheel.

Both hybrid models are protected by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, and service intervals are 12 months or 12,500km for both. Over a five-year period, the capped-price service plan for the hybrid model is barely $50 more than the conventional Subaru Forester L.

What about the daily running costs? Fuel use for the Subaru Forester Hybrid depends on driving style and environment. Official fuel use figures for the petrol-electric Subaru indicate it won’t pay for itself within five years, even if the vehicle travels up to 20,000km a year in ‘combined-cycle’ driving.

Things might improve if the Hybrid spends more time in heavily congested traffic, if petrol prices escalate rapidly or the distance travelled each year is way above average.

But assessed against other hybrids such the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, the Subaru Forester is out of its league; over a set distance the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid finished at 5.7L/100km while for the same drive, the Subaru Forester Hybrid managed no better than 7.9L/100km.

The 2020 Subaru Forester Hybrid L achieved a five-star crash-safety rating from ANCAP in 2017 and has all the required safety features for a 21st Century family wagon.

Standard safety features include a complement of airbags (among them a knee airbag for the driver), blind-spot detection, lane-keep assist, pedestrian detection for the autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system, rear AEB, rear cross-traffic alert, Subaru Eyesight stereoscopic forward camera system, surround camera vision with a reversing camera, adaptive auto-on LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers and tyre pressure monitoring.

Subaru’s Eyesight system is great, as are the associated cameras around the cars, for tight parking spots and seeing into blind spots. The blind spot monitoring system shines easy-to-see amber lights in the edges of the side mirrors to alert the driver to a vehicle that may not be visible.

While the Forester’s autonomous emergency braking reacted promptly to avoid one particularly badly driven black Jaguar XF, the lane-keep assist system wasn’t as laudable.

Similar to most other cars using this technology, the Subaru system lost track of line markings on country roads, but at least it does warn the driver with an audible chime that it was no longer detecting them.

Nice touches such as a reminder to check for children in the rear seat make the Subaru Forester Hybrid L a very user-friendly device for parents on the go.

Subaru doesn’t provide a combined torque figure for the 2.0-litre engine and electric motor in the Subaru Forester Hybrid L, but the pair produce enough for relaxed driving around town.

But it’s those occasions when the driver demands more in a hurry (overtaking for instance), that the Forester Hybrid L feels like it lacks verve. It’s not quick.

Bundling the electric motor’s torque with that of the boxer four-cylinder engine occasionally results in slightly odd behaviour from the continuously variable transmission, something that felt like intermittent shift shock from the CVT, usually when the driver throttles up as the CVT is changing ratios.

There was no opportunity to test the Subaru Forester Hybrid L in heavy urban traffic, which is where the hybrid system should shine. Bumper to bumper, over a 1.5km distance, the Subaru Forester Hybrid ran the entire way on battery power alone.

This would certainly save fuel if it’s a regular thing but convincing the car to stay in electric mode required a very light foot.

The 24.5kg boot-mounted battery has only 1.5km range, and is limited to speeds below 20km/h. As soon as the road turns even slightly uphill the petrol engine will restart.

Even on longer drives in light traffic on freeways and flowing arterials, the Subaru Forester Hybrid L typically achieved around 7.5L/100km at best. Over the course of short trips from cold starts, it was posting fuel use figures closer to 9.8L/100km.

While the 2020 Subaru Forester Hybrid L may not score big points for performance or fuel economy, it does offer the commendable Subaru Forester traits we’ve praised in the past.

Similar to the other variants in the Subaru Forester range, the Hybrid rides well. There’s a layer of marshmallow between the tyres and the road surface over smaller bumps, but it’s not too soft, nor too bouncy over larger bumps and potholes.

Ride quality is quite polished, particularly in view of the Subaru’s handling.

The Bridgestone Dueler HP 225/60 R17 tyres provided solid grip and are reasonably subdued cruising at 100km/h, as is the engine, which spins at just 1500rpm for the same road speed.

There was a tinny rattle from the rear but noise in the Forester was otherwise carefully suppressed.

Heavy braking feels a little less settled in the hybrid than the conventional Forester. There’s just a touch of the tail weaving in evidence but the brakes are certainly strong.

At night, the LED headlights were adequate when dipped, but the auto high-beam and dynamic cornering lights compensated on dark country roads.

Leave the headlights on high beam and the car automatically adjusts them, not just down, but with a slithering light show around the on-coming car, saving the driver of the other car from being blinded.

In keeping with its stablemates, the 2020 Subaru Forester Hybrid L delivers a comfy and practical driving position. The simple instrument cluster layout is excellent.

The family will appreciate plush seats and the kid-friendly (and adult-appropriate) hip point. It’s roomy in the rear, much like every other Subaru Forester variant in the range.

There are adjustable rear-seat air vents and two USB ports in the rear of the centre console for kids to charge and run portable devices.

One element that detracts from the Subaru Forester’s ease of use and comfort is the annoying location of the centre/rear seatbelt mounting, which protrudes from the boot space headlining. Another gripe is the tyre repair kit is tucked away below the boot floor.

As a package though, the Subaru Forester lives up to the hype. Unfortunately, the Hybrid L’s powertrain credentials leave something to be desired.

That is, unless you encounter heavy traffic every morning: traffic snarls each banked around 200m and cars travelling no faster than about 30km/h over that short distance. That’s when the petrol-electric Subaru Forester Hybrid might just make up for the difference in purchase price.

How much does the 2020 Subaru Forester Hybrid L cost?
Price: $39,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid
Output: 110kW/196Nm
Motor: Permanent magnet AC synchronous motor/generator unit
Output: 12.3kW/66Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 6.7L/100km (ADR Combined); 7.9L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 152g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP, 2019)