Subaru Forester Hybrid S 2020 Review

Subaru has taken some time to join Australia’s hybrid ranks. It’s no surprise then to hear that the new petrol-electric Subaru Forester and its smaller XV sibling have aroused a lot of interest among brand-loyal customers. Apparently there’s already a swag of potential buyers who can’t wait to get their hands on one.

But for all this, Subaru hints that its new hybrids are more or less an intermediate step. The petrol-electric Forester and XV are, at best, mild-hybrids that precede the company’s planned rollout of full-electric vehicles over the coming years.

Priced around $3000 more than conventional petrol equivalents, the Subaru Forester ‘e-Boxer’ models are available in base L guise ($39,990 before on-road costs) and top-spec S form ($45,990 plus ORCs). And in typical Subaru fashion, both are well equipped.

The ‘loaded’ tag particularly applies to the Subaru Forester Hybrid S, in which the safety technology list runs to Subaru’s EyeSight including high- and low-speed autonomous emergency braking (including in reverse!), pedestrian avoidance, lane-departure warning with lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and driver attention detection.

As a bonus, front, side and rear cameras work in unison to monitor most views of what’s surrounding the vehicle, including a good look at the left-side front wheel.

There’s also leather-look interior trim, powered and heated front seats, adaptive and self-dipping LED headlights, sat-nav, climate control and Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity – all-in-all, an extensive roll-call for a mid-size SUV, hybrid or otherwise.

If all that sounds familiar, to most customers, the hybrid Subaru Forester mechanical workings won’t.

It’s not possible, even with a bit of determined sleuthing, to pick much of the stuff that’s going on under the skin. About the only clues are the e-BOXER badges on the front wings and tailgate, the additional conventional battery in the engine bay, and the absence of a spare wheel under the boot floor. Here, there is only a repair kit.

Otherwise, everything is the same: Luggage capacity (though the quoted 509/1779 litres for seats-up and seats-folded configurations are a bit better than the regular Forester’s 498/1768 litres) remains practically unchanged and the interior is its same old user-friendly self.

The pricing slots the Subaru Forester Hybrid S smack into the middle of the petrol-electric market – a bit more expensive than the Toyota RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid ($44,990 before on-roads) but a bit more affordable than the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV ES ($49,390 in ADAS form).

For the record, it’s also a whole lot cheaper than the next-gen Ford Escape ST-Line PHEV which is due to arrive in Australia in the third quarter of 2020, priced at $52,940.

Subaru doesn’t slack on safety technology in its cars, and the Forester Hybrid S is no exception.

Largely underwritten by the camera-based EyeSight system that scans for impending closure on objects or vehicles ahead, the Forester Hybrid S is aware of what’s going on in its immediate environment.

The driver is kept informed of the blind spots, or whether the car is straying off line, gently signalling corrective measures through the steering if that’s the case.

But in the case of the Subaru hybrid system, it’s all about the effectiveness of the co-operation between the Forester’s 2.0-litre boxer four-cylinder petrol engine and the low-power electric motor that sits behind the hybrid-adapted Lineartronic CVT transmission.

Unlike, say, the Toyota’s planetary gear-driven CVT transmission, the Subaru employs a regular belt and pulley CVT and the engine initially cranks up via a regular starter motor rather than the silently unobtrusive hybrid RAV4’s electric starter-generator.

Subsequent re-starting though, is handled by the auxiliary battery that powers the integrated starter-generator, Toyota-style.

Developing a meagre 12.3kW and torque of just 66Nm (by comparison the RAV4’s electric motor contributes 88kW/202Nm for a total output of 163kW), there’s no surprise that the 110kW/196Nm petrol engine does most of the work.

Indeed, the impact of the electric motor is hard to detect. It will switch to full EV (electric vehicle) mode on occasion but not to the extent experienced in most other hybrids.

The electric motor is driven by an 8.8kW/h lithium-ion battery pack sitting under the boot floor where it takes up enough space to ditch any ideas of having even a temporary space-saver wheel.

The driveline, with its symmetrical full-time all-wheel drive driving the rear wheels through a transfer clutch for a 60/40 front/rear torque split, is otherwise the same as a regular Forester.

The hybrid Subaru Forester claims a conservative 6.7L/100km of fuel consumption and a CO2 reading of 152g/km. The regular 2.5-litre Forester equivalent is not hugely different at 7.4L/100km and 168g/km.

The Subaru Forester’s independent MacPherson strut/double wishbone suspension system is clearly tuned for comfort and, in this case, that’s not a bad thing.

Riding on a 2670mm wheelbase that is virtually identical to that of its RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander competitors, the Forester comes with 18-inch alloy wheels wearing 225/55 tyres which, once again, are pretty par for the course in this segment. They contrive to give good grip, along with some welcome impact absorbency.

With the same 12.5:1 compression ratio used the 2.0-litre engine seen in the regular XV, plus lower internal friction levels, the hybrid’s long-stroke boxer retains its torque output of 196Nm at 4000rpm but drops power fractionally, from 115kW to 110kW, at the same 6000rpm.

That, of course, is largely balanced out by input from the electric motor’s admittedly modest musculature.

It’s here that the Subaru Forester, the brand’s top-selling vehicle Down Under, demonstrates its strengths. Whatever you might think about the Forester SUV looks, this is a great car to live with, and gets better the more time you spend with it.

Not only is it comfortable, smooth riding and relatively quiet on the road, it also offers great cabin space and the ability to tote all sorts of paraphernalia in that spacious cargo area.

The powered tailgate of the Forester Hybrid S is always welcome.

The Forester’s fittings have an indestructible feel and the seats (both front seats are power adjusted, with memory) are padded just right for a long country trip. There’s a large, high-res touch screen too, with decent-size landing points for a carefully-aimed finger that help locate the function you’re after.

As previously mentioned, the Subaru Forester Hybrid S is not the most agile mid-size SUV but it’s not the worst either. Its agility is not helped by a slowish steering ratio, but it’s secure and sure-footed enough.

With minimal assistance from the electric motor, there’s very little of that surge experienced in more power-centric hybrids (the kW/tonne figure is well down on its main rivals).

Nevertheless, the Forester hybrid is acceptably quick, helped along by the availability of two performance modes (intelligent and sport) and the eagerness of the CVT transmission to remain in its most-effective power band.

The fact that the Forester S Hybrid comes with shift paddles is indicative of its primarily conventional driveline operation – and how Subaru expects it to be driven.

The fuel consumption on test was nowhere near the official claim of 6.7L/100km. Indeed, our Forester S Hybrid averaged a less impressive 8.5L/100km – not far from what we would expect of a regular Forester S.

Subaru hedges its bets by suggesting the hybrid Forester is suitable for 91 to 98 RON petrol.

We struggled with the proposition of the extra $3000 required to get into a hybrid Forester, but came away after a week’s experience in all sorts of conditions, with a real affection for this well-packaged, nice to live with and responsibly safety-oriented mid-size SUV.

The Subaru Hybrid S is inviting, reassuringly secure, pleasant for drivers and passengers to live with and, at the end of the day, as good an investment in long-term car ownership as you’re likely to find.

With residual values just short of 65 per cent of the new price after three years, the Subaru Forester – in terms of value retention – is among the top-rated SUVs.

And, over that long term, it’s likely that the shortfalls in fuel economy experienced with our review car would average out in its eventual favour. That said, the hybrid’s $3000 premium over regular Foresters still represents quite a lot of petrol.

How much does the 2020 Subaru Forester Hybrid S cost?
Price: $45,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol/electric
Output: 110kW/196Nm (Electric motor: 12.3kW/66Nm)
Transmission: Continuously variable automatic
Fuel: 6.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 152g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2019)