Subaru Forester S5 2.5i-S (2018-2026)

If AWD and space are your priority - get a Forester – It’s a popular choice for families here in Australia as an affordable, capable and safe daily driver. There’s sharp competition in the form of the Toyota RAV 4 and the Mazda CX-5, however neither of these claim to be as off-road focused as the Forester. Around the exterior trim, pieces look and feel tightly bolted to the body of this SUV. There… Read more

isn’t a thread out of line along the stitching, and buttons have a satisfying spring to them when pressed. Although, don’t press too hard on the climate controls, as that whole panel in our test car moved a little too much for my liking.

Over coarse sections of road, the Forester doesn’t rattle like it used to in previous generations. It certainly feels like Subaru has upped the ante in its build quality process, and this is especially apparent in the new Forester.

This is the second most expensive Subaru Forester you can buy, coming in at $44,190 before on-road costs. The hybrid variant sits at the top of the tree, sneaking in at just under $50,000 before on roads. You receive upgraded wheels, interior trim, a 2.5L engine, a sunroof, creature comfort features like heated seats and an upgraded speaker system.

Sure, you can live without these upgrades, but this certainly does show the Forester in its best form.

All Foresters are covered by Subaru’s 5 year/unlimited kilometre warranty, and come with a capped price service program that again covers 5 years or 62,500km. Total cost of servicing is $2,422 over this period. Service intervals are a little short, and I would have liked to have seen coverage extend a little beyond 62,500km of driving.

Since there’s a lack of turbocharging and this is a petrol engine paired to a single-gear CVT automatic gearbox, this isn’t the quietest engine option.

At low rpms and under mild acceleration, the Forester is indeed a quiet car. However, step deeper into the accelerator and you can’t avoid the unmistakable drone of a single-gear, high-revving petrol motor straining to deliver all of its power.

I felt confident and comfortable bringing the car down to a stop. It’s certainly a vehicle that’s approachable and easy for a range of drivers - even first time drivers - to operate.

Subaru have fitted their ‘EyeSight’ camera safety system to the Forester, which automatically detects any obstacles that might pose a threat. It’s active and warns you before deploying the brakes autonomously, which is a nicer experience than just activating before warning you, a habit older versions of this safety system used to possess.

At 136kW and 249Nm, this isn’t a powerhouse of an engine, but it is enough for daily driving and light off-roading needs. Like many other buyers, I would have liked to have seen the return of a turbocharger to the top-of-the-range petrol motor.

Despite feeling strong enough to allow the Forester to feel brisk, I could only imagine it feeling a little strained when faced with a school holiday-packed car.

Power is delivered instantly thanks to the lack of said turbocharger, however peak power is produced high up in the rev range. This means you’ll need to endure higher revs to squeeze maximum power when facing overtakes or long, steep inclines.

There are no gears to shift through in the Forester, even if Subaru provides a set of paddle shifters on the steering wheel. There are artificially programmed gears to move through, however you can tell they’re not really there and that it’s just a way to manually adjust engine rpms. Instead, this single-gear CVT gearbox finds the optimal rev range and holds that rev through to its top speed.

I was exceptionally comfortable during my time in the Forester. It’s not as plush as the more expensive Land Rover I had the same week, but the Subaru manages to avoid translating the worst parts of the tarmac through to the cabin.

A flat four engine has a lower centre of gravity than a traditional inline motor, which helps with cornering and handling. Add in Subaru’s ‘Symmetrical AWD’ system and you have a distinct grip that doesn’t skip a beat, even when being pushed.

Off-road, the Forester managed to behave extremely put together across sand, rocks and gravel. I’d love to see more ground clearance and grippier tyres to really enjoy these dirt trails.

Combined fuel efficiency is claimed to be 7.4L per 100km. I saw an average of around 10L per 100km during my time with the Forester.

It’s not the most efficient engine by comparison to the hybrid engine option, however it can return lower consumption figures over long distance drives.

There hasn’t been a massive overhaul of the Forester’s interior for this generation. There’s still that three digital display set-up alongside the most amount of buttons I’ve encountered in a car’s interior.

Subaru has hesitated to implement that futuristic and forward thinking vertical screen found in the Outback, and instead have kept the multiple screen setup. I’m certainly more of a fan of the Outback’s interior over the Forester’s, however it means you don’t have a shortage of information or control over your car’s individual features.

There’s plenty of light that can enter this interior via a large glass sunroof and tall side windows. Analogue dials are still used in Subaru’s interiors, which are easy to read and aren’t a low point by any means.

There’s 498L of boot space with all seats folded up and a total of 1740L space available when the second row is folded.

Part of the Forester’s appeal is its boxy, almost station wagon-like proportions. It allows for plenty of vertical space and a flat load floor to make ingress and egress a breeze. Add the fact that you can electronically fold the seats from the boot in a 60:40 split, and you’ll absolutely understand why families have been buying generations of Forester for their daily driving needs.

Front row seats provided plenty of comfort and support over long periods of time, and the same can be said for the second row.

It’s the combination of space, reliability, all-wheel drive and comfort that makes the Forester so appealing. Against the Toyota RAV 4 and Mazda CX-5, the Forester complements a more adventure-focused family simply because it’s a tried and tested vehicle many Aussies rely on to drive across a variety of terrain.

It’s not an aggressive off-roader, but you should definitely buy the Forester over its competitors if you’re someone who needs all of those previously mentioned qualities that make this Subaru so appealing. Consider it if you want a more tarmac-focused SUV, as a Mazda CX-5 for example will be more driver-focused with sharper driving dynamics and a turbocharged engine.

*Disclaimer - I work for ProductReview as their independent car and motorbike expert. I borrow new cars and motorbikes from manufacturers and owners to review. I am not paid or incentivised by these brands to post reviews. I write and create content to provide insight and information about any new or used vehicle I can get my hands on.

2022 Subaru Forester 2.5i-S – In April 2022, I ordered a Subaru Forester 2.5i-S in Ice Silver. I took delivery late May 2022. I ordered the top of the range model with leather seats, tow bar, GPS and whatever else you get with paying $10K extra. Originally, I wanted a 100% electric vehicle. Unfortunately, decent electric cars are hard to come by in Australia. We still think… Read more

that we have a god given right to contaminate the environment. Also, there were no car dealers that sold electric cars in a 1,000km radius, and, towing a boat with an electric car wouldn’t have worked anyway.

My son and I drove to every car dealer in town and I first zeroed-in on the Subaru XV. I took it for a test drive. I was very impressed with the overall comfort, quality of the fit-out and handling. Because I had driven a Mercedes E280 for over 10 years and an Audi A6 3.0 Quattro for 5 years, I had high expectations.. and I wanted a 4WD. I was about to pay the deposit when I was told that the XV would not tow a boat confidently. I did notice the lackluster performance during the test drive but thought it may have been due to the “intelligent” i-drive system wanting to save me money. It was suggested I look at the Subaru Forester because of the larger engine.

To be honest, I did not like the size or looks of the Forester. The bat-car style wings on the bonnet, the long nose and 80’s look didn’t enthuse me. So, back to the drawing board. I test drove the Mazda CX5 and a few other cars. Except for the Subaru, and Mazda, all other cars in that price range and vehicle class were unacceptable. The manufacturing standard of most vehicles I saw was so poor that I left these dealerships without even test driving them. The exterior designs of some of these vehicles were also plain ugly. Just look at Toyota's new models...yuck.

The Mazda CX5 didn’t do it for me in the end. Although the design was appealing compared to the Forester, the motor was weak, visibility was poor and, compared to the Subaru, brakes and steering were also very poor.

So, why did I buy the Forester? Well, the above for starters. I have also split my review into pros and cons. Let’s start with pros.

Pros: the interior is well designed. Despite the retro-look, the instruments, buttons etc. are *easy to see and access. It’s a very well designed, high quality interior*. It doesn’t creak, vibrate or annoy me. The seats are relatively *comfortable, visibility all around the cabin and outside the vehicle is great. The engine is powerful enough for day-to-day driving without heavy loads and is very zippy. The brakes are excellent and the steering is like my Mercedes E280. The car turns where I turn the steering wheel. Overall, the basics of this 4WD cross-over are excellent. Handling is great. Cornering is good and it can easily handle bumps, sand, unsurfaced roads and wet roads. I like being able to get in and out of the car easily and it has plenty of room inside the cabin. Environmental controls are great with heated seats, air-con and cabin heating. It also comes with GPS and you can hook up your mobile to the entertainment system. An interesting feature is EyeSight Driver Assist and the front, parking and reversing cameras. Subaru EyeSight Driver Assist system includes Pre-Collision Brake Assist, Pre-Collision Braking System, Pre-Collision Throttle Management, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lead Vehicle Start Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Sway Warning, Emergency Lane Keep Assist and Speed Limiter. They all work relatively well*. For example, when reversing, you don’t just see what’s behind you in a TV camera but yellow, green and red lines bend as you turn the steering wheel so that you can anticipate how the car will turn. Great idea. So, overall, it’s a very nice car, easy to drive and it feels great.

Now to the cons. I have two cats. I never had a problem with them getting into my Mercedes or Audi as there was nothing for them to wreck…but this is not so with the Subaru. The *premium leather seats are so thin that my cats actually ripped one seat. Yes, you read correctly, in only a matter of seconds, my female cat sliced through the paper thin leather as if it were Glad Wrap. They could never do that to my Mercedes or Audi. There, the leather seats were several mm thick. In contrast, the Subaru has extremely thin leather. My son doesn’t even believe that it’s genuine leather. It looks fake. I now have dozens of little holes around the head rest and lean and a 5mm tear on the passenger seat on a brand new car. Also, after dripping hand sanitizer on the interior door, it has stained the black leather. Yes, folks, the black leather is not color-fast. It comes off or discolors.

This brings me to my second gripe: the hinges on the doors are like a cheap 1970’s Japanese car...or Ikea furniture. They are very thin with no springs or a proper closing mechanism. I have to slam the doors shut. Subaru squeezed some grease into the hinges but there’s not much improvement. The doors don’t close automatically when pushed. You have to slam them shut. Yes - slam! They sometimes creak like rusty hinges when closing them. Cheap, I say. Very disappointing.

Also, I have never seen such thin rubber seals and plastic around the doors and windows of a car, ever. My previous cars had thick, semi-stiff rubber that lasted for decades. I’m not happy with thin prissy seals. The exterior paneling is so thin that you can easily dent the car. Whatever you do, don't lean on it. The seats do not have lambda support and the button on the rear hatch to open from the outside is difficult to locate. I hate having to feel my way around the back hatch every time I want to open it to feel the little bump to press the knob-button. Also, the 'start/off' button is hidden on the lower dash obscured by the steering wheel. That is not a good place to put it because I either have to lean forward to see it or feel my way around the lower dash.

Then there’s the annoying auto engine turn off thingamajig. This might be OK on some occasions but when I turn it off on the dash, I expect it to stay off. But when I restart the engine, it resets to auto mode and the engine again turns off at traffic lights and intersections.

A really annoying feature is the constant bleep-bleep-bleep and the “keep your eyes on the road”, “lane departure” and most recently “have a rest” and “stay awake” messages. I like driving with the windows down. But because it was a windy day today, I squinted my eyes a bit. EyeSight thought that I was falling asleep. There are various warning signals that come on every few seconds. How bloody annoying. Apparently, you can turn off EyeSight but I don't want to turn everything off - only the annoying things.

Subaru make a big deal out of the Harman Kardon speaker system. When you connect a phone and play songs via bluetooth it's not that bad because my phone can EQ the sound. However, the signal coming from the entertainment unit and the radio sound crap. Despite bass, middle and treble, the frequencies are not matched to the speakers. They sound tinny. They are unacceptable. Having worked in the music industry for decades and understanding sound, you want to hear the individual frequencies of a song whether you turn the volume up or down, whether you’re driving 10km/h or 100km/h and whether the windows are up or down. The sound is so bad in this car that I stopped listening to music in the Subaru altogether.

The hands-free, voice activation feature is useless. To be able to use it, you need to know the voice commands by heart. If I have to scroll through the commands to read them first, I might as well just press the button of the function I want and get it over with. But that isn't the real issue. The voice command feature doesn't understand people with deep voices and usually just cuts me off half-way after speaking the address. The AI says: "I did not understand that command". Then the car wants me to agree to road rules before I drive and it constantly wants me to register myself as a user. Sheesh. Why can't I turn this rubbish off? OK, it does have benefits...but some people just want to drive. To be fair, you can turn off/down the volume of each safety feature but if you want it off, there's a button at the bottom of the dash that turns everything off. I'm sure it comes back on when you restart the vehicle.

Even more bizarre is that if the engine is off, I can’t raise or lower the windows. Huh? Yep, I have never sat in a car before where the engine had to be running for me to raise or lower windows.

When I went to the tip the other day, a piece of cardboard accidentally turned on the rear ceiling light without me knowing it. It flattened the battery. Seriously, in this day and age, every car should have a battery management system. My Audi would have turned off that light and maintained charge. And that was a 2006 model - 16 years old. For $50,000, and being the top-of-the-range, luxury Subaru Forester, I was expecting more!

Despite driving in i-drive all the time, my petrol consumption has never gone below 10L/100km as measured at the bowser. Unless every bowser is wrong and cheating me, I'm always at or around 10L/100km. It’s higher than what Subaru states...and no, I’m not a led foot. Many other reviewers have stated the same. Ironically, the car's fuel consumption screen on the dash always says 7.4L/100km. Aren't there penalties for car makers misleading buyers? Could this be the new Volkswagen scandal? Also, if I switch to s-drive, it always defaults back to i-drive. Bloody hell. Let me choose how I want to drive without resetting everything to how Subaru thinks I should drive.

Honestly, for little extra money, Subaru should have offered a turbocharger. That would have reduced fuel consumption quite a bit. Also, when opening the bonnet, I have to stem it open with a stick. How retro is that?!

EyeSight has almost caused a few crashes. When driving around a bend and you approach a cyclist, and even if you and the cyclist follow the road's bend, the unintelligent safety feature thinks that I’m going to drive in a straight line and run over the cyclist (and not follow the gentle bend in the road). The unintelligent computer takes over the steering wheel and slams on the brakes. This has happened twice already. Same with a car turning left or right in another lane. The unintelligent feature slams on the brakes although I’m driving past the turning vehicle in another lane. This could cause rear collisions or distress to a panicked driver.

Subaru advertises: "Whether you're on the road or planning adventures, the MySubaru app connects you to your Subaru. From your phone, you can monitor your vehicle's health, schedule service, access owner resources, and use STARLINK Safety and Security controls like remote start and lock". This is rubbish because the MySubaru app is only available in the US and Starlink, which is available here but does not work anyway, will cease to function in March 2023. If someone steals my car, I can't even track it. For the top model not having an alarm or tracking is pathetic. Subaru writes: "Every new car in the Subaru range is fitted with advanced engine immobilizers and also includes DATADOTDNA anti-theft technology". The immobilizer kicks-in if the wrong key fob is used. OK smarty-pants, but what if someone steals the key? The thief can merrily drive around. The DATADOTDNA is only useful if police actually find the car, and provided police even know what DATADOTDNA is, then, only only then, can they ascertain ownership. Why not use the user registration system and Eyesight to scan the owner/user's face as an identification mechanism? This could be programmed during purchase at Subaru. Sheesh.

Sometimes when I park in the garage, my Subaru beeps a few times. Why you ask? How the hell would I know. I've googled it but could not find anything. My guess is that because my key fob is still in the car, it's a reminder to remove it... except that out of convenience, I don't.

Finally, when parking in the garage, I need to reverse out. The reversing camera is great and starts in daylight mode. After a few seconds, the display goes to night view meaning the display is dim until I fully exit the garage, after which it takes several more seconds to switch back to daylight mode. In those 5-10 seconds I’m reversing blind because the outside sunlight is far brighter than the dimmed reversing screen. This isn’t good enough Subaru. Turning the auto screen brightness off is silly because at night time I'd get blinded by a bright screen.

Overall, the car is a joy to drive. It handles well and appears relatively safe despite the odd nonsense and continuous warnings. Would I buy it again? No. I’d buy another second hand luxury European vehicle. After driving several Mercedes’, Audi’s and other EU brands, I know that they know how to design and build cars. Subaru is still hung up on making the car cheaper by making the leather as thin as possible, by using dodgy door hinges, by having to prop up the bonnet with a stick, by introducing admirable features but that aren't thought through properly or by not offering the same services (e.g. car tracing as in North America).

Subaru has some basics right but at the same time have overlooked basic features, such as battery management, and being able to turn off some nonsense without having to turn off everything. Subaru have built a car marketed for a certain price range and have severely compromised on common sense and quality (e.g. non color-fast leather, poor hinges, no BMS etc.). Because I worked as an international product manager and have manufactured in Asian countries, I understand their philosophy, which is: how thin can we make the part so that it doesn't break? How thin can the leather be so that it doesn't rip straight away? How many cents can we save if the rear windows don't go up or down automatically and so on. They apply minimum standards to save a few bucks here and here.

I would have rather paid $1,000 extra and got proper door hinges, better rubber seals, lambda support, turbocharger, better speakers/entertainment unit and my choice of turning off annoying features. I don't know what my next car will be but it won't be a Subaru.