2023 Subaru Forester 2.5i-S Review

With over 300,000 units sold in Australia, it’s safe to say that the Subaru Forester has been a family favourite since its local release in 1997. Its recipe is simple: a practical tall body combined with a comfortable driving experience, reasonable off-road ability and the brand’s iconic ‘Boxer’ engines. A lot has changed with the Forester since then, however, so while it has grown in that size to accommodate modern families, does it still have the same pioneering spirit of the original? We tested the top-spec petrol 2023 Subaru Forester 2.5i-S to find out.

Sitting in the ultra-competitive and ultra-popular mid-sized SUV segment, the Forester has gained quite a few rivals since it was initially released, key of which are the Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sportage and Mazda CX-5, not to mention the Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson and Nissan X-Trail. Let’s see if the Forester has what it takes to stand out on top.

Price & Equipment: 8/10

The model tested here is 2023 Subaru Forester 2.5i-S, which is the top-of-the-range non-hybrid Forester model available in Australia. While the Forester range starts at $37,890 plus on-roads for the entry level 2.5i, the top-spec petrol 2.5i-S tested here is priced from $46,340 plus on-road costs (around $51,500 drive away, depending on location).

The Forester 2.5i-S comes with a long equipment list that includes 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights with cornering lights, auto lights and wipers, a panoramic sunroof, roof rails, leather upholstery, eight-way electrically adjustable front seats with driver’s memory functionality, heated and auto-folding exterior mirrors with an auto-dipping passenger mirror, keyless entry with push button start, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, digital radio, an eight-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, heated front seats, four USB-A ports, rear air vents, a front wiper de-icer, a driver monitoring system that recognises a driver and sets their ideal seat position, normal, intelligent or sport driving modes, mirrors and last used temperature automatically, an electric tailgate and Subaru’s ‘X-Mode’ off-road system with hill descent control. 

Safety equipment includes six airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, auto emergency steering, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, emergency lane keep assist with lane departure warning and lane trace assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, driver attention monitoring, reverse auto braking, tyre pressure monitoring, Matrix adaptive high beam functionality for the headlights, front and rear parking sensors and front and left-hand side and reversing cameras (but not a full 360-degree camera system). 

There isn’t much equipment missing from the 2023 Subaru Forester 2.5i-S, though we’d like to see features like ventilated front seats, lumbar adjustment for the front seats, a digital instrument cluster, rear heated seats, a wireless charger and a heated steering wheel added as it would make the Forester even better value for money.

Subaru offers a wide range of colours for the Forester and we applaud the company for offering them all at no extra cost. Colour choices include ‘Crystal White Pearl’, ‘Ice Silver’, ‘Brilliant Bronze’, ‘Crimson Red’, ‘Autumn Green’, ‘Cascade Green’, ‘Magnetite Grey’, ‘Crystal Black’ and our test car’s ‘Horizon Blue’. Interior colour choices include black or light grey, and both are available on every exterior colour choice. 

We consider the direct rivals to the 2023 Subaru Forester 2.5-S to be the $43,850 Kia Sportage SX+ ($43,850 plus on-road costs or around $48,500 drive away) and the Mazda CX-5 GT SP ($49,310 +ORC or around $54,000 drive away). The Kia looks like good value against the Forester – it’s $3,000 cheaper drive away, yet has broadly the same level of it. The Forester adds a sunroof, full leather upholstery and steering-responsive headlights, but the Kia has a larger infotainment screen, lumbar adjustment for the driver’s seat and a digital driver’s display.

But then, the Forester looks like good value against the CX-5 GT SP as it costs $2,500 less to buy. Even though Forester pricing has crept up over the years, we think it still offers good value for money in the segment.

Performance & Economy: 8/10

The petrol 2023 Subaru Forester range is equipped with a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine that has been in use for a few years now. It produces 136kW of power at 5,800rpm and 239Nm of torque at 4,400rpm, which aren’t amazing numbers but more than adequate for the Forester’s target market and quite similar to the CX-5’s 139kW/252Nm and Sportage’s 132kW/265Nm outputs. The sole transmission on offer in the Forester range is a CVT automatic with seven simulated gears, while power is sent to all four wheels via the company’s famed symmetrical all-wheel drive system. The same engine and transmission combination is used in the slightly larger Subaru Outback.

While it isn’t the most powerful engine in the world, it is likeable. Subaru’s rally-influenced days are behind it unfortunately, but the Forester’s engine suits its relaxed nature. It can be a little vocal when accelerating hard, but that’s mostly down to the transmission and its elastic band nature. Thankfully, the engine makes its peak torque at a low-ish 4,400rpm, so there’s no need to rev it hard.

The CVT transmission is pretty good. Subaru’s CVTs have improved a lot and feel far more like a regular transmission than before. On take off, the engine doesn’t over rev and even when accelerating, hard the simulated gears come into play to get the most out of the engine. There is also a manual mode that simulates gears well, though not as well as a torque converter automatic with actual gears. Thankfully, while Mazda’s six-speed torque converter automatic offers superior drivability to the Subaru’s CVT, the Forester’s gearbox is far superior to the seven-speed dual-clutch unit in the all-wheel drive Sportage.

The claimed average fuel consumption figure for the 2023 Subaru Forester 2.5i-S is 7.4L/100km with CO2 emissions rated at 168g/km. Our time spent behind the wheel of the Forester with a mixture of highway and city use saw an average fuel consumption figure of 8.4L/100km, which we were happy with. The Forester has a 63-litre fuel tank and can run on 91RON regular unleaded.

Ride & Handling: 8.5/10

If you’re looking for a comfortable mid-size SUV above all else, the 2023 Subaru Forester could very well be the best offering for you as it deals well with the bumps and uncomfortable nature of suburban streets. The ride in the Forester is damped very well and isn’t too firm like some SUVs can be – it’s noticeably less firm than the CX-5, for example. We like how comfortable the Forester is to live with on a daily basis – we never found it jarring or uncomfortable when going over speed bumps or driveways. We didn’t get to try the Forester’s ‘X-Mode’ off-road system with this car, but previous experience has told us that it gifts the Forester with reasonably capable off-road ability.

Despite the softness of the suspension, the Forester’s handling ability is not too bad. The softer suspension means there is some body roll through corners, but it is overall composed. The active safety on offer in this Japanese SUV is rather good. The adaptive cruise control with lane centering worked flawlessly, the blind spot monitoring was good and we thought the matrix high beam was excellent too, though the overly sensitive driver attention detection system can be annoying. Even when looking down to change the climate control or change the touch screen a little message would pop up on the dash asking you to ‘keep your eyes on the road’.

Interior & Practicality: 9/10

Overall, we think the interior of the 2023 Subaru Forester is an excellent space. It could use more design flair and it is starting to feel a touch dated, but it’s good quality, very practical and offers a good level of technology as well. The design of the interior is slightly unconventional as there are two layers to the dash: the normal touchscreen and climate control panel and above that is a second display with configurable information like the trip computer and second camera displayed on it.

The materials used throughout the cabin of the 2023 Subaru Forester are rather good. The leather feels nice to the touch and there are soft touch door panels with a soft touch dashboard as well. It’s not premium in the same way that the CX-5’s materials are, but it offers a good level of quality, in our opinion. Particularly nice are the soft touch materials on the centre console to rest your knees, as well as the leather that’s used on the seats and doors.

Storage on offer is fantastic with space for your phone and wallet in front of the gear knob (though frustratingly, no wireless charger), two reasonable cupholders behind it (that can be turned into a storage compartment by removing the divider), a big centre box underneath the centre arm rest, large door bins that can fit larger bottles, a generous centre console, a big glove box and a little storage compartment by the driver’s right knee.

The seats in the 2023 Subaru Forester are rather comfortable and while there could be more adjustment for them like lumbar support, we like the memory settings for the driver and that the passenger seat is also electric – the latter feature still quite rare in the segment. Looking ahead while sitting in the driver’s seat of the Forester reveals analogue dials with a small screen in the middle of them and while it is a shame that there’s no digital instrument cluster, the analogue dials featured are clear and concise. Annoyingly though, there are many buttons to control the various functions of the car – we love analogue buttons in comparison to touch icons, but there are too many inside the Forester.

An 8.0-inch touchscreen system is featured in the middle of the Forester 2.5i-S’s dash that incorporates wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation with TomTom mapping and digital radio. It also has a CD player, which is rare in 2023. Like the rest of the cabin, the touchscreen is totally fine to use – it’s got a good quality screen and it’s easy, though it’s not particularly sophisticated. It does the job totally fine, and the eight-speaker Harman Kardon sound system is punchy.

The rear seat of the 2023 Subaru Forester is easily one of the best in the medium SUV segment, thanks to a lot of thoughtful touches. For example, the doors open quite wide, which makes it easy to put kids or baby seats into the cabin. The rear cabin offers great space and can fit two adults or three children comfortably. It also features map pockets with pockets for your mobile phone, two rear USB-A charging ports, a centre armrest with cup holders, bottle holders in the doors and rear air vents. Sadly there are no rear heated seats (just blank buttons where they would be in other markets) or rear sun shades, but it’s an otherwise pretty well equipped and practical space.

The power tailgate is quiet compared to others we’ve experienced and opens quickly to reveal a healthy 498-litres of cargo space with the rear seats in place and a huge 1,740L with the second row stowed away – that’s larger than the 432L/1,342L CX-5, though not quite as large as the Sportage’s 543L/1,829L space. Unlike those cars though, there is a plethora of clever features back there which include an full-size alloy spare wheel with storage under the boot floor, cargo tie down hooks, five-shopping bag hooks, levers to fold down the second row of seating, a cargo blind and even a hook from the tailgate itself to hang a bag. The only thing it is missing is a rear power outlet.

Service & Warranty: 7/10

The 2023 Subaru Forester 2.5i-S is equipped with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty with 12 months of roadside assistance. This is the same warranty period that is offered by Mazda, though the Mazda is equipped with five years of roadside assistance – Kia offers a seven-year warranty in Australia, and up to eight years of roadside assistance if you service through a Kia dealership.

The cost to service the Forester over five years/62,500km (it has odd 12-month/12,500km service intervals) is $2,674.64 (or $534.92 per service), which isn’t cheap. In comparison, the Kia Sportage 1.6T has a 12-month/10,000km service intervals and costs $2,465 ($493 per service) to service over five years, but Mazda has recently extended the CX-5’s service intervals to once yearly/15,000km and it costs now costs $2,103 ($420 per service) to service over five years/75,000km.

2023 Subaru Forester 2.5i-S DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.0/10

The 2023 Subaru Forester 2.5i-S is a capable and very practical family hauler that offers good safety tech, a nice and comfortable interior and a comfortable driving experience. It’s not exciting to drive, unlike Forester turbos of old, but for the target market, it’s a great option. So why wouldn’t you buy one? Well, it is due for a replacement soon, it’s not as dynamic or nice to drive as some its rivals, it costs a fair bit to service and has strange service intervals.

But overall, the Forester is a great all-rounder that deserves to be on your test drive list. There are plenty of competitors also worth your money, but the Forester combines a very practical cabin, good comfort and reasonable off-road ability as well. It’s easy to see why Subaru has sold so many Foresters in Australia because for a lot of people, it will suit them very well.