2026 Subaru Forester Consumer Reviews

Where do I begin? I owned a 2016 Subaru Forester for almost 10 years and I thought I would be a Subaru customer for life. That ended last year when I purchased the new redesigned 2025 Forrester model. This vehicle has been nothing but trouble since I bought it. The driver recognition system glitches constantly and randomly alerts me to keep my hands on the steering wheel and pay attention/watch the road when I have my hands on the wheel at 10 and 2 and am looking straight ahead at the road. I am told that it wants to feel an actual nudge on the steering wheel as opposed to just sensing my hands touching it. Problem is, it takes more than a tiny nudge to get it to sense me correctly. I end up practically swerving my car all over the road just to get it to recognize that I have my hands on the steering wheel. Literally every few minutes or less on my long drive to work I have to nudge it to stop beeping at me while I am in a 70 mph zone, which is a bit dangerous. Sure, I could just turn off the eyesight assist. That’s only the number one feature I wanted in a vehicle when I made this expensive purchase. Several times over the past year that I have owned it, it starts alerting me to put my hands on the wheel and continues until it decides there is no driver there at all, and I get error messages saying “Driver Not Detected.” I would find this amusing if it weren’t for the fact that if I can’t get it to recognize me soon after that, it will literally slam on the brakes in the middle of the road because it thinks there is no one at the wheel. Thankfully, this has only happened at slow speeds, but it feels like I’m taking my life into my hands every time I drive to work in a 70 mph zone. On top of that, as others have stated, the charging pad does not work with my cell phone. In fact, during the most recent diagnostic I had run, the dealership tried multiple different phones (including 2 androids), none of which would charge. I first complained about this when I picked the car up upon purchase and the sales person said “yeah, that’s a known problem for iPhones.” On top of that, the foot sensor for my rear tailgate almost never works for me. It will work for my husband most of the time, but not reliably. It has worked properly for me maybe 10-20% of the time. I complained about this after owning it for two weeks and the dealership rep even witnessed this happen, but if it doesn’t show up on a diagnostic test, then it is considered to be working as intended. The same dealership rep was sitting in the car with me when it threw an error saying “Driver Not Recognized” which was one of the other complaints I had during that visit two weeks in, although it did have my profile stored in the computer. A few minutes later, it recognized me again. They had me schedule a diagnostic appointment to have it evaluated, and of course, nothing happens while the tool is connected. Lastly, my biggest problem with this vehicle is something ridiculously simple to get right. My 2016 Forrester had the ability to adjust the tilt of the headrests forward and back. With the 2025 model, Subaru decided to angle the headrest as far forward as they possibly could and lock them in place so that you cannot adjust them to a comfortable position. I didn’t think anything of this during the test drive assuming they would still be adjustable. When I picked it up and realized I could not adjust it, I was told that was an unfortunate design change that a lot of people are unhappy with. My special circumstance happens to be that I commute to work an hour and a half each way, three days a week. This has left me with such severe neck pain that I am now in physical therapy for it. After multiple visits and evaluations, my physical therapist is more than happy to write me a letter stating that this headrest is the cause of my neck pain and mounting medical bills. When I searched online to see if others were having similar neck issues, I was astounded to see how many others were suffering from severe neck trauma stemming from this 2025 Subaru Forrester headrest redesign. I was equally astounded to read of others complaining about the same driver recognition system issues, driver not detected warnings, and their cars slamming on the brakes for no reason. I really wanted to love this vehicle. I held out so long for this new model to arrive, and now I am full of regret. I opened a case with Subaru Customer Advocacy and because these issues are sporadic and never trigger while the short diagnostic test is performed, they insist the vehicle is operating as intended, and there is nothing they will do. The dealership also would not leave the diagnostic tool connected to my vehicle overnight so that it could detect the errors when they randomly occur. I guess I never expected Subaru - of all car manufacturers - to release such a subpar product to the market and not make good on it when their customers are clearly suffering and unhappy. I paid so much money for this vehicle, and I know I will lose my shirt by selling it so soon, but I am left with no choice but to find a vehicle that doesn’t cause so much pain, frustration, fear, and disappointment. Subaru really let me down.

Replaced a 2014 Subaru Forester and are pleased with the newer model...except the touch screen is not up to modern standards. Laggy, slow and does not automatically connect to iPhone CarPlay. The touch screen is a real disappointment. I wish there was some OS update Subaru could arrange for existing owners to make the touchscreen a better experience. I also think the myriad safety options are way overboard. If you make it through the manual you will be overwhelmed with the options for just about every feature - safety of otherwise. I dont' think we need 2 cruise control options or the ability to turn off safety features. Make it safe AND simple. Less bells and whistles. Otherwise enjoying the car.

This is my first Subaru. Great suv for anyone that wants AWD and good MPG. I drove 250 miles on a half a tank got like 33 mpg around 70 mph safe car handling is great around turns. Not a fast suv but it will do speed limit easy. Comfortable ride. Wish the heater and AC controls were like the old ones kind of annoying looking down at the screen for that. But other than that it’s a good all around suv.

Overall the car drives great and has good features. The build quality is also great JAPAN BUILT. The only thing is that the screen is a little laggy but that can be fixed by an over the air update.

I selected the Subaru Forrester for the higher seating, interior, spacing, and high reviews from consumer reports. It has the electronic bells and whistles with a iPad like screen, which can be a distraction while driving versus the simple, knowing right where to press the buttons of the 2015 Subaru model. The paint will easily scuff with your nail, and polished, brushing against it. The interior material is of cheap quality. Do not take your dogs in there unless you want it to be damaged by a 31 pound dog. I am very disappointed in this car and will not buy another Subaru as a result.

I have owned the 2025 Subaru Forester Sport Hybrid for almost a year now. We just had a massive snowstorm so I’m able to write about how it has fared in bad winter conditions. I previously had a Mazda CX5 for almost 11 years and I loved that SUV. But I wasn’t crazy about the 2025 model which had me looking at other SUVs. Both of these SUVs have mostly pros and very few cons. Pros: The hybrid version makes the interior cabin ultra quiet. I can barely tell the car is on even when it switches to gas mode. The Forester is more powerful than the CX5, making driving more enjoyable. I know I’m in the minority here, but I actually like their infotainment screen and I like its location. The CX5 had the screen in the center dashboard. I like the location of the Forester; I don’t have to raise my arm up high. I like the large screen, especially when viewing my maps. I like the exterior look of the forester, and the river rock gray color is so good at hiding dirt. I get compliments on the color and the bronze hubcaps all the time. The Harman Karmon sound system is amazing, even better than the Bose I had with the Mazda. The backup camera is great at detecting cars coming from far away and alerts me with plenty of notice. The Forester is more comfortable for long distance drives, compared to the CX5. I comfortably drove six hours. I wish the drivers seat was a little longer, but I have long upper legs. The Forester absorbs bumps on the road extremely well. Defroster works quickly and is strong. Heated seats get very warm. Cons: There is one major thing about the Forester that I don’t like and it’s the sport-tech trim seats (Basically a faux leather). It’s awful in summertime. It holds onto heat and the seats are super hot when the temperature outside reaches over 85°. My back gets sweaty driving a short distance, even early in the morning. This one reason will likely have me trading this car in sooner than I normally would. I highly suggest opting for either cloth or leather seats, stay away from the sport tech trim. I also wish the trunk were a little bit larger, and the backseat area was a little bit smaller. I’m not sure the Forester is very well insulated. I can feel pockets of cold air coming in around the gearshift. Which also explains why the interior must get so hot in the summertime. While, I’m happy to have the latest safety features, they can feel like a bit too much sometimes. Another con is that there is a lag when phone calls come in. After I accept the call, I have to wait about 3 seconds before saying hello. Otherwise, they will not hear me answer the call. As someone else mentioned, cupholder location is bad; This needs improved. Winter weather. We just got about 15 inches of snow in southwestern Pennsylvania last week. This area of the country is very hilly. I felt more in control with the Forester than I did the CX5. It grips the road better and plows through snow more easily. It has Normal mode, snow mode, and deep snow mode. Snow mode was great and helpful. Deep snow mode was a little tricky to use and made driving more challenging, I need to research this mode more. The windshield for the Forester is much closer to my face than the CX5. This has taken some getting used to, I definitely preferred the location and slanting of the CX5 windshield better. Is the hybrid version worth the extra money? Hard to say. I definitely fill my tank up less, but not significantly. I do love the whisper quietness of the hybrid. I believe I’m getting 34 miles per gallon. And, it’s better for the environment, so that’s a win. Overall, this is a good SUV. It feels safe and the ride is very smooth. It’s powerful, comfortable, accelerates very quickly and easily, has a great sound system. The pros very easily outweigh the cons.

500 miles into owning this 2025 Forester and I’m looking into trading it in and taking a massive loss. - massively inconsistent experience with acceleration. If I’m traveling 30 MPH and want to go 35 MPH, I have to press on the gas slightly more and wait 10 minutes or press harder and hear the engine rev so loudly you’d think I was drag racing. - the eyesight is a nightmare. I can be pulling into my driveway at a slow pace and it will slam the brakes as I approach my garage door, stopping 5 or more feet from it. I’m riding the brakes and going under 5MPH here. - The seats are miserable after anything more than 10 minutes driving. - I cannot believe this is even possible since it’s the simplest thing in the world, but the heat absolutely sucks. It always feels cold. - the touch screens and radio are an embarrassment to people with fingers. This is my first and last Subaru.

Purchased my 2025 Subaru Forester Sport and love the new body style and interior improvements of a quieter and more comfortable ride. This is my 4th Forester and so far the best one. I also got the optional package that has the power lifgate and the Harmon Kardon 11 speaker sound system which is well worth it since previous stock audio was not good. This one Rock's 🤟 I have always got Great trade in value from my Forester's which is a plus when purchasing a new vehicle. My only negatives are the infotainment takes time to get use to it and you have to look down to see it. And as others mentioned the cup holders seem to far back.