In-depth reviews

Subaru Forester hybrid MPG & CO2 emissions

You’d expect better efficiency, despite the Subaru Forester e-Boxer hybrid's size and off-road credentials

Overall rating

3.0 out of 5

MPG & CO2 emissions rating

2.0 out of 5

Price
£34,195 - £40,895
Fuel Type:
Hybrid Petrol
Fuel economy (combined)Fuel economy (high)Fuel economy (low)CO2 emissions
35mpg42mpg32mpg185g/km

You'd think a full-hybrid powertrain would shine here, but unfortunately the Forester e-Boxer barely glimmers. True, it is hamstrung by having the inefficiency of permanent four-wheel drive, but we'd still expect better despite this than the circa-33mpg we achieved in a mix of motorway and urban driving.

Subaru Forester hybrid MPG

This hybrid is Subaru's attempt at making the Forester more efficient, but the official fuel economy figure of just under 35mpg could be better compared with the nearly 50mpg of the Ford Kuga and Kia Sportage hybrids.

Subaru maintains that the Forester can drive in pure-electric mode at up to 25mph, but the electric motor needs more urge to keep up with traffic, so we struggled to do more than brief moments around town in electric mode. We managed 33mpg in a mix of motorway and town driving, while some off-roading caused that to quickly dip below 30mpg.

CO2 emissions

The Forester hybrid's CO2 emissions of 185g/km are just as underwhelming as its fuel economy, given that the Kuga and Sportage mentioned above (both of which use a similar ’self-charging’ hybrid system) emit 125 and 129g/km, respectively.

Richard is editor of DrivingElectric, as well as sister site Carbuyer.co.uk, and a regular contributor to Auto Express. An electric and hybrid car advocate, he spent more than five years working on the news and reviews desk at Auto Express and has driven almost every new car currently on sale.

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