On the move, the Forester e-Boxer is very quiet, provided you don’t accelerate hard, when the CVT automatic gearbox can have the engine groaning loudly with little performance to show for it. The engine cuts in and out periodically, with the transition fairly smooth from the driver’s point of view, although there's an occasional hesitation that you don’t get in comparable Toyota and Lexus hybrid systems.
On the whole, the setup works well, with the car managing the hybrid system automatically. Instead, the electric motor mostly runs in conjunction with the engine to improve acceleration and make the car more fuel-efficient. Pure-electric range is very limited, and there’s no ‘EV mode’ to force the car to use what little zero-emissions capability it has. The Forester e-Boxer has all-wheel drive and Subaru refers to the hybrid system as "self-charging" – the same way Toyota and Lexus describe their hybrids. It’s now classy enough to compete with the cabin of the Toyota RAV4 and certainly betters that of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. The interior takes a step forward with a more premium-looking design than before. Headroom in the rear is still a little tight, although the boot – accessed by a powered tailgate on Premium-spec cars – measures a generous 1,779 litres when the seats are down. The current model is longer and wider than its predecessor, which has allowed space inside to be increased, ensuring lots of knee and shoulder room for all.
There are also bigger windows, a flatter rear end and the tail-lights have been heavily reworked, with contrasting black trim introduced to the area above the number plate. Look closer and you’ll see various updates to the exterior: the front end has a sharper, more angular appearance with a more upright grille. This latest generation of Forester, introduced in November 2019, may look similar to the previous one, it's based on the same platform as the latest Impreza hatchback and Levorg estate, so it's all change under the metal. The latest electrified Subaru is this: the Forester hybrid, which sits alongside the XV hybrid SUV and features an ‘e-Boxer’ hybrid powertrain that doesn’t require any plugging in. While we wait for Subaru’s first all-electric car, the Solterra, to arrive next year, the brand range now includes hybrid powertrains for improved fuel economy in its rugged 4x4s.
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