Subaru Forester sticks to its script as an adventure-ready compact SUV with all-wheel drive and above-average off-road capability while gaining new tech and convenience features and all-around refinement.

These are the questions Subaru asks with the new Forester. It’s not all-new, not by any major stretch, because it still has the same basic shell as the old one and it’s still roughly the same size as the old one, both inside and out. It's also still as slow as the old one, but you can tell it’s different from the moment you set foot in it.

Subaru brings in more standard features, including its excellent X-Mode software, to more trims with marginal price increases and better tech. What's not to like? "Well, it kinda drives like a Subaru Forester!

With the 2025 Subaru Forester, it's clear that Subaru is keen to put those days behind us. In many ways, as is typical with Subaru, the underpinnings of the new Forester are basic and not unlike the rest of its lineup, barring the WRX and the BRZ.

Subaru's new Forester debuts a fresh style upgrade, but has this early flag-bearer in the SUV segment done enough to stand out amid fierce competition?

We trekked out to the Paws Up Ranch in Montana to drive the new 2025 Subaru Forester and found out firsthand when we got lost in the kind of way that’s only possible in the forest-covered mountains of Big Sky Country.