Popular Subaru Forester gets full makeover for 2025

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- It's a Subaru success story, for sure. And the Forester compact SUV has been completely redesigned for 2025.

Talk about a long legacy. The first Forester came along back when compact SUVs were just scratching the surface of the auto market. Even Subaru probably couldn't have predicted how overwhelmingly popular they'd become all these years later.

The Forester has an almost 30-year history behind it now. It first arrived in 1997 as a 1998 model and has evolved through five previous generations. Over the years, more that 2.6 million have been sold, just in the United States.

The new Forester arrives as a 2025 model with a $31,090 base price. Other trim levels are available, and the top trim is Touring with a base price of just under $42,000.

Technology has evolved for sure, including the latest generation of Subaru's EyeSight system, which comes standard and as its name implies, it literally watches the road for you and helps keep you safe.

It can also help you to pay attention. For example, if you should get distracted while waiting at a red light. When the car ahead of you drives away, but you're still stationary, you'll get an audible alert and a visual message on the instrument cluster.

And while the Forester is certainly capable for off road situations with standard all-wheel drive, Subaru also focused on its on-road manners, mainly in the form of a smoother ride. Smooth, but not necessarily speedy.

The 2.5 liter boxer four cylinder makes 180 horsepower, and does have its work cut out for it. It's fine in normal around-town driving, but load the Forester up with people and gear for a weekend trip and that engine will be audibly noticeable as it deals with the task at hand.

Over the past 25 years, the Forester has consistently been one of Subaru's top sellers. But like a lot of vehicles, in the post-COVID supply chain shortage, production did suffer. Well it's bounced back like crazy. In fact, this past March saw Forester's best sales month ever. And that was the outgoing model.

And part of the Forester's legacy is that they tend to stick around for many miles and years. Subaru says a good number of owners are repeat buyers, though they don't necessarily trade the old one in. Instead, those often get passed along to a family member.

So keep your eyes out for the newest version of the Forester with its new crisper styling. But you also might notice earlier ones still out there getting the job done after all these years.