2026 Subaru Forester Touring Hybrid long-term review: Part two

With a much longer trip to the Sunshine Coast on the horizon, a warm-up run to my family’s beach house in Loch Sport (Gippsland) seemed like a good way for us to get acquainted with the Subaru Forester when it comes to hours on the road.

It’s a 300km journey – about 3 hours and 40 minutes without traffic – and one I’ve been doing since I was eight. My dogs know it by heart too, so this trip wasn’t about discovering Loch Sport; it was about discovering how well the Forester can handle the chaos on longer trips.

We packed the Forester pretty tight, though technically there was space left – just not space anyone would actually want to sit in. Nugget (30kg), my Golden Retriever cross, claimed the entire boot, which immediately removed a generous chunk of useable room. Eddie (10kg), the Miniature Schnauzer, had one back seat to himself, while Strudel (5kg), the Toy Poodle cross, rode up front on her ‘passenger princess’ centre-console booster seat.

Everything else – bags, food and belongings – was stacked around them like a puzzle (definitely not foreshadowed by Subaru’s interior team).

The ride was largely comfy. At times, the road noise could have been described as borderline annoying, partly due to the varied road surfaces throughout the trip.

Making no pit stops on the way wasn’t a problem. My back didn’t hurt, and my body wasn’t sore, so the seats proved road-trip friendly. The air-con put in some overtime, and the rear vents were more than appreciated by everyone on board.

The infotainment didn't falter once, and I can't say anything negative about it. Wireless Android Auto connected every time and my phone charged to full with the wireless charger. Once my Spotify ran out of enthusiasm and simply quit trying to connect to 4G altogether, the FM radio picked up the slack, and there was no awkward silence.

On the way to Loch Sport, the Forester returned 6.1 litres per 100km, which is actually 0.1L better than what Subaru promises. It's hard to be mad at a car that overachieves, especially when fully loaded. The return trip was even better, at 6.0L/100km.

As someone who treats fuel economy like an internal competition, this was rather satisfying. Most of the drive is long, straight highway, so I let the cruise control do the bulk of the work, which obviously reduced fuel useage.

The Forester’s speed-sign recognition is designed to automatically adjust the adaptive cruise control, which sounds great in theory. In practice… we need to talk. The car consistently misread 50km/h signs as 60km/h, resulting in an unexpected burst of acceleration.

Normally, I wouldn’t use cruise at 50km/h, but Loch Sport is quiet enough that you could drive through town without meeting another car – so cruise control feels almost too convenient.

More concerning is when it gets things wrong at higher speeds. There are a few stubborn speed signs on the Princes Freeway that the Forester insists are 60km/h (rather than a sign-posted 80km/h), which triggers a fairly dramatic slowdown.

When traffic is heavier, this can get quite hairy. It also does this when it recognises off-ramp speed signs as the designated limit on the continuing freeway. Of course, you can fix this by staying alert or ditching the cruise entirely. 

Now for something more fun. Loch Sport has plenty of off-road tracks, many of which I’ve tackled before – mainly in my Suzuki Jimny, which encourages chaos. The Forester, meanwhile, feels more like the responsible friend reminding you to tie your shoelaces before you trip.

Subaru has made off-roading more accessible for newbies with its X-Modes. Through the touchscreen you can select from a few different terrains to tune the Subaru to those surfaces. This takes the a lot of the thinking and panic out of leaving the tarmac.

Recent rain meant I wasn’t about to push it too hard, but we headed out onto the sand tracks to test the dirt and mud modes, and the Forester handled everything confidently.

No slipping, no struggling, and no shaking us around. Its 220mm of ground clearance isn’t as generous as a traditional 4x4, so you do need to pick lines more carefully, but it’s definitely capable, and it hides its off-road ability behind that calm, medium SUV exterior.

The verdict? We won’t be cancelling Christmas on the Sunshine Coast. This trip amounted to around 700km. The next will be over 4000km, which is a very different beast.

However, so far, the Subaru has proved itself capable of tackling a full chaotic car, endless freeways and crazier terrains.