10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Subaru Forester Hybrid Passes Honda Passport, Toyota 4Runner

If you’re paying a premium for a hybrid powertrain on your SUV, you almost certainly want to know if it delivers on its promises with regard to fuel economy — or, in the case of the 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid, overdelivers. To determine whether the Forester Hybrid can achieve its 35 mpg rating for combined city and highway driving in real-world driving, Cars.com editors took it on a standardized 200-mile test loop, traversing major highways, two-lane rural roads and suburban stop-and-go traffic. The results — as reported in our most popular news article of the past week — were more than enough to put the compact all-wheel-drive SUV in contention with top competitors from Honda and Toyota with better EPA estimates.

Related: 10 Biggest News Stories of the Month: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Prices Out Acura RDX

Here’s the breakdown on how the trip transpired:

• At nearly 47 miles of driving on higher-speed highways, the Forester Hybrid returned just under 38 mpg.
• After a stretch including slower speeds on rural two-lane roads, 107 miles in, real-world gas mileage improved to just over 38 mpg.
• Hitting suburban roads, mileage fell back down just below 38 mpg, near the 147-mile mark.
• And finally, on the return trip, participants encountered a lot of stop-and-go traffic, which helped push the Forester Hybrid’s fuel economy to just over 39 mpg — besting the EPA estimates of its chief rivals.

For full details on our real-world mileage evaluation of the 2025 Forester Hybrid — including a comprehensive video chronicle of the test drive — follow the link below to the No. 1 news story on this week’s countdown of most read articles.

On the other hand, if you’re not looking for an SUV that sips fuel on long drives but instead roars to life where the asphalt ends, move your eyes down just one spot on the countdown to our head-to-head comparison of the 2026 Honda Passport in TrailSport Elite form and the 2025 Toyota 4Runner in TRD Off-Road Premium guise. Long story short, the Passport surpassed the 4Runner in two of three categories, while the two off-road SUVs tied in the third. In terms of on-road manners, the Passport felt “more composed” and had a “smoother powertrain,” our editors concluded. In interior quality and comfort, the Passport stamped the 4Runner in quality and construction, with a more spacious backseat. But both SUVs acquitted themselves equally honorably past the pavement, with the Passport edging out the 4Runner in as-is capability while the 4Runner’s potential remains higher with aftermarket upgrades.

For a complete account of our comparison of the 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Elite and 2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium — including a specs breakdown as well as areas in which the 4Runner outperformed the Passport — follow the link below to the No. 2 news story of the week.

Beyond that, we’ve got headlines on the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Rivian R1T, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Toyota RAV4, Ford Bronco and much more — so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:

1. We Take the 2025 Subaru Forester Hybrid on Our MPG Loop to See if It Delivers the Goods

2. This or That: 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport Elite Vs. 2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium

3. Here Are the 10 Cheapest New Cars You Can Buy Right Now

4. More Than 1 Million Toyota, Lexus Vehicles Recalled for Backup Cameras

5. 2026 Jeep Grand Cherokee: A New Heart for Jeep’s Moneymaker

6. 2025 Rivian R1T Quad Motor Review: Why Get Four When Three is So Good?

7. 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS Review: Powerful and Sporty, With a Cadillac Price

8. 2026 Toyota RAV4 Review: The Obvious Choice Becomes the No-Brainer

9. Ford Recalls 163,000-Plus Bronco SUVs for Loose Seat Bolt

10. Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.