10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Subaru Forester Makes Mileage, Mazda CX-5 Gets Good
If you’re in the market for a hybrid compact SUV, you can get significantly better mileage out of the Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson and Honda CR-V than you can out of the 2026 Subaru Forester. But given Subaru’s famously strong brand loyalty, it might just be enough for the Subie faithful knowing they will go farther on a fill-up and pay less at the pump if they opt for the Forester’s new hybrid powertrain. We break down the benefits in one of Cars.com’s most popular news stories of the past week.
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The latest Forester in gas-only form gets an EPA-estimated 26/33/29 mpg city/highway/combined in base, Premium and Limited trims; 25/32/28 mpg in its midrange Sport and Touring levels; and 24/28/26 mpg in the range-topping Wilderness. The hybrid setup — available with Premium, Sport, Limited and Touring trims — makes substantial gains over the gas-only model with an estimated 35/34/35 mpg. The fuel-sipping Forester is bested by rival hybrid compact SUVs from Toyota Hyundai and Honda in its combined rating — but the better comparison for the standard all-wheel-drive Subaru is fellow AWD models, among which it falls in the middle of the pack.
For the full download on the 2026 Subaru Forester’s fuel economy, follow the link below to the No. 2 news story on this week’s countdown of most read articles.
Elsewhere in notable news for compact SUV shoppers, you may not find good gas mileage in the 2026 Mazda CX-5, but you’ll find plenty else to like about the latest redesign. In our rapid-fire roundup of the pros and cons of the new CX-5, our reviewers lauded the new touchscreen infotainment system that replaces a clunky rotary-dial setup with big, bold, beautiful and user-friendly displays; improved rear-seat room and cargo improvements; well-calibrated carryover engine mated to a confident-shifting six-speed automatic transmission; athletic driving dynamics; and competitive pricing, with a midrange model shaking out to less than $36,000 (including destination charge). However, we lamented the disappearance of physical controls, with some functions swallowed up into touchscreen oblivion, as well as a terminally so-so fuel-economy rating of 24/30/26 mpg city/highway/combined.
For the full context on what gave us grins and gripes about the 2026 Mazda CX-5, follow the link below to the No. 3 news story of the week.
Beyond that, we’ve got headlines on the Honda HR-V, Toyota Camry, Kia Telluride, Nissan Z, Honda Prologue 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. The 2026 Honda HR-V Is a Pint-Sized Alternative to the CR-V: Review
2. What’s the 2026 Subaru Forester’s MPG?
3. Is the 2026 Mazda CX-5 a Good SUV? 5 Pros, 2 Cons
4. What’s the 2026 Toyota Camry’s MPG?
5. 2027 Kia Telluride Review: Fancier and More Frugal
6. 2027 Nissan Z Gets Mild Updates, Available Manual Transmission for NISMO Trim
7. Honda Offering More Than $20,000 Off Prologue Electric SUV
8. Here’s Every All-New or Redesigned EV for 2026
9. See Every Photo We Took of the New 2026 Mazda CX-5’s Interior
10. Here Are the 10 Cheapest New Cars You Can Buy Right Now
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