Subaru Forester named Car of the Year in Japan 2025-2026

By: Volodymyr Kolominov | today, 08:19
Subaru Forester Hybrid: Winner of the Japan Car of the Year Award 2025-2026! Hybrid Subaru Forester — winner of the 2025-2026 Japan Car of the Year. Source: JCOTY

The crossover Subaru Forester received the title of Car of the Year in Japan 2025-2026 (JCOTY) — an award given to the most outstanding passenger car, as reported by the award selection committee.

What's Known

The JCOTY organizers noted the hybrid model for its integration of handling, practicality, comfort, and off-road capabilities while maintaining Subaru's high safety standards.

This is the first time in the last five years that Subaru has received the main JCOTY award. The last time Subaru received this title was in 2020 for the Levorg wagon.

The compact sports car Honda Prelude took second place, followed by Toyota Crown Estate.

Screenshot of JCOTY 2024-2025 results from jcoty.org
JCOTY 2024-2025 Results. Translated from Japanese to English. Screenshot: jcoty.org

This year, the award is being presented for the 46th time. The selection committee voted for passenger cars introduced or launched for sale in Japan from November 1, 2024, to October 31, 2025.

The winner of the Japan Car of the Year (JCOTY) 2024-2025 award was the compact minivan Honda Freed, surpassing Mazda CX-80 and Mini Cooper.

Source: JCOTY