Subaru Forester vs Honda CR-V

Originally featured on Carter Subaru Ballard

If you’re in the market for a compact SUV, chances are the Subaru Forester and Honda CR-V are both on your list. They’ve both earned solid reputations in this segment given a long history of being solid, reliable cars — people who own them tend to really love them, and that’s the best endorsement of all.

Here, we’ll be breaking down the details of each to help you decide which model best fits you.

· Pricing and size

· Reliability and safety

· Powertrain, fuel efficiency, and other specs

· Technology

· Off-roading

Pricing & Size

Let’s start with two of the most important basics: how much each costs, and the capacity you’re getting for that.

Pricing

Of course, pricing can vary by dealership, but in general:

· The CR-V starts at around $31,600.

· The Forester starts at around $26,400.

If you’re in the Pacific Northwest and researching between the two, our Subaru Forester inventory at Carter Subaru Shoreline changes frequently and you can check online to see up-to-date stock and pricing.

Size

As for the size that comes with these costs, you’re getting similar but slightly different specifications.

· Seating Capacity: Both start out with a five-person seating capacity, but from there the cars differentiate themselves based on where the space comes into play.

· Passenger Space: The Forester provides slightly more space for passengers (43.3 inches of legroom in the front versus 41.3 inches for the CR-V)

· Cargo Space: The CR-V has slightly more room for cargo. The CR-V’s cargo space advantage is at its most noticeable when all the seats are up — where it has 39 cubic feet to the Forester’s 29 cubic feet — but when the seats are down the cargo space is much closer, with 76.5 to the CR-V and 74.2 to the Forester.

A likely factor in which to choose will come down to how you’ll be using your car; if you need some more space for cargo while also needing to use the back seats most of the time, the CR-V might be better suited to you. Alternatively, if you don’t need quite as much cargo space so prefer sacrificing a little bit of that for some more personal comfort — or if you’ll be traveling with fewer people and so can fold down the back seats — the Forester will suit you quite well.

Reliability & Safety

One of the most important aspects to keep in mind when considering which vehicle to take home with you is their reliability and safety. A few things to know when comparing these two head-to-head:

· NHTSA: Both the CR-V and Forester earned five-star safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), so you know you’re dealing with two cars that take safety seriously.

· Recalls: There were earlier models of the CR-V that were recalled due to rusting safety issues from de-icing salts, but that shouldn’t be a concern for modern models or if you live somewhere — as we do here in the Puget Sound — where salt isn’t used to de-ice roads.

· J.D. Power: Credit should be given here though to the Forester for just edging out the CR-V in the J.D. Power quality and reliability ratings, with an 84 rating to the CR-V’s 82.

· Warranties: It’s also worth noting that both are backed by a three year, 36,000-mile basic warranty and a five year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Of course, a big part of safety when driving is preventative — it’s better to avoid accidents altogether! A huge factor in this is the handling, powertrain, and increasingly modern safety features.

If you’re in the Pacific Northwest like us, that means all-wheel drive. This is especially true if you ever plan to be in the mountains or foothills, where a two-wheel drive car can put you — and others — in danger. Even if you plan on sticking to the cities though, all-wheel drive is still a boon in places like Seattle or Tacoma where there are a lot of steep hills and slick roads.

This is the first area we’ve discussed where one of these models comes out on top: The Forester comes standard with all-wheel drive without an additional cost to the sticker price. While the CR-V offers all-wheel drive, you have to pay extra for that feature.

After this, both cars again are well-matched with other safety features; every grade of both model comes equipped with adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, and front automatic emergency braking. These are part of the Honda Sensing suite and Subaru EyeSight, each brand’s own bundle of safety features which include further safety technologies.

Powertrain, Fuel Efficiency, & Other Specs

Now that we’ve covered pricing, size and safety, let’s compare other important vehicle specs, like the engine, horsepower, and MPG.

· Engine: For the Forester, you’ll find a 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder engine while the CR-V has a 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder one. In theory, this would mean the Forester has more “oomph” to it while the CR-V would be more fuel efficient. However, with modern turbocharging increasing the power of smaller engines plus modern engines and car design being more aimed at fuel efficiency, there isn’t actually a huge difference here in these models.

· Horsepower: The CR-V’s turbocharged engine actually ends up with a little bit more horsepower and torque than the Forester. That is, the CR-V produces 190 horsepower at 6,000 RPMs, while the Forester produces just a bit under that with 182 horsepower at 5,800 RPMs.

· Torque: Similarly, the CR-V edges out the Forester by a smidge in torque, producing 179 pound-feet at 5,000 RPMs while the Forester is a bit under that with 176 pound-feet at 4,400 RPMs.

· Acceleration: The Forester just edges out the CR-V in acceleration, going from zero to 60 in 8.5 seconds (8.1 in the wilderness spec) while the CR-V takes 8.7 seconds — essentially a wash.

· MPG: When comparing both all-wheel drive models the Forester is actually pretty much just as fuel efficient as the CR-V. While the all-wheel drive CR-V gets 27 and 32 MPG in the city and highway respectively, the Forester is 26 and 33 MPG. The standard two-wheel drive CR-V is slightly more fuel efficient (28/34) since only two of the four wheels are being powered — but for safety reasons as we established earlier, when considering a vehicle of this size and utility, you should be choosing an all-wheel drive vehicle more often than not in the Pacific Northwest.

As you can see, the fuel efficiency and powertrains between these two vehicles is a testament to how much more versatile modern engines and builds are than in decades past, when fuel efficiency and power were more straightforward.

Technology

Once again, here you’ll see similar features that differentiate themselves through a few different details and it comes down to which is your personal preference.

Like most cars now, both of these models come with an infotainment touchscreen. The Forester’s is a bit smaller at 6.5-inch standard with an available 8-inch upgrade, while the CR-V’s standard offering is a 7-inch with a 9-inch available offer.

Despite this, most Forester trims do come with a secondary 6.3-inch display that’s higher up on the dashboard and subsequently has a safety impact of being more easily accessible in the driver’s line of sight.

Specialty Trim Options For Off-roading

This is one where the Forester has an advantage. While most will have their needs met with a non-specialty CR-V or Forester, if you’re planning on taking your vehicle off the beaten path, Subaru offers their popular Wilderness off-road trim. (This is available on not just the Forester, but the Outback and Crosstrek as well.)

This trim upgrades the Forester with improvements specifically for off-road, mountainous, and trail terrain.

Features here include

· Lifted suspension for raised ground clearance, improving approach, breakover, and departure angles

· Shorter final drive ratio for improved low-end torque

· Reprogrammed X-Mode all-wheel drive system for improved traction and control

· 17-inch wheels with all-terrain tires

· Water-repellent interior upholstery

· 180-degree front camera view

While the CR-V doesn’t have a comparable off-road trim, it’s possible Honda could introduce the TrailSport package which it currently offers to the Pilot and Passport models. Currently, however, they haven’t announced any plans to do so.

Overall, which one you choose will depend on your priorities and needs. If you do decide the Forester suits you best and live in the Puget Sound area or elsewhere in western Washington, we at Carter Subaru Shoreline would love to help find you your perfect car.