Compare the2022 Subaru ForesterVS 2022 Honda CR-V

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

© 1999 - 2024Advanta-STAR Automotive Research, all rights reserved. This vehicle comparison and all of the content in it are provided only by license from Advanta-STAR Automotive Research Corporation of America (“Advanta-STAR”). If you are not a legally licensed user of this vehicle comparison, it is against federal law to access it, copy it, forward it, or use it in any manner whatsoever. Any unauthorized use of this vehicle comparison is a violation of U.S. and international law and is punishable criminally and civilly. Removal of this watermark/notification without prior written license and approval received from Advanta-STAR is an agreement, understanding, and/or stipulation by the person(s), entities, agents, attorneys, and any other persons involved in the removal of this watermark/notification (including but not limited to Search Optics, LLC and any and all parent entities, sister entities, and subsidiary entities of Search Optics, LLC and/or any other entity, agent, attorney, and persons related in any manner to Search Optics, LLC) to: 1) an agreed upon amount of liquidated monetary damages of a minimum of $1,250,000.00 US Dollars in favor of Advanta-STAR; 2) the jurisdiction and enforcement of any legal claims associated with this matter asserted by Advanta-STAR in the United States Federal District Court in Portand, Oregon; and 3) service of process of any legal claims asserted by Advanta-STAR associated with this matter may be accomplished by First-Class Postage by the United States Postal Service or comparable service. XPYNN-M34HG 2a06:98c0:3600::103 2024/05/02

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Honda CR-V doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Forester are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The CR-V doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Subaru Forester has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The CR-V doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Forester has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The CR-V doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Forester (except Base/Premium) offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The CR-V doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Forester. But it costs extra on the CR-V.

Both the Forester and the CR-V have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Forester is safer than the Honda CR-V:

	Forester	CR-V
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	23%	27%
Neck Compression	22 lbs.	70 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	293	309
Neck Injury Risk	31%	37%
Leg Forces (l/r)	105/93 lbs.	276/243 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Subaru Forester is safer than the Honda CR-V:

	Forester	CR-V
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	66	71
Chest Movement	.6 inches	.6 inches
Abdominal Force	122 G’s	142 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	121	386

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Forester its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 73 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The CR-V is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2021.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Forester has a standard 620-amp battery. The CR-V’s 410-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru 17th in reliability. With 20 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 27th.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Subaru Forester is faster than the Honda CR-V:

	Forester	CR-V
Zero to 60 MPH	8.3 sec	8.6 sec
Zero to 80 MPH	14.1 sec	14.7 sec
Passing 45 to 65 MPH	4.1 sec	4.4 sec
Quarter Mile	16.5 sec	16.7 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	86.2 MPH	84.9 MPH

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Forester lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The CR-V doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

The Forester has 2.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the CR-V (16.6 vs. 14 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Brakes and Stopping

The Forester stops shorter than the CR-V:

	Forester	CR-V
60 to 0 MPH	117 feet	119 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

The Forester’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the CR-V LX/SE’s standard 65 series tires.

The Forester Wilderness has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the CR-V; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

Suspension and Handling

The Forester Touring handles at .83 G’s, while the CR-V Touring pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Forester Limited executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the CR-V Touring (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the CR-V’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Forester has a greater minimum ground clearance than the CR-V (8.7 vs. 8.2 inches), allowing the Forester to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Forester Wilderness’ minimum ground clearance is 1 inch higher than on the CR-V (9.2 vs. 8.2 inches).

Passenger Space

The Forester has 6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the CR-V (111.9 vs. 105.9).

The Forester has 1.1 inches more front headroom, 2 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, 4.1 inches more rear hip room and 1.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the CR-V.

The front step up height for the Forester is 3.5 inches lower than the CR-V (15.5” vs. 19”). The Forester’s rear step up height is .8 inches lower than the CR-V’s (17.25” vs. 18”).

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Honda CR-V is limited to 1500 pounds. The Forester offers up to a 3000 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the Forester uses the Vehicle Dynamics Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The CR-V doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Forester is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the CR-V. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s exterior PIN entry system. The CR-V doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Forester’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The CR-V LX’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Forester has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The CR-V doesn’t offer cornering lights.

When the Forester Touring is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The CR-V’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Forester’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The CR-V offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Forester and the CR-V offer available heated front seats. The Forester Touring also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the CR-V.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Forester owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Forester with a number “1” insurance rate while the CR-V is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Forester is less expensive to operate than the CR-V because typical repairs cost much less on the Forester than the CR-V, including $3 less for a muffler, $16 less for a starter, $37 less for a fuel pump and $270 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Both are recommended, but Consumer Reports® chose the Subaru Forester as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.