Compare the2022 Nissan RogueVS 2022 Subaru Forester

The Nissan Rogue has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Forester doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Rogue Platinum has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Forester doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Rogue SL/Platinum has a standard Around View® Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Forester only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

The Rogue has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Forester’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Rogue has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Forester and isn't available on the not available.

Both the Rogue and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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 and available all wheel drive.

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 Nissan Rogue is safer than the Subaru Forester:

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

There are over 69 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Rogue’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan fifth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 36 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 24th, below the industry average.

The Rogue’s 1.5 turbo 3-cylinder produces 19 more horsepower (201 vs. 182) and 49 lbs.-ft. more torque (225 vs. 176) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Rogue gets better mileage than the Forester:

The Rogue has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Forester doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Nissan Rogue higher (7 out of 10) than the Subaru Forester (6 to 7). This means the Rogue produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Forester every 15,000 miles.

The Rogue’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Forester are solid, not vented.

The Rogue stops much shorter than the Forester:

For better traction, the Rogue has larger tires than the Forester (235/65R17 vs. 225/60R17).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Rogue SL/Platinum has standard 19-inch wheels. The Forester’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The Rogue has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Forester doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Rogue’s wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than on the Forester (106.5 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The Rogue Platinum AWD handles at .84 G’s, while the Forester Limited pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Rogue has a much larger cargo volume than the Forester with its rear seat up (31.6 vs. 28.9 cubic feet).

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Rogue SL/Platinum’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Forester doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Rogue Platinum offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Forester doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Rogue and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Rogue is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Forester prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Rogue’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Forester’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the Rogue’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Forester’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Rogue to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Forester doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Nissan Rogue Platinum has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Forester doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Rogue is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Forester doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Nissan Rogue outsold the Subaru Forester by 69% during the 2021 model year.