Compare the2023 Lincoln CorsairVS 2023 Subaru Forester

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Lincoln Corsair 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 Corsair has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Forester doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Corsair offers an optional 360-Degree Camera 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 Corsair 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 Corsair 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 Corsair and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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 and available all wheel drive.

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

	Corsair	Forester
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	143	186
Neck Injury Risk	22.5%	23%
Neck Stress	185 lbs.	326 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	188/315 lbs.	248/368 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	102	293
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.7 inches
Neck Stress	181 lbs.	213 lbs.
Neck Compression	58 lbs.	103 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 Lincoln Corsair is safer than the Subaru Forester:

	Corsair	Forester
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	240 lbs.	389 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	97	246
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	56 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	11 inches	16 inches
Spine Acceleration	32 G’s	40 G’s
Hip Force	462 lbs.	673 lbs.

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

Warranty

The Corsair comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Forester’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Corsair 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Subaru covers the Forester. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Forester ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Reliability

The Corsair has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Forester doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in initial quality. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in long-term dependability. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Subaru is rated below average.

Engine

The Corsair’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 68 more horsepower (250 vs. 182) and 99 lbs.-ft. more torque (275 vs. 176) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Corsair Grand Touring’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 84 more horsepower (266 vs. 182) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Lincoln Corsair turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Subaru Forester:

	Corsair	Forester
Zero to 60 MPH	7.3 sec	9.6 sec
Quarter Mile	15.6 sec	17.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	88.4 MPH	82.3 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Corsair running on electricity gets better mileage than the Forester:

			MPGe
Corsair
	AWD	Grand Touring Electric Motor	83 city/72 hwy
Forester
			MPG
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/33 hwy
		Wilderness 2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/28 hwy

On the EPA test cycle the Corsair running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Forester:

			MPG
Corsair
	AWD	2.5 4-cyl. Hybrid	34 city/32 hwy
Forester
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/33 hwy
		Wilderness 2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/28 hwy

The Corsair Grand Touring can travel with zero emissions for 28 miles. The Forester can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Corsair Grand Touring’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Forester doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Corsair 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.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Corsair’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Forester:

	Corsair	Forester
Front Rotors	12.1 inches	11.6 inches
Rear Rotors	11.9 inches	11.2 inches

The Corsair stops much shorter than the Forester:

	Corsair	Forester
70 to 0 MPH	165 feet	181 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	118 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Corsair’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Forester (245/45R20 vs. 225/60R17).

The Corsair’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Forester Sport/Limited/Touring’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Corsair Standard has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Forester. The Corsair’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Forester Sport/Limited/Touring.

Suspension and Handling

The Corsair offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Forester’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Corsair’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Forester (106.7 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Corsair is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

The Corsair Reserve AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Forester Wilderness pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Corsair Reserve AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Forester Touring (27.3 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

Chassis

The Corsair uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Forester doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Cargo Capacity

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Corsair’s available 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.

Towing

The Corsair’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Forester’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Subaru Forester is only 3000 pounds. The Corsair offers up to a 3000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Corsair Grand Touring can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Corsair can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Forester can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Servicing Ease

The Corsair uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Forester uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Corsair offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, warning, turn signal 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 Corsair and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Corsair 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 Corsair’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Forester’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. With the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Corsair the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Corsair’s standard 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. The Corsair’s optional wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

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

The Corsair’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Corsair keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Forester doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Corsair Reserve/Grand Touring offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Forester.

The Corsair has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Forester Wilderness/Limited/Touring.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Lincoln Corsair offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Forester doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Corsair’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Forester doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Model Availability

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

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Corsair is less expensive to operate than the Forester because typical repairs cost less on the Corsair than the Forester, including $185 less for a starter, $151 less for fuel injection and $60 less for front struts.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Lincoln Corsair and the Subaru Forester, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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