Compare the2023 Honda CR-VVS 2023 Subaru Forester

The Honda CR-V 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.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the CR-V deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The CR-V’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Forester’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The CR-V 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 CR-V has standard Cross Traffic Monitor, helping the driver avoid collisions. Subaru charges extra for rear cross-path warning on the Forester and its not available on the Base.

Compared to metal, the CR-V’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Forester has a metal gas tank.

Both the CR-V 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, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Honda CR-V is safer than the Forester:

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CR-V its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Forester is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2023.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the CR-V for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Forester.

There are over 68 percent more Honda dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CR-V’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. With 8 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Honda higher than Subaru.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 2 places higher in reliability than Subaru.

The CR-V’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 8 more horsepower (190 vs. 182) and 3 lbs.-ft. more torque (179 vs. 176) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

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

On the EPA test cycle the CR-V gets better mileage than the Forester:

The CR-V 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.

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

The CR-V stops shorter than the Forester:

For better traction, the CR-V has larger tires than the Forester (235/60R18 vs. 225/60R17).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CR-V has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Forester.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CR-V’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the Forester (106.3 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CR-V is 1.8 inches wider in the front and 2.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

The CR-V EX-L AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Forester Touring pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The CR-V 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.

The CR-V has 1.5 inches more front hip room and 1 inch more rear legroom than the Forester.

The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Forester with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 28.9 cubic feet). The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Forester with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 74.2 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the CR-V easier. The CR-V’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 26 inches, while the Forester’s liftover is 28.4 inches.

The CR-V’s cargo area is larger than the Forester’s in almost every dimension:

The CR-V 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.

The CR-V’s standard front power windows 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. The CR-V EX-L’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches. With the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

On a hot day the CR-V’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The CR-V’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.

The CR-V’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.

The CR-V 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 Honda CR-V EX-L has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Forester doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

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

The CR-V was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “5Best Trucks/10Best” for 2023 and 3 more times in the last 22 years. The Forester hasn’t been picked since 2006, and the Forester has only been chosen 3 times.

Motor Trend selected the CR-V as their 2018 Sport Utility of the Year. The Forester has never been chosen.

The Honda CR-V outsold the Subaru Forester by over two to one during 2022.