Compare the2023 Genesis GV70VS 2023 Subaru Forester

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The GV70’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Forester doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the GV70 and Forester have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The GV70 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Forester’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The GV70 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.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the GV70 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The GV70’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 GV70 Advanced/Sport has a standard Surround 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 GV70 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 and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Forester’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the GV70 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 GV70 and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.

The Genesis GV70 weighs 547 to 1129 pounds more than the Subaru Forester. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Warranty

The GV70 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes free 24-hour roadside assistance. The Forester’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Genesis’ powertrain warranty covers the GV70 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Subaru covers the Forester. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Forester ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The GV70’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Forester’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Genesis pays for scheduled maintenance on the GV70 for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Genesis will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Forester.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates rated the GV70 second among compact premium suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Forester isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Genesis vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Genesis fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 35 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 20th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Genesis vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Genesis fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 71 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 22nd.

Engine

The GV70’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 118 more horsepower (300 vs. 182) and 135 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 176) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The GV70’s optional 3.5 turbo V6 produces 193 more horsepower (375 vs. 182) and 215 lbs.-ft. more torque (391 vs. 176) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Genesis GV70 is faster than the Subaru Forester:

	GV70 turbo 4 cyl.	GV70 turbo V6	Forester
Zero to 60 MPH	5.6 sec	4.6 sec	8.5 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	14.5 sec	12 sec	23.7 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	6.6 sec	5.4 sec	9 sec
Passing 30 to 50 MPH	3.4 sec	2.9 sec	4.3 sec
Passing 50 to 70 MPH	4.3 sec	3.8 sec	5.9 sec
Quarter Mile	14.1 sec	13.2 sec	16.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	99 MPH	104 MPH	86 MPH
Top Speed	150 MPH	150 MPH	127 MPH

Transmission

The GV70’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Forester doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the GV70’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Forester:

	GV70 2.5T	GV70 3.5T	Forester Base	Forester
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	14.2 inches	11.6 inches	12.4 inches
Rear Rotors	12.8 inches	13.6 inches	11.2 inches	11.2 inches

The GV70’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 GV70 stops much shorter than the Forester:

	GV70	Forester
70 to 0 MPH	167 feet	181 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	124 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the GV70 has larger standard tires than the Forester (235/60R18 vs. 225/60R17). The GV70 Sport Prestige’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Forester (255/40R21 vs. 225/60R17).

The GV70 Sport Prestige’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 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 GV70 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Forester. The GV70 Sport Prestige’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Forester Sport/Limited/Touring.

Suspension and Handling

The GV70 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 GV70’s wheelbase is 8.1 inches longer than on the Forester (113.2 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the GV70 is 3.3 inches wider in the front and 3.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

The GV70’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (52.6% to 47.4%) than the Forester’s (57.3% to 42.7%). This gives the GV70 more stable handling and braking.

The GV70 Sport Prestige handles at .86 G’s, while the Forester Wilderness pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The GV70 Sport Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.7 seconds quicker than the Forester Touring (26.4 seconds @ .7 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

Chassis

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the GV70 Advanced is quieter than the Forester Limited:

	GV70	Forester
Full-Throttle	73 dB	74 dB
70 MPH Cruising	65 dB	69 dB

Cargo Capacity

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the GV70’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind 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 GV70’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Forester’s (3500 vs. 1500 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The GV70 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 GV70 3.5T Sport Prestige has a standard 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 GV70 and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the GV70 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 GV70’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.

On a hot day the GV70’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The GV70’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Forester’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the GV70 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Forester doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The GV70’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.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the GV70 Select/Advanced/Sport/3.5T 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 GV70 Sport Prestige/3.5T has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Forester.

The GV70 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 Genesis GV70 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Forester doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The GV70 Advanced/Sport/3.5T has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Forester doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The GV70 Advanced/Sport Prestige’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Forester doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Genesis GV70 and the Subaru Forester, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the GV70 first among compact premium suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Forester isn’t in the top three in its category.

The GV70 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023. The Forester hasn’t been picked since 2006.

Motor Trend selected the GV70 as their 2022 Sport Utility of the Year. The Forester has never been chosen.