Compare the2023 Toyota Rav4VS 2023 Subaru Forester

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

Safety

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The Rav4 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies 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 Rav4 Limited/TRD Off-Road offers an optional Bird’s Eye View 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.

Both the Rav4 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, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Rav4 is safer than the Subaru Forester:

	Rav4	Forester
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	284	293
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.7 inches
Neck Compression	95 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 Toyota Rav4 is safer than the Subaru Forester:

	Rav4	Forester
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.6 inches
Hip Force	246 lbs.	389 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	146	246
Spine Acceleration	49 G’s	56 G’s
Hip Force	508 lbs.	670 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	16 inches
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	40 G’s

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

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 Toyota Rav4 is safer than the Forester:

	Rav4	Forester
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Structure	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Tension	134 lbs.	223 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	.47 in	.91 in
Shoulder Force	178 lbs.	201 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.34 in	1.5 in
Torso Deflection Rate	7 MPH	8 MPH
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	542	544
Neck Compression	223 lbs.	290 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Shoulder Deflection	.94 in	2.2 in
Shoulder Force	290 lbs.	469 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	.83 in	1.26 in
Torso Deflection Rate	8 MPH	8 MPH
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD

Warranty

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Rav4 for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Forester.

There are almost 2 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Rav4’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in initial quality. With 19 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 Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Subaru is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota first in overall reliability. Subaru is ranked 7th.

Engine

The Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 21 more horsepower (203 vs. 182) and 8 lbs.-ft. more torque (184 vs. 176) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota Rav4 is faster than the Subaru Forester:

	Rav4	Forester
Zero to 30 MPH	2.8 sec	3.7 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	8 sec	9.6 sec
Zero to 80 MPH	13.5 sec	15.5 sec
Passing 45 to 65 MPH	4.2 sec	4.4 sec
Quarter Mile	16.2 sec	17.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	87.6 MPH	82.3 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Rav4 gets better mileage than the Forester:

			MPG
Rav4
	FWD	XLE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/34 hwy
		LE/Limited 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/35 hwy
	AWD	LE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/34 hwy
		XLE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/33 hwy
		Adventure/Limited 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/33 hwy
		TRD Off-Road 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/32 hwy
Forester
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/33 hwy
		Wilderness 2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/28 hwy

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Rav4’s standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the Forester:

	Rav4	Forester
Front Rotors	12 inches	11.6 inches

The Rav4 stops much shorter than the Forester:

	Rav4	Forester
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	181 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	120 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Forester (235/55R19 vs. 225/60R17).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited has standard 19-inch wheels. The Forester’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

Suspension and Handling

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Rav4 is 1.2 inches wider in the front and 1.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

The Rav4 Adventure handles at .84 G’s, while the Forester Wilderness pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Rav4 Adventure executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Forester Touring (27.5 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

Chassis

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the Rav4 Limited 4WD is quieter than the Forester Limited (38 vs. 41 dB).

Cargo Capacity

The Rav4 has a much larger cargo volume than the Forester with its rear seat up (37.6 vs. 28.9 cubic feet).

The Rav4’s cargo area is larger than the Forester’s in almost every dimension:

	Rav4	Forester
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	40”/73.4”	35.7”/73.1”
Max Width	59”	51.5”
Min Width	39.4”	43.3”
Height	36.6”	34.8”

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Rav4 Limited’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

Maximum trailer towing in the Subaru Forester is limited to 3000 pounds. The Rav4 4WD offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Ergonomics

The power windows standard on both the Rav4 and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Rav4 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 Rav4’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 Rav4 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road’s optional wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Forester’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Rav4 (except LE/XLE/Adventure) 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.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Toyota Rav4 XLE Premium/Limited/TRD Off-Road offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Forester doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Rav4 Adventure/TRD Off-Road has a 115-volt a/c outlet in the cargo area, 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.

Model Availability

The Rav4 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 Rav4 is less expensive to operate than the Forester because it costs $63 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Rav4 than the Forester, including $140 less for a water pump, $110 less for a muffler, $79 less for a starter, $253 less for fuel injection and $216 less for front struts.

Recommendations

Car and Driver performed a comparison test in its May 2020 issue and they ranked the Toyota Rav4 Limited 4WD higher than the Subaru Forester Limited.

The Toyota Rav4 outsold the Subaru Forester by almost four to one during 2022.