Compare the2024 Subaru ForesterVS 2023 Volkswagen ID.4

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Forester are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The ID.4 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Subaru Forester has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The ID.4 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Forester has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The ID.4 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Forester. But it costs extra on the ID.4.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The ID.4 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the Forester and the ID.4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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 blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Forester is safer than the Volkswagen ID.4:

	Forester	ID.4
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	31%	54%

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 Subaru Forester is safer than the Volkswagen ID.4:

	Forester	ID.4
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	66	76
Chest Movement	.6 inches	.8 inches
Abdominal Force	122 lbs.	128 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	121	333
Spine Acceleration	40 G’s	43 G’s
Hip Force	673 lbs.	925 lbs.

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

Warranty

The Forester’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the ID.4’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Forester’s reliability 43 points higher than the ID.4.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Forester third among compact suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The ID.4 isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 64 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 16 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Forester lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The ID.4 doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Brakes and Stopping

The Subaru Forester has standard four-wheel disc brakes for better stopping power and improved directional control in poor weather. Only rear drums come on the ID.4. Drums can heat up and make stops longer, especially with antilock brakes that work much harder than conventional brakes.

The Forester stops shorter than the ID.4:

	Forester	ID.4
60 to 0 MPH	130 feet	134 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Forester Wilderness has a standard full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare isn’t available on the ID.4; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

Chassis

The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 850 to 1250 pounds less than the Volkswagen ID.4.

The front grille of the Forester uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The ID.4 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Forester has 11.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the ID.4 (111.6 vs. 99.9).

The Forester has .6 inches more front headroom, 2.2 inches more front legroom, .6 inches more front shoulder room, 1.7 inches more rear headroom, 1.8 inches more rear legroom, 6.9 inches more rear hip room and 1.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the ID.4.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s rear seats recline. The ID.4’s rear seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

The Forester has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the ID.4 with its rear seat folded (74.2 vs. 64.2 cubic feet).

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Volkswagen ID.4 is limited to 2700 pounds. The Forester offers up to a 3000 lbs. towing capacity.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s exterior PIN entry system. The ID.4 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Car-Net can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Forester has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the ID.4 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Forester has standard extendable sun visors. The ID.4 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Forester’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The ID.4 has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® chose the Subaru Forester as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Volkswagen ID.4 isn't recommended.

The Subaru Forester outsold the Volkswagen ID.4 by almost six to one during 2022.