Compare the2024 Subaru ForesterVS 2024 Jaguar F-Pace

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Jaguar F-Pace doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Jaguar F-Pace doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

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 F-Pace 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 F-Pace 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 F-Pace doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Forester (except Base/Premium) offers optional Reverse Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The F-Pace doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

Both the Forester and the F-Pace have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Forester the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 98 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The F-Pace has not been tested, yet.

There are over 4 times as many Subaru dealers as there are Jaguar dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Forester’s warranty.

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 52 points higher than the F-Pace.

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

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Jaguar With 7 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Jaguar.

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

On the EPA test cycle the Forester gets better mileage than the F-Pace:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Forester uses regular unleaded gasoline. The F-Pace requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Forester has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the F-Pace. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Subaru Forester higher (7 out of 10) than the Jaguar F-Pace (3 to 7). This means the Forester produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the F-Pace every 15,000 miles.

The Forester has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The F-Pace doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Forester Wilderness has a standard full size spare so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare costs extra on the F-Pace. Without the option you must depend on a temporary spare, which has mileage and speed limitations, or roadside assistance and a tow-truck.

For better maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 3.8 feet tighter than the F-Pace’s (35.4 feet vs. 39.2 feet). The Forester’s turning circle is 4 feet tighter than the F-Pace SVR’s (35.4 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Forester has a greater minimum ground clearance than the F-Pace (8.7 vs. 8.4 inches), allowing the Forester to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Forester Wilderness’ minimum ground clearance is .6 inch higher than on the F-Pace SVR (9.2 vs. 8.6 inches).

The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 900 pounds less than the Jaguar F-Pace.

The Forester is 4.2 inches shorter than the F-Pace, making the Forester easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Forester is 9.8 inches narrower on average than the F-Pace, making the Forester easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

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 F-Pace doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver while under full throttle, the interior of the Forester Touring is quieter than the F-Pace SVR (81 vs. 87 dB).

The Forester has 15.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the F-Pace (111.6 vs. 96).

The Forester has 1.5 inches more front headroom, 3 inches more front legroom, .4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, 2.2 inches more rear legroom and 1.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the F-Pace.

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

The front step up height for the Forester is 3.7 inches lower than the F-Pace (15.5” vs. 19.2”). The Forester’s rear step up height is 2.6 inches lower than the F-Pace’s (17.25” vs. 19.8”).

The Forester has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the F-Pace with its rear seat folded (74.2 vs. 70.4 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Forester easier. The Forester’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.5 inches, while the F-Pace’s liftover is 30.5 inches.

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

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 F-Pace doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its SOS Emergency Call can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Forester’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The F-Pace’s power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Forester has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The F-Pace doesn’t offer cornering lights.

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 F-Pace doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Insurance will cost less for the Forester owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Forester will cost $3730 to $10200 less than the F-Pace over a five-year period.

The Forester will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Forester will retain 56.38% to 59.98% of its original price after five years, while the F-Pace only retains 50.96% to 53.31%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Subaru Forester will be $28855 to $55205 less than for the Jaguar F-Pace.

Consumer Reports® chose the Subaru Forester as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Subaru Forester outsold the Jaguar F-Pace by over 29 to one during 2023.