Compare the2024 Subaru ForesterVS 2024 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque

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 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 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 Range Rover Evoque doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 Range Rover Evoque 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 Range Rover Evoque doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

Both the Forester and the Range Rover Evoque have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 Range Rover Evoque has not been tested, yet.

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Forester 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Land Rover covers the Range Rover Evoque. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Range Rover Evoque ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 3 times as many Subaru dealers as there are Land Rover 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 Range Rover Evoque.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Forester third among compact suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Range Rover Evoque 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 Land Rover vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Land Rover 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 Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Land Rover With 58 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Land Rover.

As tested in Motor Trend the Subaru Forester is faster than the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque:

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

On the EPA test cycle the Forester gets better mileage than the Range Rover Evoque:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Forester uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Range Rover Evoque 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 Range Rover Evoque. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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 Range Rover Evoque doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Forester stops much shorter than the Range Rover Evoque:

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 Range Rover Evoque; it requires you to depend on a temporary spare, which limits mileage and speed before replacement.

The Forester Limited handles at .82 G’s, while the Range Rover Evoque pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Forester Limited executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Range Rover Evoque (27.3 seconds @ .63 average G’s vs. 28.5 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Range Rover Evoque’s (35.4 feet vs. 38 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Forester has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Range Rover Evoque (8.7 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the Forester to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Forester Wilderness’ minimum ground clearance is .9 inch higher than on the Range Rover Evoque (9.2 vs. 8.3 inches).

The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 500 pounds less than the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.

The Forester is 6.9 inches narrower on average than the Range Rover Evoque, 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 Range Rover Evoque doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Forester has 2.3 inches more front headroom, 3.3 inches more front legroom, 1.5 inches more front shoulder room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom, 5.4 inches more rear legroom and 1.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Range Rover Evoque.

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

The front step up height for the Forester is 3.2 inches lower than the Range Rover Evoque (15.5” vs. 18.7”). The Forester’s rear step up height is 1.3 inches lower than the Range Rover Evoque’s (17.25” vs. 18.5”).

The Forester has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Range Rover Evoque with its rear seat up (28.9 vs. 21.6 cubic feet). The Forester has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Range Rover Evoque with its rear seat folded (74.2 vs. 50.5 cubic feet).

The Forester’s cargo area is larger than the Range Rover Evoque’s in almost every dimension:

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the Forester Wilderness/Limited/Touring’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Range Rover Evoque doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The engine in the Forester is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Range Rover Evoque. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

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 Range Rover Evoque doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its InControl 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 Range Rover Evoque’s power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

Consumer Reports rated the Forester’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Range Rover Evoque’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

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 Range Rover Evoque 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 Range Rover Evoque 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 $2210 to $4405 less than the Range Rover Evoque 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 Range Rover Evoque only retains 50.91% to 52.06%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Forester is less expensive to operate than the Range Rover Evoque because typical repairs cost much less on the Forester than the Range Rover Evoque, including $329 less for a muffler, $121 less for front brake pads, $252 less for a fuel pump, $268 less for front struts and $28 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Subaru Forester will be $25325 to $25634 less than for the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.

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

The Subaru Forester outsold the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque by over 40 to one during 2023.