Compare the2025 Lincoln CorsairVS 2025 Subaru Forester

The Lincoln Corsair has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Forester doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Corsair offers optional Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply 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 Corsair has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Forester’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Corsair has standard Cross-Traffic Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Braking automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Forester and its not available on the Base and the Forester’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Both the Corsair and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and around view monitors.

The Corsair comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Forester’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Corsair 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Subaru covers the Forester. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Forester ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Corsair has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Forester doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

The Corsair’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 70 more horsepower (250 vs. 180) and 97 lbs.-ft. more torque (275 vs. 178) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Corsair Grand Touring’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 86 more horsepower (266 vs. 180) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Lincoln Corsair turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Subaru Forester:

On the EPA test cycle the Corsair running on electricity gets better mileage than the Forester:

On the EPA test cycle the Corsair running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Forester:

The Corsair Grand Touring can travel with zero emissions for 27 miles. The Forester can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Corsair Grand Touring’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Forester doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Corsair has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Forester doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Corsair stops shorter than the Forester:

For better traction, the Corsair’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Forester (245/45R20 vs. 235/50R19).

The Corsair’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Forester Sport/Touring’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Corsair Premiere has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Forester. The Corsair’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Forester Sport/Touring.

The Corsair offers an optional 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.

The Corsair has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Forester doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Corsair’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Forester (106.7 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Corsair is .9 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

The Corsair Reserve AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Forester Sport pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Corsair uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Forester doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Corsair. The Forester doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Corsair’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Forester’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Subaru Forester is only 1500 pounds. The Corsair offers up to a 3000 lbs. towing capacity.

The Corsair Grand Touring can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Corsair can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Forester can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Corsair 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.

The Corsair offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, warning, turn signal 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 Corsair and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Corsair 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 Corsair’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/Limited/Touring’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Corsair the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Corsair’s exterior PIN entry system. The Forester doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its STARLINK Connected Services can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Corsair’s standard Intelligent Access allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the vehicle, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless Access and Start is only offered on the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring, and doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The Corsair’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Forester’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Corsair’s optional wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The Corsair’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/Limited/Touring.

The Corsair Reserve/Grand Touring offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Forester.

The Corsair’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Forester doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Corsair is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Forester doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Lincoln Corsair, based on reliability, safety and performance.