Compare the2025 Chevrolet BlazerVS 2025 Subaru Forester

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the Chevrolet Blazer are height-adjustable, and the rear seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Subaru Forester has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

Compared to metal, the Blazer’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Forester has a metal gas tank.

Both the Blazer and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The Blazer’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Forester’s (6 vs. 5 years).

There are almost 5 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Blazer’s warranty.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Blazer has a standard 170-amp alternator (155-amp - Blazer V6 FWD). The Forester’s 130-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Blazer second among midsize suvs in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The Forester isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet second in initial quality, above the industry average. With 23 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 12th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 13th.

The Blazer’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 48 more horsepower (228 vs. 180) and 80 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 178) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Blazer’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 128 more horsepower (308 vs. 180) and 92 lbs.-ft. more torque (270 vs. 178) than the Forester’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Chevrolet Blazer V6 is faster than the Subaru Forester:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Blazer V6’s fuel efficiency. The Forester doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Blazer FWD’s standard fuel tank has 2.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Forester (19.4 vs. 16.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Blazer AWD’s standard fuel tank has 5.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Forester (21.7 vs. 16.6 gallons).

The Blazer 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.

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

The Blazer stops shorter than the Forester:

For better traction, the Blazer has larger standard tires than the Forester (235/65R18 vs. 225/60R17). The Blazer RS/Premier’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Forester (265/45R21 vs. 235/50R19).

The Blazer RS/Premier’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 Blazer has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Forester. The Blazer RS/Premier’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Forester Sport/Touring.

The Chevrolet Blazer’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Subaru Forester only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Blazer has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Forester doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Blazer 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 Blazer’s wheelbase is 7.6 inches longer than on the Forester (112.7 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Blazer is 4.7 inches wider in the front and 4.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

The Blazer RS 4x4 handles at .87 G’s, while the Forester Sport pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Blazer 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.

The Blazer has .9 inches more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear legroom, .5 inches more rear hip room and 1.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Forester.

The Blazer has a larger cargo volume than the Forester with its rear seat up (30.5 vs. 29.6 cubic feet).

Maximum trailer towing in the Subaru Forester is limited to 1500 pounds. The Blazer offers up to a 4500 lbs. towing capacity.

The Blazer 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 Blazer can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Forester can’t be towed flat on the ground.

The Blazer 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 Blazer’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Forester does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The power windows standard on both the Blazer and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Blazer 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 Blazer’s front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Forester’s standard power windows’ passenger windows don’t open automatically. The Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to lower them fully.

On a hot day the Blazer’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. 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 Blazer LT/RS/Premier’s available 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 Blazer’s standard Keyless Open and Start allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, unlock the cargo door, and start the engine, 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 Blazer’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 Blazer offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, 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.

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