Compare the2025 Subaru ForesterVS 2025 Toyota Land Cruiser

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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Forester uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The Land Cruiser uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Forester and the Land Cruiser have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Subaru Forester has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned an “Acceptable” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Land Cruiser has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 9 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

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

On the EPA test cycle the Forester gets better mileage than the Land Cruiser:

Both the Forester and Land Cruiser have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The Forester has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Forester stops much shorter than the Land Cruiser:

The Forester’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Land Cruiser 1958’s standard 70 series tires. The Forester Sport/Touring’s tires have a lower 50 series profile than the Land Cruiser’s optional 60 series tires.

The Forester Sport handles at .82 G’s, while the Land Cruiser pulls only .69 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Forester Sport executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.1 seconds quicker than the Land Cruiser (27.6 seconds @ .61 average G’s vs. 29.7 seconds @ .55 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 4 feet tighter than the Land Cruiser’s (35.4 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Forester has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Land Cruiser (8.7 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Forester to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1800 to 1850 pounds less than the Toyota Land Cruiser.

The Forester is 1 foot, 1.1 inches shorter than the Land Cruiser, making the Forester easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Forester is 5.9 inches narrower than the Land Cruiser, making the Forester easier to handle and maneuver in traffic.

The Forester is 7.6 inches shorter in height than the Land Cruiser, making the Forester much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Forester’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The Land Cruiser doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Forester has 1.1 inches more front headroom, 10.3 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more rear headroom and 12.7 inches more rear legroom than the Land Cruiser.

The front step up height for the Forester is 7.5 inches lower than the Land Cruiser (15.5” vs. 23”). The Forester’s rear step up height is 7.3 inches lower than the Land Cruiser’s (17.25” vs. 24.5”).

The Forester has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Land Cruiser with its rear seat folded (74.4 vs. 55.5 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 28.9 inches, while the Land Cruiser’s liftover is 35.6 inches.

The Forester’s cargo area is larger than the Land Cruiser’s in almost every dimension:

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the Forester Limited/Touring’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Forester’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Subaru service is better than Toyota. J.D. Power ranks Subaru 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 26% lower rating, Toyota is ranked 21st.

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 Land Cruiser doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Forester to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Land Cruiser doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

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 Land Cruiser has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Forester and the Land Cruiser offer available heated front seats. The Forester Touring also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Land Cruiser.