Compare the2026 Mazda CX-30VS 2026 Subaru Forester

The Mazda CX-30 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help 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 CX-30 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 CX-30 has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Smart Braking Support - Rear Crossing on the Preferred/Carbon/Aire/Premium automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Forester and it’s not available on the Base and the Forester’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Both the CX-30 and the Forester 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 and available around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Subaru Forester:

	CX-30	Forester
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	148	198
Neck Stress	216 lbs.	263 lbs.
Neck Compression	18 lbs.	39 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	201/172 lbs.	276/274 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	179	211
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Neck Stress	172 lbs.	242 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Subaru Forester:

	CX-30	Forester
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	239 lbs.	349 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	121	208
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	58 G’s
Hip Force	623 lbs.	640 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
HIC	161	167

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the CX-30 is 1.9% to 2.7% less likely to roll over than the Forester.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mazda third in reliability, above the industry average. With 51 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 21st.

The CX-30’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 6 more horsepower (186 vs. 180) and 8 lbs.-ft. more torque (186 vs. 178) than the Forester’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The CX-30’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 56 more horsepower (250 vs. 194) than the Forester’s optional 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Car and Driver the Mazda CX-30 is faster than the Subaru Forester:

	CX-30 4 cyl.	CX-30 turbo 4 cyl.	Forester 4 cyl.	Forester 4 cyl. hybrid gas
Zero to 60 MPH	7.5 sec	6.2 sec	8.4 sec	8.4 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	7.9 sec	6.7 sec	8.8 sec	9.2 sec
Quarter Mile	15.8 sec	14.6 sec	16.6 sec	16.5 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	89 MPH	97 MPH	86 MPH	86 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the CX-30 with its standard engine gets better fuel mileage than the Forester Wilderness 2.5 DOHC flat-4 (24 city/31 hwy vs. 24 city/28 hwy).

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the CX-30 (except Turbo)’s fuel efficiency. The Forester doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The CX-30 stops much shorter than the Forester:

	CX-30	Forester
70 to 0 MPH	174 feet	176 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	131 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	147 feet	152 feet	Consumer Reports

The CX-30 has engine 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.

The CX-30 2.5 S Premium handles at .84 G’s, while the Forester Sport pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The CX-30 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Forester Sport (27 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

The CX-30 is 9.9 inches shorter than the Forester, making the CX-30 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The CX-30 Premium/Turbo Aire has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning, navigation instruction and driver assistance information 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 CX-30 and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the CX-30 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 CX-30’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/Wilderness/Sport/Limited/Touring’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

On a hot day the CX-30’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.

The CX-30 has a standard Pushbutton Start that allows you to start the engine without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Only the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Wilderness/Touring offers a Keyless Access and Start.

The CX-30 Preferred/Carbon/Aire/Premium’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Forester’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.