Subaru Forester or Outback, Opinions and/or Preferences?

[Hindfoot]

Looking at new Foresters and Outbacks and except for length, they seem very similar in all dimensions, as well as in most other aspects. Anyone with experience with either of these, or both, especially in how they drive and hold up, both on and off the pavement?

[cesare]

I've owned both... older models. Right now I have an '06 Outback. It hasn't held up quite as well as the '97 Forester I had before but I think there is more difference between years than models with Subaru. As far as performance is concerned, they are pretty close to identical. They get the job done. But when the road gets rough, Outbacks have a longer front end that can limit effective clearance. Outbacks are a little more solid feeling and smoother on the highway, but not by a lot. At six feet, I can sleep in an Outback but not in a Forester. For me, that has become the deciding factor. I don't want a car that I can't lie down flat in.

[Valdez Telehead]

We just dumped/sold the 06 F-250 for a tangerine 14 Subaru Crosstrek. My wife loves it as do a few others around town who just got one also. Good stuff so far. Takes us where we want to go. Good to be back in a smaller rig. Subaru's are extremely popular in AK and have a great track record. Never seen one in a ditch. Trucks? you betcha….

We considered the Outback and Forester, but they both seemed a bit too big for just the two of us. It has plenty of room for hauling months worth of food and such from Los Anchorage. Besides, the mileage was much better than the other two with a most excellent 8" of clearance. After 2 months with the vehicle my fuel bill has been cut in half. Can't wait to haul skis on top. I got a set of studded tires which should create a mini-tank to respond to our Chugach snows.

[RobRoyMeans]

Turning circle? Advantage Forester
Highway comfort? Advantage Outback
Grunt? Tied
Features in matched trim levels? Tied

It depends on what's needed....willingness and capabilty to nimbly get somewhere tight after the road trip to get there? Then it's Forester.

If the trip is straight forward but AWD is still essential, Outback is all you need.

[Dostie]

We're on our second Subaru. It would be 3 if they made an AWD mini-van with the Subaru Xmission and a V6 engine. Had an Outback that is still in the family, but our daughter inherited it. Mom's in a Crosstrek. She likes it a LOT! Agree with VT. I see a lot of 4WD pickups in the ditch in Truckee, not AWD Subarus. Unless you're counting MPG's, whatever Subby you get, go for the engine with more horsepower. I makes passing when you need to less stressful. Passing with a standard Subaru usually requires some strategy and cooperation with a downhill stretch.

[chamonix]

Dostie wrote
We're on our second Subaru. It would be 3 if they made an AWD mini-van with the Subaru Xmission and a V6 engine.

They do, it's called the Subaru Tribeca. Great clearance, lots of power with the flat 6 engine..not so great on gas though. This one has third row seating but only for small kids

2012 Tribeca


Our other Tribeca, a 2006 heading to the water

We had a 2006 Outback before, but driving it killed my back . The Tribecas have more ground clearance, too.

If it hadn't been so uncomfortable for my back we would have kept the 2006 Outback. It was a great car otherwise.

[RobRoyMeans]

You might have to wait a year. Subaru has no 2015 Tribeca's on their page for the USA. But, if it is grunt you are after, the 3.6R (flat six) is available in the Outback (and Legacy).

Crosstrek is on my list to replace my aging 2007 Forester. Smaller is better for me...but if it is less nimble than the Forester, I'll stick with Forester, even if it has got somewhat large.

The look for the 2016 Tribeca was floated at Geneva. IMO it's much more sensible and has that j.n.s.q. that says Flagship:


The earlier models designs were too busy trying to be "special", making flagship status impossible.

[riser3]

The Tri is missing one important feature to be called a mini-van by my wife. Sliding doors. She is pretty adamant about sliding doors until the children are grown up and not prone to opening them into other vehicles in the parking lot. And power sliding doors at that. Because manual doors allow kids to slam their brother's heads in the door on 'accident'.

[SkaredShtles]

The Tri is missing one important feature to be called a mini-van by my wife. Sliding doors. She is pretty adamant about sliding doors until the children are grown up and not prone to opening them into other vehicles in the parking lot. And power sliding doors at that. Because manual doors allow kids to slam their brother's heads in the door on 'accident'.

I don't know why the f**k more mfg'rs that are making these stupid "crossover" vehicles (which are just minivans without the nice minivan features) don't put sliding doors on their vehicles.

[Hindfoot]

I've owned both... older models. Right now I have an '06 Outback. It hasn't held up quite as well as the '97 Forester I had before but I think there is more difference between years than models with Subaru. As far as performance is concerned, they are pretty close to identical. They get the job done. But when the road gets rough, Outbacks have a longer front end that can limit effective clearance. Outbacks are a little more solid feeling and smoother on the highway, but not by a lot. At six feet, I can sleep in an Outback but not in a Forester. For me, that has become the deciding factor. I don't want a car that I can't lie down flat in.

Thanks Cesare, for your input. You make an excellent point about being able to sleep in it. This Subaru is to be mainly for the wife, so my trailhead vehicle will continue to be my 22 year old Toyota 4WD truck, which for my 6' 2" is a bit tight for sleeping, but I can do it. It is more suitable for my dog going along on my backpack and ski adventures, and for leaving at trailheads. My dog is not allowed into my wife's car. My truck is old and extremely slow on the uphills, but keeps on going and always starts. She only "needs" AWD for our occasional snows, which we have not seen much of in the past couple of years, but can be deep, so clearance is good.

[Hindfoot]

We just dumped/sold the 06 F-250 for a tangerine 14 Subaru Crosstrek. My wife loves it as do a few others around town who just got one also. Good stuff so far. Takes us where we want to go. Good to be back in a smaller rig. Subaru's are extremely popular in AK and have a great track record. Never seen one in a ditch. Trucks? you betcha….

We considered the Outback and Forester, but they both seemed a bit too big for just the two of us. It has plenty of room for hauling months worth of food and such from Los Anchorage. Besides, the mileage was much better than the other two with a most excellent 8" of clearance. After 2 months with the vehicle my fuel bill has been cut in half. Can't wait to haul skis on top. I got a set of studded tires which should create a mini-tank to respond to our Chugach snows.

Thanks VT, for the suggestion of the Crosstrek and accolades for Subarus in AK. My friend, neighbor, and tele buddy just got a Crosstrek for himself and his wife and they both like it a lot. It looks pretty small to me, sort of like a sport coupe jacked up, but my wife is currently driving an older RAV-4 AWD, which is pretty short and she likes it especially for that. It will be going to our daughter as it's still in great shape, but the wife thinks the Outback may be too long to be as maneuverable as the '05 RAV. We should drive the Crosstrek to check it out. One nice thing about the newer Foresters is the great rear quarter visibility compared to most of these type of cars which seem to be becoming more sloped down in back with the windows getting much smaller back there. Alas, I'm to be still stuck in my old truck, probably in the ditch, it sounds like, as it's the vehicle of ours most likely to see the most snow driving. AWD really does out perform 4WD in snow in our experience, as long as the AWD has snow clearance underneath. The Subarus have quite a bit more clearance than the RAV at its 6.3", compared to the 8.7 inches of Forester, Outback, and I think Crosstrek also.

[chamonix]

RobRoyMeans wrote

The look for the 2016 Tribeca was floated at Geneva. IMO it's much more sensible and has that j.n.s.q. that says Flagship:

The picture you posted of the 2016 Tribeca (?) looks identical as far as body work to my latest Tribeca. Grill, front fender all look the same.


The word I had from dealers here in Vermont (where all Subies are very popular)was that 2014 might be the last year for the Tribeca. That's why I went on Craiglist and found a used 2012, the red one pictured above.
IOW there may not be a 2015/16 Tribeca at all.

Whatever Subaru you buy, put on 4 Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires, and it will get you anywhere..

[Hindfoot]

Turning circle? Advantage Forester
Highway comfort? Advantage Outback
Grunt? Tied
Features in matched trim levels? Tied

It depends on what's needed....willingness and capabilty to nimbly get somewhere tight after the road trip to get there? Then it's Forester.

If the trip is straight forward but AWD is still essential, Outback is all you need.

Thanks Rob for the concise comparison of the two rigs in question. It seems to be much the same as we have heard from the reviews and from comparing specs, though we have yet to test drive the Outback. The only thing you said that seems not to agree with what we are finding is the equivalency of the trim levels. To get some of the things we want in the Forester we seem to have to go to the third trim level, the Limited, but with Outback only to the second level, the Premium. This actually would make the Outback slightly less expensive than the Forester and keep us from having to get foolish, expensive options like power rear hatch raising and lowering that comes with the Forester Limited. We have always had standard transmission vehicles...forever and we both like that choice, but the wife has decided that it would be a good idea to have an automatic now, so, since this it to be mainly her car, that's one more option to add in. One of the options that sounds good to us is called X-Mode and is described as somehow fine tuning the automatic transmission and AWD for maximum traction in slow speed, turning, low friction situations plus includes something that keeps the auto transmission from free-wheeling on steep downhills, as I understand it. This feature is standard on all the Outbacks, but not offered on the Foresters until the third trim level.

[aqua toque]

Hindfoot, don't forget storage.

I would check into how the Subaru stacks up.

[Hindfoot]

We're on our second Subaru. It would be 3 if they made an AWD mini-van with the Subaru Xmission and a V6 engine. Had an Outback that is still in the family, but our daughter inherited it. Mom's in a Crosstrek. She likes it a LOT! Agree with VT. I see a lot of 4WD pickups in the ditch in Truckee, not AWD Subarus. Unless you're counting MPG's, whatever Subby you get, go for the engine with more horsepower. I makes passing when you need to less stressful. Passing with a standard Subaru usually requires some strategy and cooperation with a downhill stretch.

Thanks, Craig, for the opinions on Subarus. Had a feeling this might be a good place to get some feedback on them. I strongly agree that having some reserve power for passing is a great idea as well as making driving more fun. However, my wife and I don't agree on this, she being of the opinion that passing is too risky 99% of the time, and when I am driving she gets very nervous when passing, seemingly just because of the acceleration. She prefers to toodle along behind even the slowest rig on the road instead of passing it. So, when I've suggested the turbo version of the Forester in a car to be mainly hers, she scoffs at the idea. We have a long history of life in the slow lane, starting with my selling my old fun to drive Porsche before we married and moving into a series of VW Bugs, a VW bus, an Isuzu Trooper, and a couple of weak, old 4WD Toyota pickups with the 22RE engine, one of which I still drive. I miss my Porsche, and would love to have a newer high clearance AWD car with some performance for winter and summer adventures, but the slow old truck will have to do.