Compare the2025 Honda CR-VVS 2025 Subaru Forester

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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The Honda CR-V 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.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the CR-V deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The CR-V’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Forester’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Compared to metal, the CR-V’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 CR-V 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, 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, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

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

	CR-V	Forester
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	17.1%	24.4%
Neck Stress	181 lbs.	263 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	217/317 lbs.	276/274 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 Honda CR-V is safer than the Subaru Forester:

	CR-V	Forester
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	347 lbs.	349 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	71	208
Spine Acceleration	51 G’s	58 G’s
Hip Force	613 lbs.	640 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	14 inches

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 CR-V is 1.9% less likely to roll over than the Forester.

Warranty

There are over 66 percent more Honda dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CR-V’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda above average in initial quality. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is rated lower.

Engine

The CR-V has more powerful engines than the Forester:

	Horsepower	Torque
CR-V 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder	190 HP	179 lbs.-ft.
CR-V Hybrid 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid	204 HP	247 lbs.-ft.
Forester 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder	180 HP	178 lbs.-ft.
Forester Wilderness 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder	182 HP	176 lbs.-ft.
Forester 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid	194 HP

As tested in Car and Driver the Honda CR-V turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Subaru Forester 4 cyl.:

	CR-V	Forester
Zero to 60 MPH	8.1 sec	8.4 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	21.2 sec	23.8 sec
Passing 30 to 50 MPH	4.4 sec	4.6 sec
Passing 50 to 70 MPH	5.8 sec	6.2 sec
Quarter Mile	16.3 sec	16.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	89 MPH	86 MPH
Top Speed	130 MPH	127 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the CR-V gets better mileage than the Forester:

			MPG
CR-V
	FWD	2.0 4-cyl. Hybrid	43 city/36 hwy
		1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	28 city/34 hwy
	AWD	2.0 4-cyl. Hybrid	40 city/34 hwy
		1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	26 city/31 hwy
Forester
	AWD	2.5 flat-4 Hybrid	35 city/34 hwy
		2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/33 hwy
		Sport/Touring 2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/32 hwy
		2.5 DOHC flat-4	25 city/28 hwy

The CR-V 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.

Brakes and Stopping

The CR-V stops much shorter than the Forester:

	CR-V	Forester
70 to 0 MPH	163 feet	172 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	118 feet	131 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the CR-V has larger tires than the Forester (235/60R18 vs. 225/60R17).

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the CR-V’s wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than on the Forester (106.3 inches vs. 104.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CR-V is 1.7 inches wider in the front and 2.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Forester.

The CR-V Sport Touring Hybrid handles at .85 G’s, while the Forester Sport pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Chassis

The CR-V 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.

Passenger Space

The CR-V has .9 inches more front hip room, .2 inches more front shoulder room and 1.6 inches more rear legroom than the Forester.

Cargo Capacity

The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Forester with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 29.6 cubic feet). The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Forester with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 74.4 cubic feet).

The CR-V’s cargo area is larger than the Forester’s in almost every dimension:

	CR-V	Forester
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	36.6”/74.7”	36.5”/70.7”
Max Width	58”	51.2”
Min Width	41.5”	43.3”
Height	36.5”	34.9”

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the CR-V. The Forester doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

The CR-V 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.

Ergonomics

The CR-V’s standard front power windows 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. The CR-V EX-L/Sport L/Sport Touring’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches.

On a hot day the CR-V’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The CR-V 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/Touring offers a Keyless Access and Start.

The CR-V’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 CR-V Sport Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

Model Availability

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

Recommendations

The CR-V was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “5Best Trucks/10Best” for 2025 and 5 more times in the last 24 years. The Forester hasn’t been picked since 2006, and the Forester has only been chosen 3 times.

Motor Trend selected the CR-V as their 2018 Sport Utility of the Year. The Forester has never been chosen.

The Honda CR-V outsold the Subaru Forester by over two to one during 2024.

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