The likes of Nissan and Toyota have taken part in this segment, offering the X-Trail and the RAV4 respectively to the masses. Their compatriot Subaru, not to be left in the dust, came up with an equally impressive compact SUV; the Forester.

Subaru

Forester

($79/mo)

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Avg. BE FORWARD Used Price:

$600 to $15,000

The Forester brings forth the spirit of Subaru, driving up the adrenaline with its loud engine and excellent off-road ability.

Let’s take a look at how the Forester encompasses the wild spirit of the Subaru.

Interior and Comfort

The Subaru Forester is a five seater and strives to offer as much comfort as possible to the occupants of the spacious interior.

To combat the stifling heat of the African off-road, Subaru provides a state of the art air conditioning system that ensures all areas of the cabin are at the optimum temperature.

While ensconced in this comfort, the occupants can keep themselves entertained on long journeys with the AM/FM/Weatherband radio with a single disc player in the standard trim. This is connected to four stereo speakers that aptly fill up the space with rich sound.

Back Seating Area

The rear seat is spacious enough to accommodate three passengers. The manufacturer carved out 40 inches of headroom, 54 inches of shoulder room and 33.7 inches for the legroom. In a move that is seen as small but welcome, Subaru introduced a movable armrest at the back.

Across all the trims, the rear seat folds along a 60:40 ratio. This is advantageous in a way that it increases the luggage compartment volume from 32 cubic feet to a maximum of 57.7 cubic feet.

Driver Seating Area

Subaru goes all out to ensure that the driver is in the best condition possible to focus on the road. This can be seen in the space the driver has to himself. For example, while the front headroom and shoulder room are identical to that at the rear, the legroom is larger, measuring 3.6 inches more.

The height of the driver’s seat is adjustable to ensure that the driver has a good view of the road ahead as well as the instruments. The seat is also bucket-shaped, ensuring comfort for the driver. This comfort is further enhanced by the heating provided to the seat – a very handy feature on those very cold mornings.

Features and Drivability

The Subaru Forester has a whole host of features that make it the off-road beast that it is. Standing out in particular among these is the power unit under the hood. With the iconic sound and performance, it is what makes the Forester a bona fide Subaru.

In the Forester, Subaru installed a 2.5 liter engine with 4 cylinders, each sporting 4 valves. This single overhead camshaft engine is mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. However, there is the option of a 4 speed automatic transmission.

As a standard, Subaru offers the engine as a naturally aspirated power unit. For those who want to eke out more horses from the power unit, there is a turbo charged version.

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Practicality

The Japanese car maker provides a number of features that make operation of the Forester very practical.

The positioning of the driver’s seat in the car is akin to that of a sedan and not an SUV. What does this mean? It means that from the driver’s position, you are able to see more of the road directly in front of the car instead of just the hood.

The Forester also offers plenty of cargo space in the back for hauling luggage. If you are headed upcountry, the folded rear seats increase the area for storage. The roof rails also offer another spot for additional cargo.

The strength of the engine also gives this little SUV the ability to haul just over a ton of stuff behind it.

Drivability

From the 2006 model, Subaru made a change in the engine configuration. They introduced a boxer set-up and installed the i-Active Valve Lift System. What this does is control the way the valves open at different stages of driving.

For example, at low revs, the two intake valves open at different positions, creating a mixture of air and fuel to boost torque. At high revs, both valves open in the high position to let in the maximum amount of air and fuel to aid power output.

Apart from the power, the Subaru Forester has all-wheel drive system. This helps it to navigate the African terrain with the nimble ability of a gazelle.

This compact SUV also handles perfectly due to the redesign of the independent suspension at both the front and rear of the car. There is also a stabilizer bar at both ends which prevents rolling when negotiating corners.

Safety and Pricing

The safety features incorporated throughout the Forester are a testament of Subaru’s commitment to keep its customers safe and sound.

Safety

In the front row, the driver and front passenger are protected by dual stage front air bags in the event of a head-on collision. If the Forester sustains a hit from the side, there are side airbags as well to cushion the impact.

The Forester also has seatbelts to protect the occupants from secondary impacts resulting from inertia. At the rear, the seatbelts are attached to the car at three points, an improvement from previous models.

Subaru also installs anti-lock braking systems (ABS) as standard across all trims of the Forester.

Used Subaru Forester Price

You can find excellent deals for a used Subaru Forester by browsing the BE FORWARD catalog. The prices range from $600 to $15,000 for model years running from 2000 to 2012.

Subaru Forester Overall Opinion

The Subaru Forester is an excellent compact SUV, offering class-topping off-road capability. Its rugged looks house a spacious and comfortable interior. The air conditioning and bucket seats are perfect for providing comfort in the sweltering African conditions.

Subaru installed a more than capable power unit under the hood that gives the Forester the right amount of power to traverse the uneven terrain.

To this drivability and comfort, the Japanese car maker added a number of safety features to complete the Forester. The air bags, three-point seatbelts and ABS make this compact SUV the complete package.

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If you are on the lookout for a car that handles well but still manages to give you an ample rush of adrenaline, the compact SUV is probably the best way to go. Toyota and Subaru have some offerings in this area that do a pretty good job.

Toyota 

RAV4

($79/mo)

Browse Used RAV4 Listings

Avg. Used Price:

$2,800 to $36,000

Subaru 

Forester

($79/mo)

Browse Used Forester Listings

Avg. Used Price:

$1,600 to $9,000

The RAV4 from Toyota and Subaru’s Forester are hailed as good, all-around cars, with each offering something different. Taken as a whole, however, each car manages to make a statement that will not be forgotten any time soon by the driver.

Let’s compare this pair of compact sport-utility vehicles and see which one you prefer. It’s the battle of the small but tenacious SUVs; RAV4 vs Forester.

Subaru Forester vs Toyota RAV4 Exterior

Both the Japanese car makers decided to go for a slightly muted, but still pronounced rugged look on these vehicles. However, there are plenty of aesthetic differences that set these two popular SUVs apart from one another. Let’s take a look at the exterior style features for the Forester and RAV4.

Subaru Forester Exterior Features

The Forester goes for a sporty look with the addition of a hood scope on the XT trim. This not only aids the engine’s air intake, but also greatly accentuates the sporty aesthetic of the car.

This aesthetic is further underscored by the redesign of the wheel arches. These bulge out more and have a sleek line running off the top and into the bodywork. This sporty design language is not so subtle.

Toyota RAV4 Exterior Features

On the other hand, the RAV4 does not show off many of the hard edges that its compatriot does. That is not to say, however, that it is not sporty. It is and then some.

The design is far from bland and it too does have a hood scope if you want one. The rails on the slanting roof give the impression that this crossover utility vehicle is very ready to leave the city behind and head out into the country side.

How Do the RAV4 and Forester Compare in the Interior?

In the Forester vs RAV4 battle for the interior, there are no losers. The design teams of both these compact SUVs clocked plenty of man-hours. How do we know this? The class-leading interior styling and attention to detail come to mind.

Toyota RAV4 Interior Features

Though the RAV4 is the smallest of the crossover SUVs from Toyota, it beats many when it comes to rear row legroom. It offers 32.6 inches of legroom in the rear and 42.4 inches at the front for the driver and the front passenger.

The seats, covered in stitched high-quality cloth upholstery, are comfortable enough for a lengthy journey. The ones in the rear row can be split 60/40 and moved forward in order to create more cargo space. Speaking of, the RAV4 offers 29.2 cubic feet of storage, which become 68.3 cubic feet when the seats fold.

Facing the driver is a neatly presented dashboard and instrument panel. The knobs and buttons are simple and within easy reach of the driver. The infotainment is a six-speaker stereo with CD/MP3 player with an audio jack.

Subaru Forester Interior Features

In the Forester, front seat space and comfort take center stage. The sport style seats are comfortable. They are also set up in a way that there is plenty of legroom at the front (43.6 inches), marginally edging out the RAV4.

The Forester has storage space measuring out to 30.7 cubic feet. When you fold the second row seat, this space grows to 68.6 cubic feet. The mood during the drive is lightened by a 4-speaker audio system with a single CD player. The more advanced trims, however, have subwoofers and 6-CD changers.

Subaru Forester vs RAV4 Under-the-Hood Comparison: Engine Specs and Fuel Efficiency

The engine bout of the Subaru Forester vs RAV4 sees these two tenacious compact sport utilities pit their powerhouses against each other. Let’s take a look under the hood and see what these two SUVs offer in terms of performance.

Subaru Forester Engine Performance and Fuel Efficiency

Subaru equips the Forester with two options for engines. Both are 2.0 liter and flat 4 cylinder chunks, although one of them is turbocharged. With regards to power, the ordinary naturally aspirated engine is able to make 123 brake horsepower. On the hand, the turbo charger gives the engine much more bite, giving it the ability to churn out 174 brake horsepower.

These engines work hand in hand with a 5-speed manual transmission to give you an immersive control of your driving experience. Add to that the all-wheel drive system and you’re in for a great ride. The average fuel consumption of this engine in the Forester comes down to about 8.4L/100km.

Toyota RAV4 Engine and Fuel Efficiency

The Subaru’s compatriot, the RAV4, works within in pretty much similar boundaries under the hood. The similarity is the fact that the RAV4 also has a 4-cylinder engine. The difference is that these cylinders are arranged in a direct overhead camshaft instead of the flat as in the Forester.

This 2.4-liter engine manages to eke out 166 brake horsepower. It is also mated to a 5 speed manual transmission. In the city, this engine will lead the RAV4 to cover 11.8L/100km whereas this distance increases to 9.4L/100km on the highway.

Final Verdict: Toyota RAV4 vs Subaru Forester

At the end of it all, both the Toyota RAV4 and Subaru Forester give good accounts of themselves in all areas.

The exterior aesthetics of these compact sport-utility vehicles are very comely, employing a gritty aspect to seal the look. The hood scope and roof rails that are available on the top end variants characterize this gritty and sporty aesthetic.

For a pair of small cars, they sure do provide plenty of space in the interior. The cabins of both the RAV4 and Forester are spacious, especially at the front, providing maximum comfort. There is also ample trunk space for the storage of cargo. The 60:40 rear row split in both cars emphasizes this point.

Under the hood, the manufacturers employ a bit of differing technologies despite having almost similar powerhouses. The end result, however, is not too polarized given the fact that the transmission is the same. Both cars also have 4-wheel drive which makes them suitable for those off-road excursions.

All in all, you cannot go wrong with the RAV4 or the Forester. These small cars hold their own in a class that was previously reserved for all powerful and large SUVs.

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