[Dave M.]

Last week I took my OB in for an oil change and had a chance to closely compare the two. I came out of an Isuzu Trooper, which was the most comfortable car I ever owned. At 6'3", 200#, and constantly aware of back position and pain since I broke mine many years ago, seat comfort is critical to me.

The Forrester seems like my Trooper's natural heir - tall, upright seating position, excellent sight lines, similar width and length. Expansive moonroof, which I dearly miss. So if I had gone directly from the Trooper to the Forrester, I would have been 'home'.

The Outback is slightly longer and wider, and has more of a 'car' seating position. It seems 2-3" lower than the Forrester, although that may only be my lamenting perspective. The interior is more luxurious, the driving feel more solid...that makes sense, because it's a different class of car. I've attached pics from the dealer of the height differences.

All in all, try both and see which fits you better. The prices are 'softer' on the Outback; you can get more car for the same price as a Forrester. BTW an office mate loved my new OB SAP, and bought herself a Forrester Limited last week.

 

[pmcrock]

If you're concerned about the leg room, go check our the hyundai santa fe. Compared to the forester, escape, mazda cx-5, vw tiguan, and rav 4, I think it had the most leg room. They're all a little bit tight, but you'd need to go move up a class in vehicle (i.e. ford explorer) to have a chance of it being a non issue at all. We also felt the Jeep Grand Cherokee had an excellent amount of interior room without feeling quite as big as the explorer or pathfinder.

I'd like to avoid having to drive something as large as the Santa Fe, Grand Cherokee or Explorer, (and also get worse mileage and have a higher purchase price). Not all vehicles in that class have better rear seat legroom than the Forester anyway. The Explorer for example. I sat in one and it was not impressive. I will say the Ford Flex has excellent rear seat legroom. And if it wasn't for the irritatingly large rear headrests, the rear visibility would have been pretty good also. Some of the interior dimension specs are misleading. The Ford Escape, for instance, measures front seat legroom with the seat all the way back, which makes sense, but then they cheat by measuring rear seat legroom with the front seat moved up at least part way, so the sum of the two is never achievable. The rear seat legroom in the current Escape with the front seat all the way back is laughable. I do think, though, that more of those larger SUVs have better rear visibility than their smaller cousins, maybe because they haven't taken up as much of the curvy, swoopy styling so in vogue these days, that hurts visibility.

 

[subiesailor]

Last week I took my OB in for an oil change and had a chance to closely compare the two. I came out of an Isuzu Trooper, which was the most comfortable car I ever owned. At 6'3", 200#, and constantly aware of back position and pain since I broke mine many years ago, seat comfort is critical to me.

The Forrester seems like my Trooper's natural heir - tall, upright seating position, excellent sight lines, similar width and length. Expansive moonroof, which I dearly miss. So if I had gone directly from the Trooper to the Forrester, I would have been 'home'.

The Outback is slightly longer and wider, and has more of a 'car' seating position. It seems 2-3" lower than the Forrester, although that may only be my lamenting perspective. The interior is more luxurious, the driving feel more solid...that makes sense, because it's a different class of car. I've attached pics from the dealer of the height differences.

All in all, try both and see which fits you better. The prices are 'softer' on the Outback; you can get more car for the same price as a Forrester. BTW an office mate loved my new OB SAP, and bought herself a Forrester Limited last week.

I recall the forester seat sitting on a taller riser than the OB which as you pointed out has a car height seat bottom ie lower riser on the seat. The forester and OB pretty much share the same ground clearance and entry and departure angles now with the new models. I actually think that the Crosstrek has the best departure and entry angles of the three now. But could be wrong.

The OB when your tall 6ft plus your tipping the seat back more than the taller more upright seating position of the Forester.

Cracks me up when people think that the new Escape is going to be big when its just a tall roof line Ford Focus 5dr with optional AWD. LOL very stylish and very pricy.

We actually seriously considered the Ford Flex but what is surprising is that its 3rd row is really only for midgets but the first two rows are very roomy and well laid out. The final nail in the coffin for the flex was that I do occasionally take folks off pavement up dirt roads to back country lakes which case the Flex and the Minivan sort of end up on the same scale regarding primarily a pavement only vehicle but a nice one at that.

 

[leodlion]

If you find an incline steep enough, an auto tyranny car will roll back /down especially if you are slow enough moving your foot from the brake Pedal to gas pedal.....

Yeah. My driveway is steep with about 15 degree incline. The OB on drive did not even move. Need to test it whenever I get to a steep incline. Plenty of those around here.

 

[wvtaco]

Have you thought about a cx-5?
My sister has a 13 2.0 cx-5 awd premium I think it is the mid grade with the upgraded radio and backup camera.
Mom has the outback premium 2.5 cvt with all weather.
I have a 11 grand Cherokee Laredo x 4x4 with single speed transfer case. More or less awd. Qt1.
I'm 6'2" 250lbs. And fit fine in all. Of course I have more room the the jeep.

As for mpg. On a recent road trip I wanted to compare. So at 5 am I aired all tires to spec. We all filled up at the same spot and reset trip and out on board computers. After ~450 miles we stopped for gas. Leaving wv to sc. The jeep (22 highway rating driven by 30 yr old me.) got 25.8 mpg. The ob got 31mpg and the cx-5( rated at 31, driven by 23 yr old brother in law. ) got 34 mpg. So all did better then advertised.
Around town/ highway not on trips. I get 20-23 mpg. The ob gets 25-28 mpg. Cx-5 gets 27-30 mpg.

Now here in wv we have mountains so I have took them all off road. The all made it to where we wanted to go. But the ob spun a lot more. When you lift a tire off the ground the ob will spin and take a few seconds to start moving forward. The cx-5 would instantly lock up the tire off the ground and making a buzzing sound and keep on going. It made it with less effort than my jeep. The jeep would spin some and lock up the tire quickly and keep going. One uphill turn I had to get a small run and go with the ob the rest didn't seem to notice the place, I think the ob was trying to lift a front and rear tire and was just spinning at both ends. At all time I held the gas steady and let the computers work.
Also we did try to take a last gen escape up to the top of the mountain and it couldn't get past the same turn the ob had issues.

As for towing I have no clue about the ob or cx-5 neither have a hitch.

But between the forester and ob. I vote ob.

 

[subiesailor]

Have you thought about a cx-5?
My sister has a 13 2.0 cx-5 awd premium I think it is the mid grade with the upgraded radio and backup camera.
Mom has the outback premium 2.5 cvt with all weather.
I have a 11 grand Cherokee Laredo x 4x4 with single speed transfer case. More or less awd. Qt1.
I'm 6'2" 250lbs. And fit fine in all. Of course I have more room the the jeep.

As for mpg. On a recent road trip I wanted to compare. So at 5 am I aired all tires to spec. We all filled up at the same spot and reset trip and out on board computers. After ~450 miles we stopped for gas. Leaving wv to sc. The jeep (22 highway rating driven by 30 yr old me.) got 25.8 mpg. The ob got 31mpg and the cx-5( rated at 31, driven by 23 yr old brother in law. ) got 34 mpg. So all did better then advertised.
Around town/ highway not on trips. I get 20-23 mpg. The ob gets 25-28 mpg. Cx-5 gets 27-30 mpg.

Now here in wv we have mountains so I have took them all off road. The all made it to where we wanted to go. But the ob spun a lot more. When you lift a tire off the ground the ob will spin and take a few seconds to start moving forward. The cx-5 would instantly lock up the tire off the ground and making a buzzing sound and keep on going. It made it with less effort than my jeep. The jeep would spin some and lock up the tire quickly and keep going. One uphill turn I had to get a small run and go with the ob the rest didn't seem to notice the place, I think the ob was trying to lift a front and rear tire and was just spinning at both ends. At all time I held the gas steady and let the computers work.
Also we did try to take a last gen escape up to the top of the mountain and it couldn't get past the same turn the ob had issues.

As for towing I have no clue about the ob or cx-5 neither have a hitch.

But between the forester and ob. I vote ob.

The Mazda does not get 27-30mpg around town and 31mpg on the highway. LOL What you do not mention is the difference in ride and noise in the cabin between the Mazda and the Subaru. Mazda reminds me of riding in that old redwagon as a kid solid rubber tires and zero anything suspension. The cabin noise in the Mazda also reminds me of riding in that Redwagon tin bucket on solid wheels.

 

[rasterman]

The Mazda does not get 27-30mpg around town and 31mpg on the highway. LOL What you do not mention is the difference in ride and noise in the cabin between the Mazda and the Subaru. Mazda reminds me of riding in that old redwagon as a kid solid rubber tires and zero anything suspension. The cabin noise in the Mazda also reminds me of riding in that Redwagon tin bucket on solid wheels.

Very descriptive, and funny. I once compared the driving feel of a Chevy Tahoe to holding a frisbee while sitting in a flooded kiddie pool strapped to some moving dollies. My comparison wasn't very accurate though, I think the frisbee would give more feedback than the Tahoe wheel.

 

[wvtaco]

The Mazda does not get 27-30mpg around town and 31mpg on the highway. LOL What you do not mention is the difference in ride and noise in the cabin between the Mazda and the Subaru. Mazda reminds me of riding in that old redwagon as a kid solid rubber tires and zero anything suspension. The cabin noise in the Mazda also reminds me of riding in that Redwagon tin bucket on solid wheels.

In the rural area we live in, yes it does. But it is a lot of 65 mph and 45 sections that people go the speed limit on and not too awful on the redlights.

Noise : I didn't notice a huge difference. But I have hearing damage. But the engine is louder in the ob. Now her cx-5 has the 17s not the 19s on the grand touring. Ah hers is the touring.

Ride. Around the curvy mountains road mazda is a lot funny but the ob is smoother. But I like a stiffer ride. I had a Lexus and put coilovers on it caught was to floaty.

I was impressed and when I needed a new dd ( jeep is not my dd, my wife dds it per of the time) I bought a 3 wagon with skyactiv. And get high 30s low 40s. But you won't believe that either. So here. https://www.fuelly.com/driver/wvtaco/3?fu=5143333

 

[pmcrock]

In the rural area we live in, yes it does. But it is a lot of 65 mph and 45 sections that people go the speed limit on and not too awful on the redlights.

Noise : I didn't notice a huge difference. But I have hearing damage. But the engine is louder in the ob. Now her cx-5 has the 17s not the 19s on the grand touring. Ah hers is the touring.

Ride. Around the curvy mountains road mazda is a lot funny but the ob is smoother. But I like a stiffer ride. I had a Lexus and put coilovers on it caught was to floaty.

I was impressed and when I needed a new dd ( jeep is not my dd, my wife dds it per of the time) I bought a 3 wagon with skyactiv. And get high 30s low 40s. But you won't believe that either. So here. https://www.fuelly.com/driver/wvtaco/3?fu=5143333

I did test-drive a 2014 CX-5 (thus with the larger engine, 2.4L I think), and it did handle nicely and had good pep, but the outward visibility isn't good and neither is the rear seat legroom.

 

[blSwagger]

I did test-drive a 2014 CX-5 (thus with the larger engine, 2.4L I think), and it did handle nicely and had good pep, but the outward visibility isn't good and neither is the rear seat legroom.

And the CX-5's passenger seat is uncomfortably high and unadjustable. I didn't test drive it though.

 

[awd-gg]

I was impressed and when I needed a new dd ( jeep is not my dd, my wife dds it per of the time) I bought a 3 wagon with skyactiv. And get high 30s low 40s.

The Mazda3 should get those Mpg if you're light on the gas. Only thing I have to against the 3 is everyone I know that own(ed) one complained it is the worst car in snow. And we live in Flat chicagoland. So, in WV mountain/hills, You may want to test drive the 3 in a snow storm before getting one....

Oh, by the way, why not MazdaSpeed3? :29::29::29: (esp. if you don;t care much abt. winter/snow handling!!!)

 

[carnut4life]

I've been where you are now. We were shopping for a new car for me. The wife has a '12 OB Limited and I just recently purchased a '14 Forester.
When I drive both, the Outback has a much nicer up-market feel to it. Better seats, better H/K radio, tad nicer controls. It just feels more like a near luxury car.
The Forester is a smidge better on MPG and peppier though (both have 2.5 and CVT) and the panoramic moonroof is awesome! If prices were equal, I would buy another Outback. But prices aren't equal. The Forester was about $2K less than the Outback here in Jersey, irregardless of discounts.
The price difference and moonroof did it for me. Good luck!

 

[pmcrock]

I've been where you are now. We were shopping for a new car for me. The wife has a '12 OB Limited and I just recently purchased a '14 Forester.
When I drive both, the Outback has a much nicer up-market feel to it. Better seats, better H/K radio, tad nicer controls. It just feels more like a near luxury car.
The Forester is a smidge better on MPG and peppier though (both have 2.5 and CVT) and the panoramic moonroof is awesome! If prices were equal, I would buy another Outback. But prices aren't equal. The Forester was about $2K less than the Outback here in Jersey, irregardless of discounts.
The price difference and moonroof did it for me. Good luck!

Thanks. I've heard it's easier to get a better discount on the Outback and given that I can ax the navigation on it but not the Forester (assuming I want the H-K audio), I imagine the prices would be about the same for me. It won't be an easy choice. Might wait for 2015 versions of each if my old vehicles hold up OK.

 

[wvtaco]

The Mazda3 should get those Mpg if you're light on the gas. Only thing I have to against the 3 is everyone I know that own(ed) one complained it is the worst car in snow. And we live in Flat chicagoland. So, in WV mountain/hills, You may want to test drive the 3 in a snow storm before getting one....

Oh, by the way, why not MazdaSpeed3? :29::29::29: (esp. if you don;t care much abt. winter/snow handling!!!)

i commute 105 miles round trip. and speed has awful mpgs.
but it did pretty well. had it for a year now and have put right at 34000 miles on it. no issues. i have took it everywhere i wanted to go. we didnt get awful snow last year just a few storm in the 6inch range. :29:

 

[pmcrock]

I've been where you are now. We were shopping for a new car for me. The wife has a '12 OB Limited and I just recently purchased a '14 Forester.
When I drive both, the Outback has a much nicer up-market feel to it. Better seats, better H/K radio, tad nicer controls. It just feels more like a near luxury car.
The Forester is a smidge better on MPG and peppier though (both have 2.5 and CVT) and the panoramic moonroof is awesome! If prices were equal, I would buy another Outback. But prices aren't equal. The Forester was about $2K less than the Outback here in Jersey, irregardless of discounts.
The price difference and moonroof did it for me. Good luck!

Ending up getting a black Forester 2.5L Touring. Like it a lot. Engine peppier than I remember from the test drive. H-K audio is fantastic. Ride is a bit stiffer than I recall, although it did improve when I took some of the air out of the tires (they had been overfilled by 8 psi). Wished I chosen silver, though. The terrible winter here in Chicagoland and the resulting abundance of road salt makes it impossible to keep looking good.

 

[hongthan]

I did a testdrive of the 14 Subaru Forester, I feel it is relative quiet, but still noisier than my 2011 Outback 2.5 limited. I like two things in the new Forester: It is quicker (maybe due to the lightweight) and power liftgate.

I didn't really notice any difference in noise between the two (both '14s) during the test drives.