2024 Subaru Forester

The Subaru Forester has many practical benefits that make it stand out in a crowded field of compact SUVs. For starters, it lives up to the brand’s reputation for adventurous off-road capabilities with standard all-wheel drive (AWD) and a rugged Wilderness trim. It’s also budget-friendly because of its affordable sticker price, plus it’s the recipient of our Lowest 5-Year Cost to Own Award and our Best Resale Value Award. Its impressive trophy case also includes the IIHS Top Safety Pick award.

In the world of off-roady compact SUVs, the Forester competes to varying degrees with the Jeep Cherokee, Ford Bronco Sport, and Mazda CX-50.

The Subaru Forester gets some minor updates for 2024. The popular Premium trim now comes standard with LED fog lights and a black rear spoiler. Also, the Limited trim gets geometric-textured fog light covers similar to the Wilderness trim. The most recent major refresh for the Forester was for the 2022 model, which got revised styling and added the rugged Wilderness model.

Before buying a Forester, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. The Subaru Forester is the reigning champ of our Best Resale Value Award for the compact SUV class.

The Subaru Forester is powered by a 182-horsepower 4-cylinder engine matched with a CVT automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. We found the acceleration adequate for daily driving duties but lacking compared to some quicker SUVs in this class, like the Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-50. It’s also a bit noisy under hard acceleration. Overall, the performance of the Forester is in the middle of the pack.

The on-road ride quality of the Forester is excellent for an SUV that’s so good off-road. We enjoyed the gentle ride and precise handling, making it an easy car to drive.

The Forester is a great off-roader when the pavement ends, especially when equipped with X-Mode. The standard AWD system and generous ground clearance make the Forester a more capable off-roader than most rivals without sacrificing on-road comfort. The Wilderness model is especially adventurous but also less efficient.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of compact SUVs, including the Subaru Forester.

Fuel Economy

The Subaru Forester gets a combined fuel economy rating of 29 mpg. That’s a little above average for a compact SUV with AWD. In the Wilderness trim, the fuel economy drops to 26 mpg. Of note, several competitors to the Forester have more efficient hybrid variants, including the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, and Kia Sportage.

The cabin of the Subaru Forester is spacious, comfortable, and practical. Some SUVs feel a bit more premium and high-tech on the inside, but the interior quality of the Forester is commensurate with its price tag. We like the StarTex water-repellent upholstery in the Wilderness trim, which is durable and easy to clean while still being comfortable.

We had no trouble fitting in the back seats with 39.4 inches of legroom. That’s not quite best-in-class (the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage have 41.3 inches), but it’s very roomy. The same is true of the generous cargo hold, with 28.9 cubic feet of room behind the second row and 74.2 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down.

The exterior of the Subaru Forester does an excellent job of displaying some unique Subaru charm while maintaining the dimensions of a conventional compact SUV. The look changes a bit with the Wilderness model with extra ground clearance, matte black wheels, and raised roof rails.

Standard AWD
Every Subaru Forester comes standard with all-wheel drive. In addition to excellent all-season traction on snowy roads, the Forester has real off-road chops thanks to its generous ground clearance.

Low ownership costs
The Subaru Forester earns our Lowest 5-Year Cost to Own award for a compact SUV. This is thanks to its class-leading resale value, reasonable sticker price, and low costs for essentials like fuel, insurance, and maintenance.

Rugged Wilderness trim
The Wilderness model is an off-road all-star with an outdoorsy appearance package, off-road tires, extra ground clearance, and enhanced dual-function X-Mode making it up for almost anything.

EyeSight safety tech suite
The standard EyeSight safety tech suite bundles driver assistance features like automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with lane centering, and lane-departure alert.

Starlink infotainment system
Every Forester has a user-friendly infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The standard system uses a 6.5-inch screen, but a bigger 8-inch screen is available along with navigation, HD Radio, and a Harman Kardon premium audio system.

X-Mode
All but the base trim of the Forester comes with X-Mode, which optimizes the transmission and AWD system for better traction off-road or in slippery road conditions. The upper trims use a more advanced dual-mode X-Mode system with a Deep Snow/Mud setting.

Every Subaru Forester is powered by a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine rated at 182 horsepower and 176 lb-ft of torque. Output is sent to all four wheels via a CVT automatic transmission. The performance is adequate, and the above-average fuel economy contributes to the low ownership costs of the Forester.

3-Year/36,000-Mile Warranty

The Subaru Forester is backed by a 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty and a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. This coverage is average for this segment.

Safety Ratings

The Subaru Forester is the recipient of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick award, and it gets a 5-Star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). On top of excellent crash test scores, it comes standard with the EyeSight safety tech suite that includes automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and adaptive cruise control with lane centering.