Not the Same! Subaru Outback vs. Subaru Forester

22 thoughts on “Not the Same! Subaru Outback vs. Subaru Forester”

1. We put the Subaru Forester Hybrid up against the slightly larger and slightly more expensive Subaru Outback. The Forester will return better fuel economy, but the Outback goes hard on technology and power. Which feature is most important to you? Let us know in the comments!

2. Emmy: "So you don't know which Subaru to buy"
   Me: "Yes, I'm very stuck between the WRX and the BRZ" lol

3. you have voice command no need to use the screen

4. But… why get an Outback Hybrid when you can get the Trialseeker thats like 20 times better.

5. Where do I put my CD's? 😂

6. Nice sweater. Did its job. Made you sweat.

7. The Forester's screen is not laggy, but the bad thing is that at the angle at which it is set it reflects too much. With the sunroof open it is unreadable. I agree that the rear view camera in the Forester sucks

8. The only real problem with the Outback is that you’d have to look at it every day.

9. forester is a 2001 vehicle in 2026. Horrible styling horrible mpg horrible infotainment system.

10. How does the non turbo outback drive? I mean if the gas Forester feels laggy, I wonfer how the outback perform, I not expecting a sports drivong experience but being bigger than the Forester how does it affect the overall drive with the 2.5 non turbo?

11. I have a Subaru 2024 Outback and I like my touch screen. Each to there own. If you want to keep your car for over 200000 miles don't get a turbo.

12. I’d get the Forester

13. This granny geritol just got a gas Forester Limited. First 90 miles and mpg is already 6 miles better than CX-5 I just turned in. Drove the new Outback then Forester gas & hybrid. If you use Sport button (when merging mainly) it provides a noticeable burst of energy. I drove the hybrid version over 2 days and didn’t notice much extra torque. X-mode may also be more effective in gas v. Hybrid per other review sites.
    I agree that a general review v. targeted comments to a specific demographic provides an overall better fund of knowledge for the consumer.
    I considered a Tiguan too. Really loved the Tiguan styling. Visibility in Tiguan was not good for me and infotainment screen was more busy than I needed. At end of the day, I looked at safety, reliability as well as function and form and opted to get Forester.

14. Just not worth $50k for a Outback!

15. We just bought a gas Subaru Forester 2026 Premium trim level.

    Note, when we bought the Forester (March 2026), we could not buy the hybrid as there was a global hold on Forester Hybrid sales. I think the main issue was they are moving Foresters to be built in the USA, and the factory hasn't started making hybrids yet.

    Before we were told that hybrid Foresters weren't available when we were shopping, I wasn't sold that for us hybrids were a win. We both mostly work from home these days, so we aren't driving like a lot of folks do. There are also some issues with the 2025 hybrids that people complain about (issues with not being able to connect phone, screen freezing, not being able to unlock the car without using the keyfob if the car sat for awhile, car starts in EV mode and when it switches to gas it is very loud, and evidently some long term repairs that are more $$$ in hybrids than gas cars). I wasn't wild about having to put 220 volt power in the garage (our house was built in 2 sections, and the electrical panel is a mess). I could also imagine driving away and forgetting to remove the charging cable. Like everything in life, there are pluses and minuses.

    My previous car was the 2015 Forester (Premium trim) and my wife drives the 2022 Forester (Premium trim). Note, the 2015 was bought when we needed a car ASAP (Honda Element had broken down, and it was $$$ to fix it). Honda at that time did not have AWD in the models we looked at, and we went around. We settled on the Forester premium trim level which the dealer had on the lot. One of the things that sold us on the premium trim level is it had the first generation of the eyesight, which we wanted. When we got the 2022 Forester, its generation of adaptive cruise control with eyesight was really helpful, along with mirrors that indicate whether it is safe to pass or not.

    In 2022 when we were looking for my wife's car, we discovered that since the Outback is 8" longer than the Forester, we could not fit the Outback in the side of garage where my wife parks. We had to move our oil tank into the garage because it kept freezing up when the house's original owners had put it outside (we live in central Massachusetts). So we have a little less space in the garage, and the 8" was critical to being able to close the garage door. Obviously, it is a niche requirement, but just in case other people have a restricted garage space, it may be a reason to choose the Forester over the Outback.

    I ruled out the Crosstrek, which is smaller than the Forester, because at times I need to sit in the back seat, and I'm 5' 11".

    The sedans were all ruled out, because there are times when we need to carry a lot of stuff.

    So for us, in terms of size the Forester is the Goldilocks car.

    Likewise in terms of trim level, the premium level is our Goldilocks trim level. I have a muscle disease, and I was having problems opening the rear hatch in the back on the 2015 Forester, but with my wife's 2022 Forester, the button on the keyfob or button in the driver's area works great. So I wanted a rear hatch that could open via button press, and I don't think the lowest trim level had that.

    Likewise, on the 2022 Forester, it was real nice to not have to fish out the key to start the car, and I wanted that in the 2026 model (once again, that isn't available on the low end model).

    But we don't like the leather seats in the higher trim levels. In particular, if my wife is wearing a shorter dress in summer, those leather seats can be a little too hot on her legs if the car has been parked outside in the sun. Hence why the premium trim level is the Goldilocks trim level.

    Note, in the 2026 gas Forester premium trim level there are 2 places for the phone. There is the place you mentioned under the dash which in theory has wireless charging (our phones don't have wireless charging, so it isn't a feature we need). But in the center just above the 2 cup holders, there is a slot on the passenger's side that you can put in the phone to charge it via USB. The phone would need to go upside down, but with Android Auto, there is no real need to see the phone's screen.

    The 2026 gas Forester premium trim level also auto connects to the phone (at least with Android phones, we don't use Apple phones) for the GPS. Evidently this is a new feature in 2026 — with my wife's 2022, you have to plug in the phone to get the GPS support. This is convenient, but the downside is I suspect the phone probably depletes its battery faster if you don't plug it in.

    I do agree with the general complaints of the infotainment center, and the lack of physical buttons.

    In terms of cup holders, our 2015 and 2022 also did not handle the larger water bottles, so not being able to use the giant water bottles wasn't an issue to us.

16. Forester would be a great car if'n Subaru put the WRX engine option in it as they did around twelve years ago with the Forester S. I would have bought one but my 24 years of experience with Subeys tells me they are down on power and torque, all Subarus should be turboed. Bought an Outback XT in July 2025, proving a good car but the gloss is taken off by the nanny state safety junk. The new Outback looks like a public toilet on wheels.

17. Great video! Love your review

18. Really over dramatic, I have a 2026 Forester Premium and it's a great quiet ride. The center 11" screen display works just fine. Subaru is one of the safest cars on the road. My 2024 Crosstrek just
    saved my life with the emergency steering feature that kept me from hitting a dead stopped semi truck in the fast lane at night. Stop concentrating on the display screen and talk about what is really important.

19. Definition of eyesore: 2026 Subaru Outback. Actually I thought you made a mistake and was showing us the Wilderness, not the Premier XT to my complete demise. I did not think it was possible for it to be uglier than this.

20. i have a 2025 Outback Onyx edition. I have No problem with the infotainment system. I prefer the infotainment system embedded in the dashboard rather than the one above the dashboard.

21. New outback looks shockingly like the '24 Forester wilderness. Looks like they even brought the infotaibment center back.

22. I started trembling! Whats up with that 200+ badge on your phone icon?!?!?!😂

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