Subaru Forester or Outback...Which one and why?

[Rbertalotto]

Looking to purchase a used Subaru. There is a bewildering number of models and options available. Looking to keep it under $20K
Not a hard core off roader. Muddy forest roads would be biggest challenge
Towing a 1000# camping trailer and wanting at least 25mpg while towing and more when not towing.

What should I be looking for?

Automatic or manual transmission?

4 or 6 cylinder?

What years should I avoid?

Thanks in advance

 

[mobydick 11]

there is a youtuber softroadingthewest. if you have not visited his site ,then its worth a look. you will get some ideas there .

 

[workerdrone]

Never had a Subaru, it's a personal interior aesthetic thing, but I doubt you're going to approach 25mpg towing on any of them

 

[86scotty]

Agreed. ^^^ Our last Forester was dismal on mileage at best. Not nearly what it was touted to be or what everyone on the internet said theirs got. It was pristine and low mileage as well. I would look for a late model Outback if I were you. The Forester is tiny for gear hauling, unless you are a real minimalist. Also, I'm a manual fan but I'd go for the automatic with a Subaru. Especially for a daily.

 

[Victorian]

We drive a 2014 outback for about 5 years. Tons of room for gear. Long enough to sleep in the back if needed. Did several trips from British Columbia to Arizona . Fuel efficiency is ok . We had a Jeep before and compare to that it’s amazing.
incredible in snow! Would we by one again? Yes.

 

[DaveInDenver]

We went for the Forester over the Outback for a couple of reasons.

One is it's taller and so our dog (a German Shepherd) at the time could sit up fully without hitting her head. The Forester is just slightly narrower and quite a bit shorter (both overall and wheelbase). They actually have similar cargo volumes but the Forester uses more interior height to achieve it than the Outback. With the back seats down it didn't seem much different but with 4 passengers the Outback will feel like it's easier to pack since the cargo floor space behind the rear seats is several inches longer.

The other reason we went this way was the Forester still had a stick shift (our is 2017) in the base models. We test drove the auto and the CVT on these cars is not good. It might be different with a turbo or H6 but a naturally aspirated SB25 with a CVT is really anemic. It's still no rocket ship with the stick but it's reasonable.

To us the Outback felt like a station wagon car while the Forester felt more like a small SUV, taller roof more boxy.

Also important to note that we use ours for a daily driver, hauling a dog, road trips, etc. It's not intended for a great deal of off highway use and doesn't get packed full with a fridge. That's the use of my Tacoma. It carries bikes in a hitch-mounted rack (two bikes won't fit inside the back of a Forester but they might in an Outback) and we might tent camping out of it overnight at most. We get about 25 to 28 MPG on highway and that's not doing any towing. Mixed driving is low 20 MPGs.

 

[phsycle]

We had an Outback, 2.5 CVT. 33mpg Highway. Towing 2k lbs, flat highway at 65-70mph, no better than 13-14mpg.

interior room is great. If you have kids, I’d go Outback. One big negative is the crappy roof rack. Wished it had a traditional rack like the forester.

 

[paroxysym]

currently have a '18 outback, 2.5 backroads on and off the throttle shes getting around 25mpg.. .hit the highway and set the adaptive cruise control and it gets over 30mpg. i have put about 40k on the car in just under 2 years and am very satisfied with it. ive had a loaner '19 forester when my outback was at the dealer for servicer and didnt like the seating position- the seats are pretty uncomfy and you feel like youre sitting on the dash since there is little dash compared to the outback. i know the outback looks wagon-ish, because lets face it it is, but with the ground clearance and all the features i dig it. its been great for our family, we only have a 5 year old but i fit my 70lb lab and fiances pit in the cargo area with no issues. at 50k ill be doing some suspension work as far as a lift cause they look great lifted.

i know the 2020 has the turbo 2.4 but thats just one more moving part to fail on those engines- ive considered trading mine in on a newer ascent or OB but the turbo just doesnt do it for me. if i wanted that power i would have bought a tried and true 3.6 H6 outback, but i have no need for anything over 200hp.

 

[Alloy]

We looked at 2019 Subarus then decided to buy (not under $20k) a 2020 Outback Ourdoors XT

Reasons
- 2.4 Turbo engine with 3000lb towing
- Longer inside with the 2nd seats down for sleeping
- Sporty look
- Increased back seat leg room vs the 2019 OB

- What we've found in the first 1000miles -
2020 2.4 is better all around. A little sluggish 0-2000RPM but once the turbo boost builds off it goes.
-Wish it had a trip meter
-Sometimes I keep the transmission in manual when towing but don't like the paddles sifters. Wish the manual shifting was 1 handed.
-Being able to use manual when coming down a hill is nice
-The CVT is much smoother.
-Quieter inside
-Autohold is used allot.
-Starlink is a PINA so we may insall the remote start option.
-The large display is OK. Wish they added more knobs though. It gets used mostly to turn the seat heaters on/off. Seat heaters work good
-Our 90lb dog has just enough height to stand up
- We found the Eyesight doesn't like rain and when the painted road lines are worn away.
- Used it in 10-12" of snow without X mode and the factory tires. It didn't get stuck but winter tires would help allot with braking and cornering.
-The headlights were set too high (especially with passengers/weight in the back) so people were flashing thier high beams at us.
-First 500 miles there was a burned oil smell occasionally.
-With a larger THULE on the roof the tailgate has to be programmed (easy to do) not to open all the way
-We used the front towing bolt to tie canoe/kyacks to.
-Lifting may affect the Eyesight camera
-The blind spot does not work 100% of the time or it picks up vehicles too late.
- In traffic the adaptive cruise control aceleration and braking too hard.

 

[Rbertalotto]

Great reviews and input...Thank You

 

[Clintnz]

I had a 2011 2.5 manual trans Forester & quite liked it. I thought the mileage was pretty damn good for the size of the car & it towed a small-medium trailer really well, maybe not quite 25 MPG towing but not too far off. Quite good offroad for what it was.

'Forester is tiny for gear hauling' ?! Maybe for a family of 5 but for 2 it's massive. We toured in ours with camping gear, hiking gear, biking/paddling gear, 2 bikes on the back & a kayak on top, that was starting to fill it up but we didn't have any drawers or anything for efficient packing. The later ones are bigger than our 2011 too.

Early CVT's weren't great but they have improved a lot over the years.

Cheers
Clint

 

[Battle]

The EZ (Subaru's flat six) is pure engineering gold. What it isn't is capable of good fuel economy. The 2015+ with CVTs could maybe get 25 mpg by themselves, but no way you'd get that towing or loaded down.

However, if you want to tow, it's probably the engine to go for. The power delivery is intoxicating - so much smoother than the four cylinder cars. You should look at a 2010-2014 Outback 3.6R. It can run "as recommended" on 87, still has a traditional 5 speed automatic transmission (likely better for towing and offroading) and the extra displacement will help when towing. This is the last good big Subaru in my eyes.

Don't discredit older Subaru's either. They're arguably better built. You might want to do some research on Subaru's build quality as of late. My sister for example had the short block on her 2014 Forester replaced under warranty for excessive oil consumption. It's also stalled on her while on the interstate twice. I've heard and read similar stories. Pure anecdotes of course.

 

[calicamper]

Simple!

Forester is a boxy Impreza. If your single and only need occasional seats for 4 and don’t need to haul gear for 4 then the 1500lb max tow and lower load rating Forester might be ok.

If you haul 4 people and haul stuff for 4 people there is no comparison the OB is the best choice. I skipped the Forester for all those reasons and did 200,000 with a Legacy yep still more load capacity and seating space than the Forester then did another 130,000 with the OB. Which got too small so now I have a Expedition.

 

[calicamper]

The EZ (Subaru's flat six) is pure engineering gold. What it isn't is capable of good fuel economy. The 2015+ with CVTs could maybe get 25 mpg by themselves, but no way you'd get that towing or loaded down.

However, if you want to tow, it's probably the engine to go for. The power delivery is intoxicating - so much smoother than the four cylinder cars. You should look at a 2010-2014 Outback 3.6R. It can run "as recommended" on 87, still has a traditional 5 speed automatic transmission (likely better for towing and offroading) and the extra displacement will help when towing. This is the last good big Subaru in my eyes.

Don't discredit older Subaru's either. They're arguably better built. You might want to do some research on Subaru's build quality as of late. My sister for example had the short block on her 2014 Forester replaced under warranty for excessive oil consumption. It's also stalled on her while on the interstate twice. I've heard and read similar stories. Pure anecdotes of course.

Think of it this way Subaru builds 4 cars.
The BRZ
The Impreza
The Legacy
The Ascent

The Forester is just a boxy body on an impreza
The Outback is just a Wagon version of the Legacy

Yes the last best Subaru is likely the very last 5spd AT H6 3.6L which was redesigned after the very lousy 3.0H6. The 3.6 was /is an excellent engine.

The CVT I had one kinda ruined a number of things the servicing of the front diff and cvt at local shops runs risk of a screw up that kills the cvt, add that parts quality inconsistency and Subaru won’t fix or eat the repair cost unless you had cvt / diff dealer serviced and my local dealers all think $450 for 30min and $90 in fluids is acceptable not!
plus the cvt stalls out on technical terrain or even pavement edge in a parking lot.

So yeah 2010-14. 3.6L 5spd AT only one I recommend after 20yrs and 300,000 miles of Subaru ownership. Nope don’t any Subarus now. Too many serious parts quality issues in the new ones and my really terrible dealers! Even our VW dealer is hugely superior and more fair on service costs than our local 5 Subaru dealers.

 

[Regcabguy]

I'm 6'4" and the OB is not an option. The roofline is angled down so sharply. I feel like I'm in a Tacoma with the seats too close to the floor. The Forester is much easier for me. The seat bottoms are a bit short for my long legs too.
My friend's CVT 2019 Forester is getting 28 mpg in town and at times 33 mpg freeway.
My other buddy owns a Subaru dealership so I get to test drive with him circumventing the snakes. He sells every every Sube he gets in. In California it's the new eco-friendly vehicle so the young people can feel pc.