Honda/ Subaru/ Toyota

[s.e.charles]

new vehicle on the horizon. so many options and every one seems to be "the best".

Honda CVR - Subaru Forester - Toyota Rav4

anyone have a swaying argument as to which is preferable? daily driver with a seasoning of dirt road. possible towing of a 5' x 8' aluminum trailer about 1200# (yet to be built).
thanks

 

[Deleted member 9101]

I would snag the Subaru, simply because of the aftermarket support.

 

[AbleGuy]

Subaru must be doing something right. They’ve continued to grow in popularity, having recently celebrated an unprecedented record of 90 months of consecutive sales increases, month over month.

Subaru April 2019 US Sales | Increase 7.7 percent DriveAndRide.com

Subaru April 2019 US Sales Best April ever – monthly sales increase 7.7 percent over April 2018 89 consecutive months of yearly, month-over-month growth

www.driveandride.com

We’re on our fourth Outback and have no complaints about the ownership of these great vehicles. Great gas mileage, great ground clearance, very fun and enjoyable to drive, really good safety records and fewer major recalls (I believe) than both of those other two brands. Plus the Outbacks * are made in the USA.

One other thing...all else being equal between the Outback and the Forrester, we found the Outback to have a bit more room to sleep in with the rear seat folded down, and more importantly, the front seats in the Outback were much more comfortable than those in the Forrester.

Having said all that, it’s going to be hard for you to wrong to get any of these three good, reliable cars.

(* edit correction thx to info from DinD)

 

[DaveInDenver]

I'm a dyed in the wool Toyota guy and between us we've had a couple of Hondas. We've had Civics, super cars. We looked at all three of these. The CRV and RAV4 are both decent cars but for our use the Forester seemed ideal and it has been for almost 3 years. We'd go that way again in a second. I didn't vote in your poll because you can't really go wrong with any of them. I should mention we have a stick shift model.

In my estimation the Forester is enough burlier compared to the other two that we use it getting to trailheads on mild trails instead of my truck. In fact if she would let me give it a slight lift and decent skid plates (the stock ones are plastic) I'd have no trouble using it on harder trails. Lacking a 2-speed transfer case is really the only limitation IMO. Best thing about Subarus is they are run as rally cars and Aussies get them, so between those two things there is a healthy aftermarket to make them very capable.

For towing, only get the factory hitch or the Torklift Ecohitch. Don't bother with the Curt, Drawtite or U-Haul type. The stock hitch and the Ecohitch both mount up high behind the bumper. It's more of pain to install if you don't get it new but you lose a lot less clearance.

FWIW our 2017 Forester window sticker said content was 90% Japanese. The Outback and Legacy I think are all U.S.-made but the Forester was (and maybe still) more of a global car so they aren't always I guess.

 

[s.e.charles]

thanks for all the input. sounds like the Tacoma is going bye-bye after the winter. I loved my first one, but since retiring, I simply don't need a pickup. for those rare occasions, I know enough guys I could pinch for the cost of a coffee & muffin.

as i was becoming mired in comparisons and details from the manufacturers' literature/ websites, it's real world information from owners that would make the deciding much easier. much appreciated.

Q: in simple terms, what's the difference in Forester & Outback? same body style and one has more luxury? or deeper engineering specifications?

I should probably join a Subaru forum and get their take, too.

thanks again!

 

[toylandcruiser]

I had two brand new foresters back to back , granted it was the previous generation and they both were built like ********. From the lot they had squeaks and rattles. The rav4 has a lockable center diff.

 

[AbleGuy]

thanks for all the input. sounds like the Tacoma is going bye-bye after the winter. I loved my first one, but since retiring, I simply don't need a pickup. for those rare occasions, I know enough guys I could pinch for the cost of a coffee & muffin.

as i was becoming mired in comparisons and details from the manufacturers' literature/ websites, it's real world information from owners that would make the deciding much easier. much appreciated.

Q: in simple terms, what's the difference in Forester & Outback? same body style and one has more luxury? or deeper engineering specifications?

I should probably join a Subaru forum and get their take, too.

thanks again!

I believe that the two Subies are pretty similar in performance but the bodies are very different. The Forrester is a little more boxy (dare I say more old school SUV looking?) whereas the Outback is more similar at a glance to the style of a lot of other more modern slanted back SUV’s (like the Lexus or Acura perhaps).

For most folks it’s probably just a matter of personal preference.

For years the Subarus always had a quality reputation putting them up above many other brands. Sadly, in the past year or so that rating has slipped a bit. I’m frankly surprised at the problems alleged with the Forresters by the previous commenter though. I’m not familiar with those issues being known frequent problems....but he had Forresters and we had Outbacks.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Our Forester doesn't feel poorly built. Sitting now at 23k it hasn't developed any weird noises or irritations and seems about par for a car of the type and age. Everything works, doors close soundly, hasn't consumed significant oil other than during the first change, etc. Digging through menus to set the clock tests my patience, that's about it. Oh, one of the plastic screws that holds the oil drain flap on the engine splash plate broke leaving 3 remaining. The only reason its been back to the dealer is for an ECU fuel map reflash that Subaru offered, which reduced the rev hang from borderline undriveable to pretty much tolerable. Even was still using the original windshield wipers until this fall.

But our range of comparable vehicles were all bought used and are a 1996 Civic, 2002 Jetta, a 2008 Tacoma and 1991 Toyota Pickup/Hilux. The Tacoma is US-made, the Jetta was made in Wolfburg and the Civic and Pickup were Japanese-made. So I don't have experience with anything else brand new or "high end" so I may just have a lower expectation.

 

[Alloy]

We were going to buy a 2019 Forrester but have deciced to wait for the 2020 Outback with the 2.4 Tubo engine and 3,500lb towing. Not that we'll tow that much but I like a magin of overkill.

 

[s.e.charles]

… I may just have a lower expectation.

i went through the forester comparison page on the subaru website. most of the stuff i do not want (moonroof. roof racks, you know - gee-gaws & doo-dads) is leading me towards the base model Forester. so easy, and i'll admit, to being a victim of the "ok; 's only 400$ more, school of vehicle purchasemanship. did look at the above video, and while the extra room & tow capability would be nice, i don't think i would use it enough to warrant.

if i pull a trailer, since i'll be building it, the weight would not become a problem (staying below 15 cwt).

 

[calicamper]

I’m selling my 2010 Outback. For the small crv Rav4 type forester rigs I would without hesitation go buy another non turbo Outback. It absolutely runs circles around all of them in both payload, towing, handling, seating space, mileage, price

Simply put its a whole other class puts them all to shame.

The CRV, RAV, Forester are the kids cars. If your an adult go look at the Outback

 

[calicamper]

thanks for all the input. sounds like the Tacoma is going bye-bye after the winter. I loved my first one, but since retiring, I simply don't need a pickup. for those rare occasions, I know enough guys I could pinch for the cost of a coffee & muffin.

as i was becoming mired in comparisons and details from the manufacturers' literature/ websites, it's real world information from owners that would make the deciding much easier. much appreciated.

Q: in simple terms, what's the difference in Forester & Outback? same body style and one has more luxury? or deeper engineering specifications?

I should probably join a Subaru forum and get their take, too.

thanks again!

The Forester is built on the smaller Impreza platform lower load rating 1500lb tow rating

The 2020 outback /Legacy is now 3000+lb for the turbo version. But the new 2.4Turbo has had some early issues. Fuel dumping causing Ring failure etc. The non Turbo isn’t fast but it’s been tweaked and bugs worked out of it since 2015.

My old EJ last generation of the EJ has been bulletproof tows our 4x6 900lb empty and 1300lb loaded typically 20-21mpg trip averages on camping trips. Sub 1500lbs is the go anywhere trailer weight. Across town 2700lb it will do fine but not a long trip weight.

No trailer 21-25mpg in town 26-32mpg Highway

 

[Dances with Wolves]

I recently drove them all. I'd take an Outback but only with the 3.6R. I live in the mountains so it's needed. drove both the 4 & 6 cyl up Parley Canyon on the test drives and the 4 was weak IMHO.

 

[billiebob]

Four Subarus in 20 years, my wife looks at nothing else. The Subaru AWD really is the best out there. And Subaru warranty, service is as good as it gets.

We have had Toyota Camarys, Honda Accords, and one disasterous VW Jetta.... never, never buy a European car unless you have real thick skin and love to argue. The 2 year VW experience led us to a Subaru Forester, then an Outback, a Legacy 3.6R and now a Crosstrek. All fabulous cars.

That 3.6R was incredible. Brand new with winter tires and 4" of fresh snow I pulled onto the main road Sunday at 6am and floored it.... a block later I looked at the speedo, 130kph, 80mph. Zero drama. Just spooky speed as the under carriage dragged on the snow. No one but Audi does AWD as well.... but then you get the Euro service writer experiance too.

 

[DaveInDenver]

i went through the forester comparison page on the subaru website. most of the stuff i do not want (moonroof. roof racks, you know - gee-gaws & doo-dads) is leading me towards the base model Forester. so easy, and i'll admit, to being a victim of the "ok; 's only 400$ more, school of vehicle purchasemanship. did look at the above video, and while the extra room & tow capability would be nice, i don't think i would use it enough to warrant.

if i pull a trailer, since i'll be building it, the weight would not become a problem (staying below 15 cwt).

Don't have a trailer so no help but being a base non-turbo 2.5i (if we could have gotten crank windows we would have!) with 6 speed manual I doubt it would be much good at it. I have a pickup still for that. Normally aspirated does require keeping the revs up in the mountains but it hangs in there. Flip side is it hovers around 30 MPG on the highway at altitude.

But seeing as it's a child's car (grrrr) and we've never owned anything with real power we wouldn't know better anyway. I like it's tall profile so I don't hit my head getting in and out like I did with the Outback (and I do in our old MkIV Jetta wagon).