Not the Same! Subaru Outback vs. Subaru Forester

1:35 headphone jack? ma'am....that is aux in, something lots of us have been using for ages.

The real comparison needs to be the Subaru Trailseeker vs. Outback. They’re identical in price and almost identical in size, but it seems to be the first time when a manufacturer offers an equal segment EV and ICE vehicle at the same price.

The Forester looks better but that laggy screen is a dealbreaker for me, so I’d get the Outback for that reason

Come on stop being so dramatic. Forester's screen is not great, but totally workable. You do not have to use it as often as she claimed here.

I wish car reviewers would make clear who a vehicle is actually for, then evaluate it against that buyer’s priorities. Does it skew toward the commuter, the family buyer, the enthusiast, or the pragmatist? How does it perform on the things that matter to that type of owner—cost of ownership, reliability, driving enjoyment, practicality, and similar factors? In other words, what standard are they using to judge it? And for buyers who care about customization, which vehicle has the stronger aftermarket and owner community? That kind of context would make reviews far more useful.

I have the big screen in my 23 Outback. It's fine. When it's all you use, it's great. Sure, if you experience 20 different cars in a week, it's the slowest. But I love it. Great info, large display, works great.

I have the touring XT trim and hands free driving was installed by the dealer 3 weeks ago. The software update became available approximately 6 weeks ago.

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!

I’d just like to say I really enjoy your videos. I watch them even when I don’t care about the cars at all.

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.