2020 Subaru Forester vs Subaru Outback

What's the difference?

The Subaru Forester Hybrid S is a great family car - even without the hybrid engine, you get a quality vehicle. If you’re looking for something that gives a nod to a hybrid but going electric still scares you, this could be right up your alley. Personally I would like to see more of the electric motor in use but at least Subaru's headed in the right direction. 

It has a good amount of interior space, boot space and the driving acumen we’ve come to expect from Subaru. It has great safety and the technology is good for 2020.

I gave it a family rating of 7.6 out of 10, taking points off because I think you can do more with a hybrid. My children gave it an 8.0. Show them a blue car and they love it. 

The Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium is exceptionally good in terms of value, practicality, its design and build quality, safety and in the way it drives. Many might overlook it as just a station wagon and go for a tall SUV instead, not realising that the Outback is exactly what they need.

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It’s hard to tell the regular Forester S from the Hybrid S, save for a badge on the back suggesting it's a hybrid.

So, they look as a Forester does... solid. A station wagon with the height of an SUV.

Subaru is one of the only companies to champion this shape and it works well, carving a point of difference in the crowded mid-size SUV market. 

Inside is quite stylish. Being the top-of-the-range model there are leather seats that are also heated and power adjustable. There’s a leather steering wheel that feels lovely under the hands and a sunroof to let light through the car. 

The centre console looks good, but is a little fussy with an overzealous use of buttons and a split screen situation which is confusing at first, but it's  not a deal breaker.

The addition of metal inserts on the foot pedals really lift the whole design of the car. 

Is the Subaru Outback a wagon or an SUV? Well, it’s sort of a cross between them and it could be the perfect vehicle for people who don’t want an SUV but still want the elevated ride height, extra ground clearance and practicality of a sports utility vehicle.

The Outback shares much of the Subaru Liberty sedan’s underpinnings and this is good for its ride comfort and handling, but more on that in the driving section below.

I’m a fan of the Outback’s tough plastic wheel guards and chunky side skirts, oversized fog lights and hardcore looking roof racks. The seriously dark privacy glass to the rear and back windows looks great and so does the roof top spoiler.

What are the Outback’s dimensions? The Outback is large at 4820mm long, 1840mm wide and 1675mm. Ground clearance is 213mm. Regular cars normally have around 170mm and the Toyota RAV4’s is 195mm.

'Crystal White Pearl' was the colour of my test car, but there are 10 hues to choose from including 'Crimson Red', 'Wilderness Green', 'Dark Blue' and 'Crystal Black.'

The 2.5i Premium’s cabin feels sumptuous with soft-touch, high-quality feeling materials and an excellent fit and finish.

There are hints that the cockpit is starting to age from a styling perspective and the new generation Outback coming by 2021 will surely see the interior move to a more modern look.

To those new to Subaru it can be a bit confusing working out where the Outback fits into the brand’s SUV range, which can look a bit samey. So, what you need to know is that the XV is the small SUV, the Forester is the mid-sized one and the Outback is the large SUV-ish station wagon.

Those in the Forester's front seats have plenty of leg and headroom; enough for even the taller members of my family. There is no cramped feeling, with enough room between the front seats to rule out the rubbing of  shoulders. 

My two children, aged six and eight, were comfortable in the back seat. They had a good amount of space between them, and you will be able to fit a third child seat back there.

It’s tight but it does fit. I did it with two boosters and a baby capsule. We’d always suggest checking with your seats first as they are all different. 

At 509 litres the boot is a good size for a family of four and I was able to fit the bulky CarsGuide pram in with room around it for school bags or groceries. If you’re beyond pram stage, there's plenty of room for sporting equipment and other big kids stuff. 

The Outback is a spacious five-seater wagon with excellent head and legroom in the second row. I’m 191cm tall and could sit behind my driving position with about 40mm to spare. Space up front is good, too, with plenty of elbow and shoulder room.

Cabin storage is great, with four cupholders (two up front and two in the second row), large door pockets, a deep centre console storage bin, map pockets in the seat backs, and a covered area in front of the shifter which houses two USB ports and a 12-volt outlet.

There are two USB charging ports in the second row and directional air vents. Another 12-volt outlet is located in the boot.

The cargo capacity of the boot is 512 litres with the second row in place, and 1801 litres with the rear seats folded down.

Large, tall and wide opening doors along with the raised ride height makes getting in and out a breeze, and also means putting little kids into their seats is easy on the back.

The roof racks are standard on all Outbacks and their toughness (I’ve danced on them – see the video) and design means they’re more than just for show.

Take a look at the front and rear door sills, too . They’ve been widened for you to stand on while loading your kayaks/mountain bikes/queen-sized mattress onto the roof.

Under the boot floor is a full-sized spare alloy wheel, and this pleases me big time. Many SUVs seem to promise adventure but only come with a space saver spare which will limit you to 80km/h and a few hundred kilometres at the most.

Finally, here’s something that not many people know about the Outback – you can lock and unlock it without a key, using a PIN number. To find out how watch my video above. You’ll also see me lock myself out of the car while the keys are on the dashboard.

The 2.5i Premium sits in the middle of Subaru’s Outback range with its list price of $43,940. The standard features list is extensive and includes an 8.0-inch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, digital radio, six-speaker stereo, CD player and Bluetooth connectivity.

Also standard are leather seats in 'Ivory' or as in our test car black, power adjustable and heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, paddle shifters, privacy glass, adaptive LED headlights, roof rails, an electric sunroof, 18-inch alloys wheels with a full-sized spare.

For less than a $40K list price that’s excellent value and I haven’t even mentioned the impressive array of safety equipment. Well, I have now, but you can read more about that below.

Rivals to the Outback include all-wheel drive wagons such as the Volkswagen Passat Alltrack, but also regular SUVs such as the Toyota RAV4 Cruiser and, wait for it, the Subaru Forester 2.5i-S.

The Forester Hybrid S drives well and it takes out all those things you’ve heard about electric cars and may not be fond of.

For example, it coasts along without your foot having to be on the accelerator, and they’ve added in some noise so pedestrians can hear the car on approach rather than it creeping along silently at low speeds. 

It gets up hills quickly, there’s no issue with power as it has a 2.0-litre petrol engine along with the electric motor which gives instant acceleration, so it doesn't have a lag.

The steering is slightly stiff to turn but you get used to that the more you drive it and by the end of the week it felt normal to me. 

I think the electric motor added agility and made the Forester feel more nimble than usual, so if anything it’s a benefit because of that.

But how and when does the hybrid kick in? The electric motor can work on its own at speeds under 24km/h. It works together with the petrol engine at medium speeds, and then at higher speeds, the petrol engine takes over completely.

Subaru says the electric motor also takes over if you’re coasting along without the accelerator, for example downhill, and the petrol engine will kick in when you hit the accelerator. 

The system is designed to save fuel in urban, high traffic areas. But when you compare the claimed fuel consumption of a regular Subaru Forester (7.4L/100km) to this 'e-Boxer' Hybrid S (6.7L/100km), there isn’t that much difference.

And when you compare it to other hybrid cars like the Toyota RAV4, the fuel saving is minimal. This week, the average fuel consumption I got was 12.3L/100km, but I did do a lot of stop/start driving mainly in the city, so it’s not the best representation of what it can do. 

It’s a fairly standard car to park. Even though the Forester is long I was able to squeeze into a number of tight parking spaces on a few rainy school runs this week where the competition is fierce.

It has a clear reversing camera with a bonus 360-degree view, as well as a front side view on the top split screen. I did find this confusing but I’m sure if I drove the car for a bit longer I’d get used to it. 

The Subaru Outback feels like a car to drive but has the ground clearance to go where a regular car can’t. And when I say 'like a car to drive' I mean the Outback doesn’t feel tall and wobbly like an SUV.

The Outback’s boxer engine combined with a relatively low overall height gives the car gives a low centre of mass. This, and sharing the Liberty sedan’s platform means it handles better than almost every SUV in this segment, and feels planted with only modest body roll in the corners.

The ride is also composed and comfortable, the steering is accurate and well weighted, and pedal feel is excellent, too.

While the Outback isn’t a traditional four-wheel drive (with transfer case, diff locks, etc) and wouldn't be the ideal choice for serious off-roading, its 213mm ground clearance and full-time all-wheel drive system make it impressively capable on dirt and gravel roads.

The Outback has what’s called 'X-Mode' which is activated by pressing a button and manages the engine, transmission and all-wheel drive system to maintain optimum traction on loose surfaces.

There’s also 'SI Mode' which allows the driver to switch between a sports mode or a more fuel-efficient setting.

The Subaru Outback was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2015.

Coming standard is an extensive list of advanced safety equipment including AEB with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, lane keeping assistance, lane sway warning and adaptive cruise control.

The 2.5i Premium grade adds more safety tech such as blind spot warning, lane change assistant and rear cross traffic alert. Joining the rear-view camera are side and front view cameras.

For child seats there are three top tether points and two ISOFIX mounts.