Subaru Forester or Honda CRV?

[MickeyMickey]

My 2009 foresster is the best car I have ever owned!

 

[mikehn]

my wife has a 2014 forester with the advanced warning system. Im not really into those type of bells and whistles, but she likes it. The oil filter is on the top of the engine, as opposed to underneath the engine like on every other car. So if you are a do-it-yourselfer like me, changing the engine oil is so much easier. It'll be interesting to see whether there are any subaru owners who actually dont like their subaru.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

My wife and I love our 14 forester, don't know if it matters to you but we have 2 car seats in the rear seat, one forward facing, one rear facing, and my wife can still set back their with them. It's tight but doable. I'm 6' and it feels roomy enough to me. All wheel drive and we get 28-29mpgs.
And if you like to change your own oil, Pop the hood on a new Subaru, the oil filter is right up top facing down so the oil drains out of it, couldn't be easier.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

my wife has a 2014 forester with the advanced warning system. Im not really into those type of bells and whistles, but she likes it. The oil filter is on the top of the engine, as opposed to underneath the engine like on every other car. So if you are a do-it-yourselfer like me, changing the engine oil is so much easier. It'll be interesting to see whether there are any subaru owners who actually dont like their subaru.

Haha, I was typing when you posted but I see you beat me to mentioning the oil filter.

 

[debster812]

We handed down my 2004 Forrester to DS in May. It's the perfect 1st car for him for running around town, to and from school, practice . etc. It's got 189K miles on it, and still going strong.

I LOVED that car, and my new car is 2014 Impreza Sport, which looks smaller, but the interior is not really that much smaller.

We do love Subarus here, fabulous in lousy weather, and they just keep running. And their safety records are great

 

[Katlyn]

We have a 2014 CRV and so far love it. We are in the mountains this week and it has handled the curves great.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

Before I bought my 2004 Forester, I test-drove the CRV and Rav4--the Forester won hands down! Now it has 180,000 miles and has only needed routine upkeep.
DH was a committed Toyota guy, but after seeing how great my car has been, last year he went out and bought himself a brand new Outback. BTW, DD had a used 1999 Legacy sedan that was also trouble-free (even though it had plenty of dents!) . She traded it in only because now she's making big bucks and she wanted a Volvo convertible! Recently she spotted her old Subaru on the highway, still zipping along (she recognized the dents!)

 

[tbrenk]

Hoping to hear from owners of either a Forester or a CRV. They are both very appealing to us and we hope to buy one by the end of the year. But first we would like some input on what you think of your vehicle and their pro's and con's. The good and the bad please.

Just got a 2015 CRV and I am in love. It is awesome and has so many standard features like back up camera, heated seats, blind spot camera, moon roof. It rides so nice too. I just love it!

 

[pjlla]

My 2006 CRV has 230,000 miles on it (yes, I drive a lot and yes I live in the boondocks). We bought it new. Other than routine maintenance I honestly cannot think of a single significant repair I've had to make to the car. Oh wait.... two silly little things.... I had to have the windshield sprayers replaced (my cost) and the rear door hinges replaced (under warranty). The only thing I don't care for is the fact that we STUPIDLY purchased FWD instead of AWD (for the gas mileage) and it isn't great in the snow.... but heavy-duty winter tires definitely helps with that. And my NEXT CRV will be AWD. Cannot really comment on mileage because I don't check it regularly.

Let me just tell you, I am NOT very good at taking care of my cars.... I get overdue for oil changes, I rarely wash it or wax it, I don't get into the shop for "routine" maintenance checks very often... that car owes me NOTHING, but it still starts every time and runs great!! No rust, no chips.... it actually looks great for a 9 year old car!! No complaints here at all...............P

ETA: I see folks commenting on the oil filter on the Subaru.... that is probably my ONLY real complaint about my CRV.... the oil filter is terribly difficult to get to so DH can't do the oil changes at home.... he just can't get his hand in there.... so I do have to have oil changes done at the shop.

 

[MillauFr]

Looks like both are great choices. Now lets get back to the never ending FP+ debate....

 

[mrodgers]

After owning GM, Ford, Mazda/Ford, Nissan, VW, Honda, and Toyota, I've set my foot down and now will only buy a Honda or Toyota. I've never owned/driven a Subaru other than the 2013 Forester when I was looking last year to replace a rolled over Crossover SUV.

New, the Honda and Toyota are way underpowered in my opinion. The Subaru has the turbo option, that is the one I would go with. (we bought a used V6 Toyota but I didn't get to drive the turbo Subaru. All the 4 cyl. were way underpowered for living anywhere with hills. I get better fuel mileage out of my V6 than I would with any of the 4 cylinders.)

If I was buying new, Subaru would sway me with my OEM supplier discount I get from work where I would get it for a good bit under dealer cost. Other than that, I don't want any 4 banger struggling up the hills, I want the power, thus the less throttle to drive the hills, thus the better fuel economy that I get where I live. Thus, my only choice was a used Toyota V6 (which we LOVE) or a new Subaru with the turbo. The price on the 2 year old Toyota was a good bit lower than a fantastic price on new Subaru.

 

[scrapshappen]

We have owned neither the Forester or the CRV. But we used to have a 2000 Outback and we still have our 2007 Pilot. (We also have a 2013 Camry Hybrid FWIW). I think the Outback was my favorite car I owned ever and sometimes I'm sad we don't have it any more. I love my Pilot too but if I were replacing her today, I would probably go back to an Outback. (And FWIW, I really want to love my Camry, but I just don't. It's very practical and gets fabulous gas mileage, but it feels very vanilla to me.)

That's around about way of telling you my vote is for the Forester. But I don't think you could go wrong with the CRV either. Go drive both and decide which one you feel more comfortable in and which one has all the features you like. And if it really is a toss up between the two, figure out which on is the best deal over all and go with it.

 

[Albinomonkey]

Forester all day! My '98 made it almost 300k mi!

 

[ceecee]

I have a 2006 crv. I have about 80,000 miles and so far only regular maintenance. Never any problems. Only thing I hate is value of car never really goes down and I pay a lot with car tax. When I do eventually get another car I was thinking of Subaru because I don't like the look of new crv.

I loved MY 2009 CR-V, no problems other than maintenance in 5 years. We gave it to DD when she got her license. I did not like the looks of the 2014 CR-V either so we test drove Toyota Rav and Subaru, Rav didn't have the best safety record. The Subaru was loud, bad road noise, tried another and same thing. So I found a 2011 CR-V with 16,000 miles and bought it! It was the same older body style which I love, with a lot of features my other one did not have and we saved a lot of $. I LOVE it too!!!

 

[Lisa71]

We love our 2011 CRV and my MIL and SIL have older models no complaints at all!

 

[Vernie822]

I know this isn't a Crv or Subaru, but just throwing this into the mix. I drive a 2013 Mazda CX5. I hunted far and wide for a small SUV that was what I was looking for. I get 30 mpg and this thing is amazing! New was about $25,000. Also looked at a Kia- the inside was just blah. Seemed cheap to me. Mine has all of the bells and whistles. Touch to start, touch screen, backup camera. I love it.

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

2014 Forester and love it.
I was going to look at CRV but DH has an 2012 Outback and we love that.
Got a Forester because I have back problems and it's so easy to get out of compared to the Outback.

 

[meajuly5]

Have a 1996 crv as a second car. 200,000 plus and going strong with very little unexpected maintenance . It's great!

 

[DisneyDiana]

Another very happy Forester owner here. I, too, had narrowed my choices down to the crv and the Forester. I went with the Forester because I was able to negotiate a much better price. It is three years old and I absolutely love it!

 

[mum of two pirates]

We looked into buying a CRV last year for our son, but we could not get one with the advanced safety features on it that we were looking for - no blind spot warning or forward obstruction warning was available.

Subaru just came out with a new advanced warning system for their 2014's, so you could probably get the safety features on a new Forrester - if that matters to you and it does to us

Just an FYI - we have a 2012 Subaru Outback and a 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite (had to get the top of the line for Honda's safety features) and both are fantastic vehicles. No problems what so ever except regular maintenance and the odd recall. Would recommend either brand.

So I have been looking into the Forester and the Outback. I like the look of the forester better but they only have eyesight. The Outback this year has all the bells and whistles, They have eyesight, blind spot detection, the cruise control and break option. lane change and lane sway technology. Cant remember all the names but the Forester only has eyesight not the rest. I called the factory and they said the 2016 Forester will have them all next year. I'm contemplating waiting tell next year to get the forester. Good luck in your search.