2018 Subaru Forester vs. 2018 Subaru Outback: Head to Head

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It’s All About Packaging in This Sibling Rivalry

If you tend to think of station wagons as a precursor to the crossover, you might find yourself wondering why they still exist. After all, only a handful of manufacturers still make them, and all of those manufacturers also happen to make pretty good SUVs.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at Subaru, whose Outback wagon and Forester compact SUV are, in many ways, direct competitors. They aren’t in the same class, but it would be easy to get overwhelmed by comparing these two vehicles on the showroom floor.

The Outback, which has been refreshed this year, is one of the top-ranking wagons on the market, sharing the honor with the likes of Volvo and Audi. It was the winner of two of our 2017 awards; it received a Best Car for Families and Best New Car for Teens award.

The Forester lands in the top half of our compact SUV rankings, which is a tough uphill climb in a packed category with diverse competition.

Despite the disparity in rankings within their respective classes, these vehicles have more in common than it may seem. Using U.S. News scoring data, we compared these Subarus in the categories that are most important to crossover and wagon buyers to find out which is the better option for you.

Keep in mind that our scores change as new expert reviews and data become available. Therefore, the scores mentioned in this slideshow might not match the scores in our new car rankings.

Price:

Winner: 2018 Subaru Forester

At a base price of $22,795, the Forester has a strong advantage over the Outback, which starts at $25,895. The Forester is one of the least expensive vehicles in its class, although not by much. The Outback is more expensive than some other wagons but holds its own against luxury rivals that cost much more