2024 Subaru Outback v Subaru Forester Comparison | Battle of the XT and STI special editions

[@Wedgetail96]

By far the most thorough comparison between these two cars. Thank you.

[@A861967]

Chocolate & Cheese these 2 I took the Forester with 2 onboard up a local hill and it was struggling, overtaking 80-110 not a good idea😂 Outback XT no problem power available when you need it and lovely plush ride. And the fuel consumption was the same. Then I went with the wrx Sportswagon as I don’t need the towing 😊 and the handling was so much better than both. Cheers from SA 🇦🇺

[@shaun1900]

It’s chalk and cheese, numb nuts

[@shaun1900]

Chalk and cheese

[@waynemcgrath4535]

Great review 👏

[@mickhofman]

You cant call a car an STI that doesnt have a turbo.. Subaru have lost the plot..

[@axeya366]

STI gimmick. I would expect Turbo, Brembos, Recaros, Alloy wheels as the minimum.

[@bearmegmoo]

Subaru lost the plot years ago

[@paulashby5225]

I bought a Forester S edition, 5sp auto in 2012. 2.5lt 193Kw turbo. I still love it 12 years later. Admitted most of the interior features are dated but when i look at whats on the market now i feel like i would be downgrading from a driving perspective. If they still had a forester turbo i would buy one tomorrow.

[@russellchristison8425]

Looking to purchase a XT touring Outback in a couple of months time, would love to hear more about your trip to Adelaide

[@oo0O0oo]

Bought the non turbo sport outback recently and I am very happy with it. If I had to pick out some negatives: 1. Lacklustre storage space at the front. The little cubby holder is pretty pathetic and if you have usb cables plugged in, it blocks the cubby. 2. Cd player taking up central storage bin room. 3. The front cup holders are strangely massive and very deep, which means the usual bottles and drinks would move around. Back drink holders are too shallow, causing same issue. 4. The vertical and angled air vents make phone holder mount choices limited. 5. Reverse camera not taking up the whole screen. Same for Android auto but it gets fixed in newer updates.

[@kazijavedanwar7891]

Had my OB Sport Touring XT for 2 months now, love every bit of it, would be great to have more space in the centre console and not that weird little vertical space for smartphones at the front of the gear lever. Love the big screen and moon roof and huge space at the back. The turbo engine is a beast and overall handling of the car is top notch.

[@craigfry8818]

Couldn't agree more. The CVT was a big ??? but it works so well and the sports mode is just brilliant. It's fantastic in corners and the body and dampening are tuned beautifully. Just an all around pleasure to own. It also looks fantastic. The only negative is the piano black gloss around the shifter, scratches very very easily unfortunately.

[@aaronhopkins6697]

Turbo with bonnet scoop and twin exhaust. This should be a must for both of these models with a manual gearbox also.

[@HAL-vu8ef]

I bought a new Forester back in 2016 in Tasmania, did 230,000km in 7 years with probably 15% of that on dirt roads. I also took it proper off road quite a lot as I hike and fish in the mountains most weekends. The car never let me down once, it was amazing. It got me out of a few places off road that I was panicking about - with ease. Eventually, after 200k it was getting tired (I also drove it to its limits frequently) and I traded in for a Suzuki Jimny, I love the Jimny but overall the Forester was the sensible choice. Forgot to mention, my wife and I slept in the Forester many times with the back seats dropped and a platform I made for a mattress and underneath storage and it was pretty good, easier than a tent.

[@kevinho9544]

Very detailed comparison! Thank you.

[@manfredmuhlmann8919]

🎉deutsch Übersetzung

[@alexryan2521]

Get the outback dyno tuned and it’ll be the hot hatch you really want. Just relax over the warranty

[@savillecreations8046]

Excellent video. You covered both cars about the best I’ve seen….but you’re driving on the wrong side of the road :) I just purchased my first Subaru, a 2025 Outback Wilderness. So far I’m loving it. Surprised the Forester STI doesn’t have a Turbo option. Seems like an odd decision Subaru made.

[@bradyb2482]

Such great cars - modern, spacious, versatile, safe and sporty....ref 1, Motor mag, Vol.1, Ed.13, 1989.

[@axeya366]

As an owner of a WRX and a XT i can say does not matter which Subaru you have, they are all fun cars to drive if you know how to drive them and the terrain to take them.

[@sneakyfoz3692]

I just bought a 2024 Subaru Forester, and the reason I bought it over the competition is that it’s old school, prefer it because I know it ain’t gonna fail like the other inevitably will. Hated the massive screens of the Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson, looked cheap to me, actually didn’t like the Outbacks larger screen either, nor its body shape, Rav 4 good but massively over priced, Honda CRV also expensive so good old school Forester for me, priced right, and does what you need it to in day to day driving, will take an analog instrument cluster any day of the week.

[@noosamike]

That’s the 6 year old outgoing Forester which has already been replaced in North America compared with an outback just 2 years into its model run. If you like that model Forester get it cheaper in the model run out sales. Base model is 40k AUD if you use a broker.

[@Studat]

The STi badge is embarrassing and the turbo when i drove was underdone.

[@tonycoz2309]

The new Forester is out next year. Pay to wait. The new Hybrid drive train sounds promising. The current Forester has always looked unresolved to me looks wise. As for the STi badge Subaru are bastardising an iconic emblem. This should only have been used if the Forester was a turbo charged. It's all show and no go.

[@markgallon9387]

As an owner of two Subies previously I think I will move on to something a bit more contemporary with either full EV or hybrid

[@JF-di1nr]

You lost me when you said the forester had “blacked out” wheels when it’s obviously not.

[@WildDanHibiki]

Lol crazy that the turbo outback XT has a longer service interval than the non turbo (15,000 vs 12,500). Mind boggling.

[@daweigo6851]

Subaru really lost its soul, using STI badge on standard forestor is simply embarrassing 😅😅

[@realjohnboxall]

CD players are still very useful. No data, no smartphone, no radio DJs, just your music with songs in the order in which the artist wanted them in.

[@acrumpet9620]

Coming from a manual fanboi still lamenting its disappearance from modern cars, I think the biggest benefit of CVT is this: No hunting for gears when paired with underpowered powertrains. Say you’re on cruise control along at 110km/h at 2,000rpm in 6th gear, coming down a gulley approaching a hill. In a manual, you’d need to shift down to 5th at the base of the hill to kick the car into the powerband, but you would likely make it up at 3,000-4,000rpm without losing speed. In a torque converter automatic, the cruise control would remain in 6th with no throttle until it runs out of momentum and has to rely on acceleration. When it starts to lose speed, it’ll downshift to 5th, but by then it’s lost so much speed that 5th would also be out of powerband for the hill, so it has to shift down further into 4th to get back into powerband, meanwhile you’ve dropped speed from 110km/h to 90km/h, and then have to try to accelerate to get back to the speed limit while you’re going uphill, and your car is screaming along at 5,000-6,000rpm in 4th. In a CVT, there’s no gears to worry about, so the cruise control just keeps adding power and adjusting the ratios to keep the engine in powerband until you make it over the hill, so you might hit 4,000-5,000rpm for a little bit if it needs the power, but the gearbox won’t be causing you to lose speed to anywhere near the same degree.

[@kelvinwatt8535]

2025 models have the larger screen

[@buster_1972]

Any auto problems 🤔

[@HAL-vu8ef]

I did 230k in 7 years, Forester with CVT, no problems at all. Brilliant car.

[@electricdiesel1993]

Subaru Outback XT should call it an Outback GT to add 206 kw power on a 2.4 turbo. A non-turbo Subaru Forester STi should deserve a 227kw 2.5 turbo from a former WRX STi to become Subaru Forester GT STi.

[@shaun1900]

The XT special is based on the sport NOT the touring. Get the basics right, at least.

[@J123-p7p]

Wrong mate. It’s all the touring extras with the body kit of the sport