Donna Estes

2014 Subaru Forester

••3.5

Posted On: February 19, 2024

It’s ok but not what I wanted in an SUV

Pros
It Drives good on and off road, Good on gas for long and short trips

Cons
Not built for larger people in front or back seat, Not a lot of room to put things

When I picked out the car I thought it was going to be a great car and I would be able to put a lot of stuff in it but boy was I wrong my daughters wheel chair barely fits and then we have to put other stupid on top of it and there just isn’t a lot of room for a bigger person to sit comfortably in front or back but besides that it’s ok but not the greatest.

2014 Subaru Forester Review

Pros

Standard All-wheel-drive drivetrain
Spacious interior
Available turbocharged engine
Has off-roading capabilities

Cons

The base engine seems laggy compared to the turbocharged engine

Subaru Forester features a 2.5-liter engine, and if you want more power a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. Keeping off-roading a priority, all-wheel-drive is standard.

Overview

Subaru has let go of the old Forester design and has now added a new one. Completely redesigned for 2014, the Subaru Forester features a 2.5-liter engine, and if you want more power a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. Keeping off-roading a priority, all-wheel-drive is standard.

The interior is spacious and the rear seats have an added 3.4 inches of space on the inside, adding more space and increasing the levels of comfort. The good part is the infotainment is upgraded and there is a good amount of safety features as well. Subaru price the Forester at an MSRP of $21,995.

Pricing and Features
9.0/10

The Subaru Forester comes in 6 trim levels - 2.5i, 2.5i Premium, 2.5i Limited, 2.5i Touring, 2.0XT Premium, and 2.0XT Touring. The trim names determine the engine that will be installed under the hood, the 2.5-liter flat 4, and a turbocharged 2.0-liter in the XT trim. A manual transmission is standard on the 2.5i and 2.5i Premium, the rest have a CVT.

Trim	2.5i	2.5i Premium	2.5i Limited	2.5i Touring	2.0XT Premium	2.0XT Touring
Key Features	Cruise control	17” alloy wheels	Adds to the premium trim	Adds to the Limited trim	Adds to 2.5i premium trim	Same as the 2.0 touring
	Height adjustable driver’s seat	Rear-privacy glass	Automatic headlights	Navigation system	2.0-liter turbocharged engine	Available driver assistance technology package
	Bluetooth connectivity	Roof rails	Chrome exterior trim	Dual-zone automatic climate control	18” alloy wheels
	4-speaker sound system	Rearview camera	Automatic climate control	8-speaker sound system	Roof spoiler
	17” wheels	Fold-down armrest	Leather upholstery
	USB port	6 speaker sound system	Reclining rear seats
	Available satellite radio	Available 6.1” touchscreen	Available navigation system

We Recommend

We recommend buying the 2.5i Limited trim. It comes with the basics that are available in the base and premium trim like the 6.1 inch touchscreen, speaker sound system, rear view camera and adds a few comfort features like reclining rear seats, automatic climate control and leather upholstery.

Engine and Performance
7.4/10

The Subaru Forester comes with a 2.5-liter boxer/flat-4 engine which makes 170 hp and 174 foot-pounds of Torque. The 2.0 XT trims convert the turbocharged 2 L boxer engine which makes 250 hp and 258 foot-pounds of Torque. The 2.5i and 2.5i Premium come with a manual transmission with the option of a CVT, which is standard for the rest of the trims. All the power is directed to all the wheels.

In the performance tests, the Subaru does the 0 to 60 sprint and 9 seconds and the standing quarter-mile and 16.9 seconds. It will continue to its top speed of 125 mph. The turbocharged 2.0-liter will allow the Subaru to do the 0-60 sprint in 6.3 seconds and the standing quarter-mile in 14.8 seconds.

Model	Subaru Forester	Ford Escape	Honda CR-V	Toyota RAV-4
MSRP	$21,995	$23,100	$23,120	$23,550
Engine	2.5-liter flat-4	2.5-liter inline 4	2.4-liter inline 4	2.5-liter Inline 4
Drivetrain	all-wheel-drive	front-wheel-drive	front-wheel-drive	front-wheel-drive
Transmission	6-speed manual	6-speed shiftable automatic	5-speed Automatic	6-speed shiftable automatic
Power	170 hp @ 5800 rpm	168 hp @ 6000 rpm	185 hp @ 7000 rpm	176 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque	174 lb.-ft. @ 4100 rpm	170 lb.-ft. @ 4500 rpm	163 lb.-ft. @ 4400 rpm	172 lb.-ft. @ 4100 rpm
0-60mph (sec)	9.0	9.1	8.4	8.5
Quarter-mile (sec)	16.9	16.9	16.2	16.5
Top Speed (mph)	125	123	124	120

The most powerful of the above cars are the Honda CR-V which means 185 hp. Following this is the Toyota RAV4 which makes 176 hp, Subaru Forester making 170 hp, and then comes the Florida scape which makes 168 hp. In the 0 to 60 sprint the Subaru Forester is faster than just the Ford Escape, and trails behind the Honda and Toyota by nearly half a second.

Fuel Economy
7.0/10

The Subaru Forester offer is 24 mpg in the city, 32 mpg on the highway, and a combined mpg of 27. Subaru equips the Forester with a 15.9-gallon fuel tank allowing it to have a range of 382 miles in the city, 509 miles on the highway, and a combined range of 429 miles.

The Subaru Forester of any good with the 2-liter turbocharged engine offers 23 mpg in the city, 28 mpg on the highway and you combined mpg of 25. The fuel tank remains the same so the range does decrease a bit, but, these are still good fuel economy numbers.

Model	Subaru Forester	Ford Escape	Honda CR-V	Toyota RAV-4
MPG (city)	24	22	23	24
MPG (Highway)	32	31	31	31
MPG (Combined)	27	25	26	26
Fuel Capacity (gallons)	15.9	15.1 gal.	15.3 gal.	15.9 gal.
Range (city/highway/combined)	382/509/429	332/468/377	352/474/397	382/493/413

The most combined ranges offered by the Subaru Forester of 429 miles. Following this is the Toyota RAV-4 with a range of 413 miles, the Honda CR-V with a range of 397 miles, and then comes the Ford Escape with a combined range of 377 miles. The difference in the above ranges is due to the difference in the size of the fuel tank.

Interior
7.4/10

The interior of the Subaru Forester can seat 5 occupants comfortably across the two rows. The interior is also a bit more appealing than the previous year’s interior and also offers more accessories than the previous years. The front row seats are height adjustable seats in the base and as you higher in the trims there is an 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat.

Interior upholstery is cloth on the base, leather is only featured on the Limited trim and upwards. Automatic climate control is across all trims with dual-zone automatic climate control making its first appearance in 2.5i touring trim. The Forester has a cargo capacity of 34.4 cu-ft which can be expanded by folding down the rear seats.

Model	Subaru Forester	Ford Escape	Honda CR-V	Toyota RAV-4
Seating Capacity	5	5	5	5
Front Row (Head/Shoulder/Legroom)	41.4/57/43	39.9/56.0/43.1	39.9/58.6/41.3	39.8/57.3/42.6
Rear Row (Head/Shoulder/Legroom)	39.8/56.5/41.7	39.0/55.3/36.8	38.6/56.4/38.3	38.9/55.4/37.2
Cargo Capacity	34.4 cu-ft	34.3 cu-ft	37.2 cu-ft	38.4 cu-ft

In terms of front legroom, the Subaru Forester is similar to the other cars. But when we look at real legroom, the Subaru Forester offers the most space nearly as much as the front row but, 4-6 inches more than the competition. In terms of cargo space, the Subaru Forester offers more than the Ford Escape.

8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat
Cloth upholstery base
Leather upholstery (Limited trim and upwards)
Automatic climate control
Dual-zone automatic climate control (2.5i touring trim)
Redesigned interior for 2014

How intuitive is the Infotainment unit of the 2014 Subaru Forester

The new Subaru Forester offers a radio with a CD player and a 4-speaker sound system in the base trim. Also included is a USB port with the option of satellite radio.

A 6.1-inch display is optional on the 2.5i Premium trim and standard on all the others higher than it, this also includes and Bluetooth connectivity. An 8-speaker sound system complements the system and navigation is optional.

4-speaker sound system (base)
USB port
Satellite radio
Bluetooth connectivity
Available 6.1” touchscreen
8-speaker sound system
Available Navigation

Exterior
7.5/10

The Subaru Forester looks like the SUV version of the Subaru Impreza or at least has borrowed some design cues from it bringing it in line with the rest of the Subaru lineup. The SUV has been designed with off-roading capabilities in mind hence it comes with a ground clearance of nearly 8.7 inches.

Other features include roof rails, heated side mirrors, chrome exterior trim, 18” alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, and a panoramic sunroof. There are also many available accessories for the exterior too which can be added on when buying the car.

Model	Subaru Forester	Ford Escape	Honda CR-V	Toyota RAV-4
Curb weight (lbs)	3366 lbs.	3598 lbs.	3305 lbs.	3435 lbs.
Length (in.)	181 in.	178 in.	178 in.	180 in.
width (in.)	71 in.	72 in.	72 in.	73 in.
height (in.)	66 in.	66 in.	65 in.	65 in.
Ground Clearance (in)	8.7	8	6	6
Wheelbase (in.)	103.9 in.	105.9 in.	103.1 in.	104.7 in.

The Subaru Forester is similar in exterior dimensions when compared to the others. There is a difference of just an inch or two and which will go unnoticed. The difference can be seen in the curb weight where the Subaru favors the lighter side of the scale and is just 51 pounds heavier than the lightest of the above SUVs - Honda CR-V.

Safety
9.3/10

The Subaru Forester comes with a 5-star safety rating from the NHTSA, the best possible score. The IIHS has given high scores in many of the tests done by the Subaru Forester and has awarded the SUV 2014 Top Safety Pick+ in the small SUV/4-Door SUV category. Subaru has installed many safety features in the SUV, some of them are:

Traction and stability control
Rearview camera
Lane departure warning (optional)
Collision mitigation system (optional)
Antilocking disc brakes
Multiple airbag systems
Adaptive cruise control
Brake assist

Final Verdict

The Subaru Forester has undergone its redesign and comes with a lot of good features especially the all-wheel-drive system makes it very attractive. Making it more attractive is the additional space it has over the previous year and additional space in the rear seats. The technology is good too and the high safety rating is a good bonus, making this a good car to buy.

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About 2014 Subaru Forester

2015 Subaru Forester Premium

2015 Subaru Forester

2014 Subaru Forester Premium

2014 Subaru Forester Limited

2015 Subaru Forester Premium

2014 Subaru Forester Touring

2014 Subaru Forester User Reviews

It’s ok but not what I wanted in an SUV

ProsIt Drives good on and off road, Good on gas for long and short trips

Cons Not built for larger people in front or back seat, Not a lot of room to put things

2014 Subaru Forester Review

Pros

Cons

Overview

Pricing and Features9.0/10

Engine and Performance7.4/10

Fuel Economy7.0/10

Interior7.4/10

How intuitive is the Infotainment unit of the 2014 Subaru Forester

Exterior7.5/10

Safety9.3/10

Final Verdict

Saved Cars

Pros
It Drives good on and off road, Good on gas for long and short trips

Cons
Not built for larger people in front or back seat, Not a lot of room to put things

Pricing and Features
9.0/10

Engine and Performance
7.4/10

Fuel Economy
7.0/10

Interior
7.4/10

Exterior
7.5/10

Safety
9.3/10