2024 Honda CR-V vs. 2024 Subaru Forester Comparison

The 2024 Honda CR-V and 2024 Subaru Forester are compact SUVs with room for five adults and commodious cargo holds. Each has a well-earned reputation for value, fuel economy, and reliability, too.  

To help drive this point home, the recently redesigned CR-V recently scored our Compact SUV Best Buy award. We’ve come away impressed by the CR-V’s easy-going driving nature, smooth ride, quiet cabin, and a long roster of driver aids. 

However, let’s not overlook the Subaru Forester’s KBB trophy cabinet. It includes our Lowest 5-Year Cost to Own award and our Best Resale Value award. Of these two SUVs, the Forester is the only one to come standard with all-wheel drive (AWD).

In addition to squaring off against each other, the CR-V and Forester compete with rival SUVs like the Mazda CX-50, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Chevrolet Equinox, and Ford Escape.

Let’s explore some key highlights of the Honda CR-V and Subaru Forester.

2024 Honda CR-V 

The CR-V is available in three trims: LX, EX, and EX-L. Under its hood is a 190-horsepower turbocharged 1.5-liter 4-cylinder coupled to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). 

Front-wheel drive is standard, though AWD is optional on every trim. At its most frugal, an FWD Honda CR-V returns an EPA-rated 30 mpg in a mix of city and highway driving. You can get more mpg for your Honda dollar with the fuel-sipping CR-V Hybrid, though we review that model separately. Pricing for the CR-V starts at $30,850, including factory-to-dealer destination charges.

Honda CR-V Highlights 

Friendly driving manners: Regarding its ride and handling, this Honda SUV comes across as highly refined (or polished, if you prefer) in everything it does. There is more than enough power for highway passing maneuvers, and the light steering makes the CR-V easy to navigate in urban traffic. 

Honda Sensing and strong safety scores: Every CR-V comes with the Honda Sensing bundle of driver aids. These consist of automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, road departure mitigation, and more. The CR-V was recently given a Top Safety Pick+ rating, the highest possible score, by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Cargo volume: Few compact SUVs come close to matching the amount of cargo space the CR-V delivers. Behind its split-folding second row is more than 39 cubic feet of room. Fold that rear seat back down, and space expands to a whopping 76.5 cubic feet. 

Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the CR-V models for sale near you. 

2024 Subaru Forester

The 2024 Subaru Forester has a starting price of $28,440, including factory-to-dealer destination charges. There are six trims to choose from: Base, Premium, Sport, Limited, Wilderness, and Touring. 

You get all-wheel drive as standard, and every Forester is powered by an 182-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, which, like the Honda CR-V, is paired to a CVT. The Forester is equally easy on a fuel budget thanks to its EPA-estimated 29 mpg combined.  

Subaru Forester Highlights

Symmetrical AWD: Subaru has a long history of expertise in all-wheel drive hardware. This is why AWD is standard on nearly every Subaru sold today — the exception being the brand’s sporty BRZ coupe. Many SUV shoppers want this extra grip for those times when roads turn treacherous.

Wilderness trim: The Forester Wilderness makes this compact SUV even more adept at all-terrain adventures. That’s because it comes with go-anywhere features like trim-specific bumpers for better approach and departure angles, a lifted suspension for added ground clearance, lower gearing, off-road tires, an underbody skid plate, and a more advanced version of the Forester’s X-Mode driving system.  

EyeSight safety bundle: The Forester also comes standard with its own grouping of active safety features. The Subaru EyeSight safety bundle includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, automatic high beams, lane-departure alert, adaptive cruise control, and a rear-seat reminder. 

Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the Forester models for sale near you. 

Similarities

The CR-V and Forester are savvy choices for anyone who wants a roomy SUV, particularly one that doesn’t cost a fortune and will provide years of trouble-free driving. They have relaxed driving manners and solid fuel economy ratings. They’re also versatile for carrying a full complement of passengers or bulky cargo.

Conclusion

The Honda CR-V and Subaru Forester have many fine attributes that prove why these two SUVs remain so wildly popular. We’re big fans of Forester’s off-road credentials, not to mention how it’ll save you money in terms of resale value and low ownership costs. If you insist on AWD, the Forester makes a strong case as the more frugal option.

Yet the Honda CR-V is a little bit better when it comes to everything, from its stronger acceleration to its roomier trunk and crisp steering responses. Maybe one drawback is that you see CR-Vs seemingly everywhere you roam because it’s such an overachiever. 

Don’t hold its popularity against it; this Honda SUV is a winner.