Subaru Outback, Forester or Rav4??

[BN]

Slightly different question from JodyH.

I'm considering either a Subaru Outback, Subaru Forester or a Toyota Rav4. Late model, low mileage used or new 2020 or 2021.

I've been driving Toyota's since 1977. Never had a bad one. My daily driver has been a Sienna van with the third row seat for the last 6 years. My wife got a new Highlander a couple of years ago. She passed her 2016 Subaru Legacy to one of the kids. Another kid just had twins and I'm going to pass the Sienna van to her. A year ago we bought a used 2012 Toyota Tundra just to have a truck around. It's a really big truck. I'm thinking about trading the Tundra in on something a little smaller for myself. Since the kids don't ride with us as much, I don't need the third row seat.

I would seriously consider a Rav4 but every time I look at the newer ones, I'm reminded of a Star Wars Storm Trooper. All wheel or 4 wheel drive is a must. I need something that can hold all my crap when I go to the range. 4Runner and Highlander might be out of my price range unless I could find a good deal and they might be a little bigger than I want. We get our vehicles serviced by the dealer at the proper times and repaired by the dealer, but that doesn't seem to be needed much. My wife ran her 2002 Highlander to 250,000 miles.

Outback seems like the best choice so far, but I haven't driven any of them yet. Any info on the new 2.4 turbo engine?

[SecondsCount]

Don't forget about the Toyota Venza and Lexus RX. I have been super happy with my 2009 Venza, 176K miles and still drives great. It has lots of room for taking stuff to the range and the seats fold flat with the pull of a handle.

[snow white]

I can't comment on any of the other vehicles but I own a 2017 rav4 and I am very pleased with it. Plenty of room, good in the snow, very comfortable to drive. I think they changed body style Slightly in 2018 and I have heard good things. The caveat to this tho is beyond being able to change tires, brakes, oil, spark plugs ext I am in no way a car guy and have zero interest in becoming one. So take it with a grain of salt.

[Coyote41]

Subaru seems to know what they’re doing with the turbo (unlike every other turbo), and it is very unfortunate it is gone in the forester. With that said, the 4 cylinder Rav and Forester are both anemic. The new 2.4 turbo Outback is nice, but I prefer our 2.0 turbo Forester by far. If you can hunt one down, a 2012 low-ish mileage V6 Rav4 is a great vehicle as well.


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[Paul D]

I was in a similar situation. I picked up a RAV4 TRD today. The 2019-2020 version of the Rav4 is a lot more roomy and ergonomic compared to the prior versions. I just got it so I can say much more but I am happy with my choice so far.

[Balisong]

I was in a similar situation. I picked up a RAV4 TRD today. The 2019-2020 version of the Rav4 is a lot more roomy and ergonomic compared to the prior versions. I just got it so I can say much more but I am happy with my choice so far.

Very cool. I've always liked Rav4s and these newer ones are very nice looking. If I didn't need a good offroader for my next vehicle I'd look very hard at the Rav4s. I was unaware that they had "TRD" Rav4s, I'll have to look at what those offer out of curiosity.

[JAD]

I am a big fan of my 17 Outback 6. I think Subaru does seat comfort and active safety (the ability to avoid accidents) better than any other Japanese marque and I think they are the only Japanese brand with any character.

[luckyman]

I am a big fan of my 17 Outback 6. I think Subaru does seat comfort and active safety (the ability to avoid accidents) better than any other Japanese marque and I think they are the only Japanese brand with any character.

I have the same year and model; same opinion. Also it handles pretty nice and is the perfect size for me.
The infotainment system sucks though.

[blues]

I am a big fan of my 17 Outback 6. I think Subaru does seat comfort and active safety (the ability to avoid accidents) better than any other Japanese marque and I think they are the only Japanese brand with any character.

You coulda just said congratulations.

[Nephrology]

I had a 2010 RAV4 that got totaled two summers ago. I still miss it sometimes. Of those 3 I would vote RAV4 again.