Mazda CX-5 vs. Subaru Forester: What’s The Difference?
Mazda CX-5 by Vauxford — CC-BY-SA-4.0
Compact crossovers have been extremely popular in recent years, and their popularity is only rising. This is making it more difficult than ever to figure out the differences between all the brands and models that you hear so much about. The Mazda CX-5 and the Subaru Forester are two major examples of this, each representing a high-quality crossover with glowing reviews.
Thankfully, you have to look no further to discover what makes them each different! We’ve compiled a Mazda CX-5 vs. Subaru Forester comparison so that you can easily tell which one is right for you.
A Brief Overview
In the compact crossover game, you can’t get much closer in quality than comparing the Mazda CX-5 and the Subaru Forester. They’re truly neck and neck when it comes to safety and price and are still pretty close in the other categories.
The Mazda CX-5 is the better performer, but the Forester gets better gas mileage. Both have great technology, though the CX-5’s is a little better and is more accessible. At the end of the day, the choice comes down to what you want most out of your crossover, but the CX-5 will likely be the best option for a lot of people.
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Specs
The Mazda CX-5 wins in the performance category handily. Its base trim offers a four-cylinder, 2.5 Liter engine with 187 horsepower. The initial Subaru Forester trim comes standard with a similar four-cylinder, 2.5 Liter engine, but it’s slightly less powerful with only 182 horsepower.
This is your only engine option with the Forester, but the CX-5 can actually go even further beyond its base engine. You have the choice of upgrading to a turbocharged engine that includes a state-of-the-art Dynamic Pressure Turbo system, generating 250 horsepower. Clearly, the CX-5 is the stronger vehicle no matter which engine you choose.
Something important to know about these two compact crossovers is that they have completely different transmissions, so if you’re particular about the kind of transmission you drive, this could make or break your decision. The Forester features a Continuously Variable Transmission, while the CX-5 has a 6-speed automatic transmission.
Safety and Reliability
Both crossovers in the Mazda CX-5 vs. Subaru Forester debate are safe and reliable vehicles, but they’re not completely equal. They each boast their own safety advantages over each other, so it’s difficult to say which is truly the safest; it’s up to you to decide which advantages you value the most.
The Subaru Forester has an extremely high rating from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, receiving a 2021 Top Safety Pick+ award. While the Mazda CX-5 may not be able to say the same thing, it also has excellent safety and reliability ratings, and it has a few key features that the Forester doesn’t.
These two vehicles both have blind-spot monitoring, cruise control, and lane keep assist, but only the CX-5 provides the benefits of Driver Attention Alert system and a 360 degree View Monitor system. This is cutting-edge technology, with the Driver Attention Alert monitoring your driving closely to see if it can sense any fatigue in you that may affect your safety.
If it does, it tries to wake you up and warn you that you should stop driving. The View Monitor system is another great safety feature, scanning your surroundings to ensure you don’t collide with anything.
All of this means that the safety winner here really comes down to personal preference. Would you rather have advanced features that keep you more aware of the road and your driving or the reliability of higher safety ratings from a trusted institution? The choice is yours, but you can’t really go wrong with either option here.
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Gas Mileage
The Mazda CX-5 may defeat the Subaru Forester in the performance game, but it falls slightly short of its competitor in fuel economy. The 2-21 2 Wheel Drive CX-5 models return an estimated 25 miles per gallon in the city and 31 miles per gallon on the highway, and the 4 Wheel Drive models get approximately 24 miles per gallon in the city and 30 miles per gallon on the highway.
This isn’t quite as good as the Subaru Forester’s fuel economy as they return an estimated 26 miles per gallon in the city and 33 miles per gallon on the highway. The difference is relatively small, so it may not influence your choice too much, but it’s still worth addressing.
Technology
Technology is often a hot button issue for car comparisons, and the Mazda CX-5 vs. Subaru Forester competition is no different. It’s a close call in this category with these two, but the CX-5 manages to pull ahead.
While both cars feature an infotainment system with an 8-inch screen, the CX-5’s is better and is included in all trims, whereas the Forester’s is only included in the higher-priced trims. On top of this, the CX-5 has an HMI Commander system which allows you to navigate the infotainment system much more intuitively, without distracting you from the road.
Additional features that boost the CX-5 ahead of the Forester include wipers that detect rain automatically and an intelligent heads-up display. There are other features than the infotainment system that come with all CX-5 models and only some Forester models, too, such as remote keyless entry. The tech in the CX-5 may not be head and shoulders above that of the Forester, but it’s more accessible and still an improvement in many ways.
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Price
Pricing is actually not a huge differentiator between the CX-5 and the Forester, as both are competitively priced. The 2021 Mazda CX-5’s pricing starts at $25,370 for its base trim, while the 2021 Subaru Forester’s base trim cost starts at $25,485.
The difference between these is negligible, so price is quite a small piece of the Mazda CX-5 vs. Subaru Forester debate. However, it’s worth considering that the CX-5 comes standard with an excellent suite of safety and infotainment features right off the bat with its base model, while the Forester requires you to go up a few trim levels to get the same features.
This means that some people may not be satisfied with the initial Forester, even though most would agree that the base CX-5 comes loaded with most things you could want or need.
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