I’m a Toyota fanboy, admittedly. Reliability of Toyota vs Subaru long term leans heavily towards Toyota. However, 40k dollars is crackpipe-action for the RAV4. The Subaru is 100% the better buy for most folks. I am a true Toyota fan and will remain loyal, but the Subaru is an incredible value.

I really liked the split screen views comparing the vehicles as they tackled the same obstacle! Keep up the great work!

I sold my 97 Toyota 4Runner last year, which I bought new. I've also owned 2 Rav4s. My last one was a 2012 model. I loved them all and never thought I would own anything other than a Toyota. Obviously a bit of off road capability is important to me. I was in the market last year for a new car. These were the exact 2 cars that my search boiled down to. I chose the Subaru for all the reasons that you mentioned. But there were things that were such a huge difference like: Visibility in the Subaru was infinitely better. The Subaru came with skid plates. To me, the interior was vastly superior in the Subaru - the screen in the Toyota looks like someone taped on an iPad. The tires on both are light A/Ts but the Geolanders are 3 peak rated. The back seat in the RAV4 felt claustrophobic - probably because the windows are so small. It was also easier to access the back seat in the Subaru - I have a kid now. I live in Canada and the price differential was almost $10,000. But, even if price was not a consideration, I would still rather have the Forester Wilderness. I bought the Subaru (I can't believe it still). I love it.

Best practical offroad testing on the internet. As a PNW native your testing represents what I am really looking at to drive in.

Loved hearing you finally admit the Forester W is a capable off road vehicle without the turbo. It drove me nuts that people who test drive vehicles for free slagged this off for no turbo and no heated steering wheel (yup). I spent less up front to buy this car and I’ll spend less on upkeep with better fuel economy. Great video and I’m glad this underrated and misunderstood gem of a car is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

What I like both about you guys is the engagement you have w the audience. Also, in your adventurers, you guys talk to us as friends and really connect. Amazing video! Definitely proud to be a subie owner

As a current Forester Wilderness owner, I admit the RAV4 looks pretty sweet. However, I can’t justify the price different. BONUS: I was able to qualify for a supplier discount with Subaru and saved an extra $2,300 😊.

I really appreciate this channel. The types of tests you do are exactly what I want to know about the vehicles I drive. Keep it up

I was a Toyota driver for a long time and really don't have any complaints about them whatsoever. The Toyotas I drove were quite simply, bulletproof. My reason for going with the Subaru had a lot to do with the interior space. The RAV has always just felt a little too cramped for me, whereas with the Subaru, you can push the driver seat all the way back, and even at 6'3, I can jump in the rear seat behind the driver seat and still have great leg room. Subaru just does a great job with interior space. As far as the interior attributes, does Toyota come off as a little more "stylish"? Maybe. But I appreciate the functionality and the simplicity of the Subaru. And how they really haven't changed their interior all that much. Maybe it's because they know Subaru drivers don't need stylish. They provide what their drivers want. I love my Forester, and it just might be my favorite vehicle of all time. Great review, by the way.

Having driven a quite a few of these type of vehicles since I'm in the market for one, I've settled on the Forester Wilderness in the Autumn Green and upgraded stereo/nav option. 😁

How does a TRD Off Road package not have a basic item such as skid plates? Kinda makes TRD package seem a bit like a poser package instead of a trail ready one.

It was really nice to see you guys mention the price difference multiple times. A lot of videos that compare the wilderness with other off road capable cars, forget to mention how much more affordable the Suby is than most of the other options out there. Especially in todays crazy market.

Another fantastic comparison video! Always look forward to your thorough and yet exciting to watch comparisons.

Enjoyed watching this episode. Ryan and Nick has good on camera interaction. I love the video editing work of a “split screen” of the vehicles navigating through the same section of the trail. BUT … I would like to see the vehicles carry some cargo weight to simulate a more “real life” scenario. If I was taking the Subaru out for a day driving up the mountains, I would be carrying some gear in the back (recovery gear, food, water, etc.). Carrying cargo weight would better test those clearances on the vehicles.

Great video! Just to add, the Wilderness rocks a full-size spare tire. Pretty nice for exploring forest roads.

I really enjoyed this more technical video, specially with the split camera showing both cars, that was sick, please do more of that in future videos

Thanks Subaru for letting us all enjoy the Forester Wilderness long term with Ryan and Nick. That off road park looked like a ton fun and you and nick have great on screen chemistry. I hope to see more vehicles on those trails! (BS Badlands, Maverick Tremor, New Jeep Compass with the 2.0T) I'm surprised these off road trims arnt supplied water fording specs. Ford calls out the BS Badlands 23" pretty regularly in their info.

I do want to see more Forrester stuff. I just bought this car in the wilderness and I love it and I haven’t had a chance to take it out myself, so I want to live vicariously through you!❤

The side by side video comparing both vehicles is awesome!

Thank you for the thorough reviews. I was looking for a vehicle that would be more capable than a dedicated city car, offering strong value, reliability, AWD, and ability to drive down forest roads without worrying about it. In stock form. The Forester Wilderness checked most of the boxes for me and ultimately was a clear decision. As with most purchases most things do not check all boxes and purchase decisions involve trade offs. Your reviews and what they made me think about and consider in a vehicle were very helpful and important. For instance most test drives at a dealer, including Jeep Wrangler, take you on a freeway and done. That gives you no sense of comfort and ability when testing AWD/off-road vehicles. Bottom line, your reviews influenced my decision and I am a happy FW owner. Thank you!

I just love how Ryan looks so happy doing these tests. All fun for him, enjoyable watching. Loved this awesome video. Well done guys.

The intro Ryan sang nick was blown away at the high note also I find nick has a calming voice with Ryan they really balance out the channel really well love you guys soo much when nick is in a episode I am super happy

I love that bam bam part in the begining. You mentioning it cracked me up! Please never change it lol. I can't wait to see more Forester Wilderness videos like you mentioned.

Definitely thee reason why I went with a forester wilderness, same color because of showing how capable it is in these videos.. absolutely incredible and I feel complete freedom

I am really enjoying this channel, genuinely. I hope you hit that million mark soon, but remain the same, or better. Keep it up!!!

As a Wilderness Owner and long time Subaru Outback owner I think you (and almost everyone) share a common misunderstanding about X mode. It is not Regular, Dirt, Deep Snow, in order . Rather it is three seperate conditions with regular in the middle and for MOST secenarios, even difficult ones offroad, you want to be in Regular mode, i.e. not in dirt, not in deep snow. Regular mode is the best compromise between the extremes of no wheel spin vs maximum momentum with some wheel spin. Regular gives you a sort or middle of the road approach which is usually better 90% of the time for most situations. I get why people think it is Good, Better, Best. But that really isn't how it works. And Regular mode CAN and WILL outperform the other two modes in mixed conditions where you basically want the standard mode logic to make a judgement call based on fuzzy logic. They even started putting Regular mode in the MIDDLE of the other two modes in graphics and controls, to help people understand that Regular mode is a MIX of two extremes, and IS the best mode to be in 99% of the time Even offroad. I have had my Subaru in deep snow, dirt, deep soft sand, water, mud, etc, I am am fully prepared to air down or use an Xmode. But I've had it for almost a year now (Outback Wilderness), and honestly I have not felt the need. It does great offroad, and frankly better than the other two modes, when you just leave it alone. I certainly would not have needed any of those other Xmodes in that park, except maybe dirt going over those slipper stumps.. Looks like fun. Also I should state that I have bigger taller wider Falken WIldpeak Trail AT's on a slightly wider wheel, so that might go along with my not feeling the need for the Xmodes. Peoples needs may vary. p.s. The line you took him on was fine. You told him to keep that slight right angle, and he didn't believe you and turned left and fell off. A spotter is only as good as the ability of the driver to follow instructions, and this is WAY harder than people realize because the driver has all kinds of inputs that are frequently at odds with what a good spotter is seeing. Also, this is a video, and I may be totally wrong about this, because of the lens perspective. It looked like he drove off the side of the slippery log, but maybe he had to for another part of the line. Databyter

Excellent episode. Ryan and Nick comparison drives are very informative and entertaining.

Great review. Good to hear how comfortable the suspension is on gravel road. How is the standard suspension compare to the wilderness in gravel road? I'm also curious as how do you compare this Forester Wilderness to the Outback Wilderness? I know that the Outback have much more power but that's not that important to me. Thanks 🙂

Any plans to test the RAV4 Hybrid Woodland? I think the RAV4 line really shines with the hybrid power train but curious to see how the “outdoorsy” trim fares

‘I have no idea how deep this is’ always a fun way to start! A lot of the roads around here have been deactivated, so significant water bars. Anything with much less than a 30 degree approach and departure angle means you will leave a bumper behind at best, so cross overs not an option. That said, where you can take these is quite impressive! Wish Toyota would follow a few of Subarus leads and add a bit more ground clearance! Always fun videos!

Big thanks for your videos! Question for Ryan: How would u compare the forester with your personal Crosstrek? I got my Crosstrek Outdoor 2.5 delivered last friday (Québec here, outdoor trim = sport trim on the us market). I'd like your opinion on the mechanical and X-mode differences.

This content is just great. I liked the format as it is sometimes hard to judge which vehicle "beats" which due to different test circumstances. Very practical en informative.

I wish more car manufacturers would focus on cab forward designs with shallow ( not straight) dash designs with true anti glare and scratch resistant windshields.

Nice work, fellas! The film editing is top-notch. And sorry to say it, even though I'm a Toyota fan, the Subaru is the big winner in this competition. I hesitate to look at Subarus because of their history of high oil consumption, but maybe that's changed. Nevertheless, thanks for taking us along on your off-road test course. I didn't spill a drop of coffee while watching from my livingroom chair. 😉

Excellent comparison vid, thank you Ryan!

i love all the wilderness content from you guys!

Love the focus on these soft off roaders--but Ryan, it MUST happen--Ford Maverick Tremor vs Wilderness Subarus. I feel like this matchup could be amazing and really inform future buyers :)

As a Forester Wilderness owner who obsessed over comparison research beforehand (thank you for your numerous video contributions to that research!), I’ve concluded that in the 35-45k price range, Forester Wilderness is my own ideal compromise between daily comfort and overlanding capability, Bronco Sport would probably be my next stop if giving up comfort for capability, and the RAV4 TRD (I seriously looked at a Tacoma, but concluded that it wasn’t the ideal fit for my life the 363 days per year that I’m not in deep woods) would probably be the stop in the opposite direction-giving up a little capability for comfort. I haven’t found that Honda’s offerings are capable enough, and Jeep isn’t as reliable as I’d like for the price.

Great review Ryan ! We’re huge Subie fans . We live in the mountains between Leavenworth and Cashmere. Both our Outback and our Forester does everything we need it to do !

It seems like a children's ride, they should do something more extreme in order to demonstrate the real qualities of the two, for me Subaru is better off road

These wilderness videos are just so good

One of the bast car review channels on KZfaq. Thank you for the great work!

excellent review and camera works as usual!!

Nick has great screen presence and gives great commentary/explanations. He also takes better lines through obstacles.

Got the Subaru Forester Wilderness at the end of November and have been enjoying it. Got it for less than 40k fully loaded which for the money is a great bang for your buck. I’ve tested the off-road category myself and it’s very fun. Mpg is the only downside, I avg 22mpg and get a little over 300 miles per tank which isn’t too bad compared to other competitors which get less mpg or about the same. It’s a great suv/crossover

The 2023 Subaru Ascent has wheel cams. I can see both my right and left wheels, super useful when going offroad so far. Really wish you could get your hands on a 2023 Subaru Ascent and make a video on it! Also thanks for the info on the offroad park. I just added it to the list of weekend destinations. It's just over an hour from my house.

This channel deserves 1M sub's - keep up the awesome videos and you'll get there.

Forester starts @ $7,000 less money and comes with a front mounted trail cam, higher ground clearance and under armor protection. Is there really a question as to which one you should buy? lol

I think with what you get for what you spend...Subaru hands down. But I did notice on that obstacle with the stumps and rocks that the Rav4 had less wheel spin. Price of the Rav4 is insane though.

Have had my Forester Wilderness for a few months averaging 25.6 mpg, 27 on a recent long trip. My last Forester was 13 years old with 170,000. My hubs was a Subaru mechanic, he loves them. Loved my Hondas and Toyotas, drove all comps before buying this. The suspension is softer, great ride.

Huge thx again for your videos. Bunch of useful info on both vehicles. Can't believe the significant $$ difference 😳 I wonder if the Rav4 suspension is a recycled or similar to the one in my SE instead of a proper off-road one 🤔 Any how thx for your videos 👍

Nice comparison. I do think though if you are planning on comparing the awd systems of each vehicle I think the comparison should be done with both vehicles having the same tires. Tire traction is almost as important as the actual awd system.

Yay can't wait to watch this, Ryan! Any chance of a Forester Wilderness vs. Mazda CX-50 off road showdown? 😉

Good evening Sir, love the show and your testing of the vehicles capabilities. Would you be able to test the off road and winter capabilities of the Prime XSE version of the Rav4?

Really enjoyed this video! Quick question, what tire pressures were you guys running? Thanks!

Cool video. Nice comparison. $8000 is a LOT of money and it seems hard to justify that Toyota premium.

I'd like to see a Forester Wilderness vs base Forester comparison. How much of a difference does the Wilderness package really make?

more reviews like this! awesome job taking similar lines for teh split screen!

Love your video, guys, shot in real location so we can see the performance. Also like the split screen for obstacles.

I watch your tests regularly :) I'm in Ukraine and I want to thank you for the wonderful and perfectly clear English! The difference is felt when I listened to Nick :) Your tests are the best

I tried to do the same Tahuya loop in my stock 2014 forster with all season tires. I turned back only half a mile in or so. Decided it was too risky. Now I have a skid plate and all terrains. Maybe I'll try it again one day to see how it goes. I was just really scared my tire was going to pop

Love all aspects of this channel

Great video! Was that the sound from the game ‘plague inc.’?

I'd be really curious if you ever did a "retrospective", using a very old version of either of these vehicles to see if the technology has actually improved AT ALL over the many years. My guess is "Not by much" or even a big fat NO. Last year I picked up a 2009 Rav4 V6. I've yet to have a problem in deep snow, turning off traction control seems to be basically the same as "deep snow and mud", while normal driving seems to have plenty of traction shifting if needed. Plus, the V6 makes it a fun little stealth rocket :) The lifeblood of these shows is really the year to year incremental changes, but it would be really beneficial to the wider community to see if any of them are worth it over a used vehicle.

Totally agree over all your comments but at the end of the day I'm really wondering if the reliability of the Subaru Forester over a 10 years period should be a concern compared to the Toyota Rav4. What do you think?

Thanks for actually picking a winner. Tired of watching comparison tests where they "just can't pick a winner". Well done on the side-by-side videos as well.

Love your videos Thank you for sharing your awesome!!videos 👍👏

I noticed that the manual transmission Subarus used a viscus type fluid that when heated up by wheelspin would then shift to the other wheel, kind of like the X-mode just without all the electronic gadgetry. I always wondered why the Automatic or CVT equipped Subarus did not have this feature. It just seems like a simpler solution.

The old Rav4, first gen had one of the best departure angles for offroading. I have friend that is farmer and they take it out in the mud while hunting. My 3rd Gen Rav4 is amazing in the snow, i was literally out with the truck when a massive snow fall made cars get stuck in Canada. The new model is amazing, and it can handle corners very well.

Just a quick additional comment…you guys handle the comment trolls with class, so just wanted to give you props for that. A lot of the comments, that I’ve seen anyway, revolve around how you guys “make a big deal out of small obstacles. “ I think most people understand that the reason you do it because these are test/press fleet vehicles and therefore you can’t treat them or drive them the same way might if they were your own vehicles as you have to turn them back in basically unharmed. As evidenced by your Bronco vs. 4Runner in Colorado video you have a different damage threshold for vehicles you own and are willing to take more risk. Anyway not trying to rush to your defense, you clearly don’t need it. Just wanted to give credit where credit is due.

Does the TRD OFF ROAD RAV 4 come with Bilstein or Fox shocks? At that price it should and should have a front camera. I will always take an automatic with gears ⚙️ over CVT.

I love my 2020 TRD, I lifted it 2in and put bigger all terrain Wild peaks on it after 2 years of driving it all over the west and Midwest. The price wasn’t cheap but I enjoy it whether I’m going to the grocery store or off roading in UTAH and NEW MEXICO. Plus the design and all out looks is better. It’s almost all paid off and I’m going be upgrading stuff once it is.

I wonder how the RAV4 Hybrid or the RAV4 Hybrid Woodland Edition would do on the same trail. 🤔

Keep up the great content! I'll take all the Forester videos I can get lol.

Thanks for the review. This put a Forester Wilderness on the short list as it is vast improvement over my 2017 Forester with Geolander tires. No real improvement on interior space but my Forester is doable for an weekend excursion and sleeping in the vehicle. As for the RAV4 … well for that amount of money it an Outback Wilderness for for sure! Again thanks.

Could a Kia Telluride XPro handle that same trail? I enjoy your channel and there aren’t a lot of people actually showing the capabilities of modern cars and trucks! I loved the Bronco snow run up the hill! One thing with turbo Subarus the turbos only last 125k miles then you have a minimum bill of $2k to $3k! They really need to design the bearings and shaft support to last 250k just to up their reliability rating.

I had to get aftermarket plates for my Wilderness as Subaru doesn't know when the Russian-made OEM skid plates will be available again. The good news is the after-market ones are a lot beefier also the full plates seemed to help my MPG too. I was told that the 9.2" ground clearance was simply due to that being the maximum height limitation at the Japanese factory. Whereas the Indiana factory can accommodate larger vehicles.

Great Video! I'd love to see a video like this with the Outback Wilderness vs Mazda CX-50 Meridian Edition

great video! the course looks so fun!

Hi Ryan! Thanks for this video. Precise question to you about the Wilderness: do you feel it has enough passing power to be safe? I ask this question because when I had a test drive last year with a regular 7 fake speeds CVT, I found it a tad sluggish and since I live in the country with a ton of secondary highways (speed limit 90 km/h), I need a rig that has the ability to quickly pass dangerously slow drivers. I can’t have a test drive at my local dealers because there’s no Wilderness Foresters available. So that’s why I’m wondering if the 8 fake speeds CVT does the trick. Thanks!

You bought me . I will get the forester

which car has brighter headlights?

Great job, Nick!

Ryan, I think the air guitar should be kept as a regular part of the introduction, just imagine the time you can save in editing😉 The Forester will surely win most off road competitions. On the road, the RAV4 is the favorite to win the race to 200,000 miles. With the premium price Toyota charges for the TRD, it ought to have an upgraded powertrain.

Can see where a revised final drive in the other trims of the Forester would be helpful in the performance of the vehicle but you would be compromising the fuel economy. All in all think Subaru is doing a good job in their efforts with the Forester with one the exception of the front facing camera. Cameras today are a dime a dozen they could put a front facing camera in all their SUVs without too much cost and improve their product that much more. Enjoyed the video keep up the good work.

I hydrolocked a 2002 Outback when it was relatively new, pre-cell phone era. Using a Swiss Army knife disassembled the intake, and used rolled up paper towels to wick out the water. Hitched ride to a payphone called a friend pulled the plugs, cranked the motor to drain the cylinders of water. Sprayed lubricant in the cylinders. It started right up drove it home. Changed the fluids drove it a few more years sold it for more than I owed on it with no resulting problems.

Man, I love your videos, please do more of the Mazda CX-50, Meridian or not, at this place!! I’d love to see it. Just got my CX-50 TP. Love it.

You could have picked up little more difficult track .. Even a front wheel drive with little bit of ground clearance could have cleared that track …

Really you guys should look at your review of the car's not concentrated in one aspect.

I kinda like the fact that you take care of the vehicles and not to damage them just for the show ot it. And you still show how capable they are.

Ryan, What company do you recommend for purchasing skid plates for the Forester?

This is the first episode i didn't like.... Way too much talking for some easy stuff that a Honda Civic could do i mean come on Ryan those Véhicules are way more capable then this.... We wanna see the real deal with some deep potholes and crosscuts to really see the AWD working 🤷🏻‍♂️

Would a base Rav4 with a slight lift and better tires be the better option? It would be cheaper than both of these and just as capable. But I could be wrong.

I’ve got a 2020 outback! Love it’s trail run ability for work. But it’s been a constant source of issues from battery drainage to power window sticking to cooler valves. Oh and rear hatch and infotainment glitches. I had a Highlander before that and was the best most reliable vehicle I’ve ever had. Trading off my Outback prob this summer.

I love both of these vehicles they seem like with more talking than then actually watching the video of the vehicle doing different off-road maneuvers

I like the forester ground clearance, you can get a 2" lift for relatively cheap, little bigger tires gets you up past 12". I hate the CVT though. Not sure about the newer foresters but the rear dif has a breather on my 2015 that can allow water in. They sell extensions for it.

Great video! In the end, it just makes me want a Wilderness version of the Crosstrek even more. I just like the look of the smaller car more than the Forester. I am surprised to find that the Forester actually has better approach (23.5 to 18.0) and breakover (21.0 to 19.7) angles than the Crosstrek, which not surprisingly has a better departure angle (29.0 to 25.4). No wonder this is such a good little machine! Maybe I'll have to rethink it once they finally update the tech, most likely for 2024?

Toyota reliability is what you're paying for, and that's why it's more expensive. I'm also not a big fan of the cheap CVT. RAV4 looks way nicer on the inside and the outside as well. One factor that puts Toyota on the upper hand is that these cars keep their value. So when you sell, you won't lose money as much. That's always something to consider when I buy a new car. However if I want offroad capable car that can handle beating, I'd go for a truck.

great vid thx 🙏

I have driven Toyotas all of my life but bought a Forester in 2018 (for my wife to drive around town) over a Rav4 bc it was cheaper, came with AWD standard, best rated safety, the loan had 0% apr, and the fact that she thought it looked better. Unfortunately, 2 of the control arms broke within 2 years of regular city and highway driving (7,500 miles per year), and the MPG was nowhere close to the advertised 26 city/33 highway/ 29 average (22 MPG average was what she was getting). So, I traded it in for the Rav4 Prime and am very happy with the purchase. Sorry Subaru, but, Toyotas are just so much more reliable. And the price for peace of mind is worth the extra cost, not to mention the pure joy I have when seeing how spot on it is to its advertised MPG Stats.