2023 Subaru Forester Safety and Reliability

Another big selling point of the Subaru Forester is its safety, and the 2023 model does not disappoint with a full five-star rating from the NHTSA. Over at the IIHS, the 2023 Forester returned mostly Good crash scores. However, it only managed a Marginal rating for the updated moderate overlap front test, and an Acceptable score for the tougher side test. This means that the 2023 model won't match the 2022 version's Top Safety Pick+ rating. There were no issues with crash avoidance and mitigation, as the SUV returned maximum Superior ratings.

What some variants of the Forester lack in convenience features, they all make up for with a long list of standard safety features that include a rearview camera that is obligatory in the USA, seven airbags including a driver knee bag, forward-collision alert with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, adaptive LED headlights, lane-keep assist, an electronic parking brake with auto-hold, and sway warning. The Sport model adds blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and lane-change assist while the Touring builds on this with a driver condition monitor. The Touring and Wilderness get reverse automatic braking and the Wilderness is the only trim to get a 180-degree front-view monitor.

Thus far, the 2020-2023 variants of the Subaru Forester have all proven reliable with no recalls issued.

In terms of warranty coverage, the Forester comes with a basic three-year/36,000-mile warranty and a five-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty, but no complimentary scheduled maintenance is offered. However, a Wear Item limited warranty runs for three years or 36,000 miles and will cover items like brake pads.