Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the suv segment and utilize the same 5-door suv body style and the 4 x 4 wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Toyota-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 152hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 162hp engine designed by Subaru.

The fact that the Toyota got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, offers a slight advantage, as the 4-star rating is better than none. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, RAV4 offers a marginal difference of 5% more metal.

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Toyota does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Toyota with an average rating of 4.6, and models under the Subaru badge with 4.2 out of 5. The same official information place RAV4 as average reliability-wise, and Forester is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as RAV4 rank it on average as 4.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.4 out of 5.

Subaru is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.9 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 197 kilometers per hour, 12km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be RAV4, averaging around 8.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (33 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 8% difference compared to Forester.

Toyota appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, RAV4 beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. From there things take a different direction, with Subaru outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Toyota. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.