Subaru Forester vs Toyota Corolla Cross

What's the difference?

The MY26 Subaru Forester packs plenty of punch in terms of standard features, a roomy and functional interior and overall driveability. Sure, it’s not the most exciting vehicle to drive on- or off-road but to get stuck on that is to miss the point entirely. This is a decent all-rounder with a solid background and an AWD system that long ago set the gold standard for vehicles of this type.

In a tough mid-size SUV market segment aimed more at those intent on driving through car parks rather than adventuring through national parks, the Forester offers greater versatility than most and should not be ignored.

The Corolla Cross is still an incredibly sensible car if you’re needing to buy a car, but you’re not a car person. Everything is intuitive and easy, allowing you to focus on driving.

This update has helped make this car stand out a bit more, but it’s still a bit vanilla. The Hyundai Kona, for example, offers more character. Also the asking price, especially at the top end, is creeping eerily close to RAV4 territory.

This Forester is 4655mm long (with a 2670mm wheelbase), 1830mm wide and 1730mm high.

The new generation retains more than enough of the previous Forester – blocky profile included – to remain clearly recognisable.

Traditionalists may chafe at the slicker, more citified appearance of this Forester over previous generations but the overall package is inoffensive enough to not elicit any howls of outrage from passers-by on the street.

The Forester’s interior maintains a similar cabin look and feel as before but with a 11.6-inch portrait-oriented multimedia touchscreen dominating up front, a mix of physical and on-screen buttons, as well as soft-touch surfaces and durable plastics.

Toyota has put some effort into jazzing up the Corolla Cross’ exterior design. The pre-update car was arguably one of the more vanilla cars in its segment.

The most noticeable changes are up front. There’s a new grille set-up with hexagonal cutouts, as well as new LED headlights that are connected by a section that illuminates at night. This latter part looks quite tacky and feeds into the current trend of full-width light bars.

Around the side there are new 18-inch alloy wheel designs on this Atmos trim, as well as a revised LED tail-light set-up.

You can still tell this car is clearly a Corolla Cross from the outside thanks to the cladding around the wheel arches, but it no longer looks so boring, especially in top-spec Atmos guise.

Inside the design changes are more minimal. There’s a new centre console set-up that includes a chunkier gear selector, as well as an ambient lighting strip that wraps around the outside.

I prefer this centre console as it looks more substantial than the pre-update car’s, however, the glossy piano black is a big downside. After a week of testing it was already dusty and grimy, plus scratches are inevitable when you wipe it clean.

Beyond this there are no other obvious changes. I wish Toyota would include some differing colours and finishes inside as it’s a bit of a sea of black.

While there are some soft-touch materials on the dashboard and armrests, you don’t need to look far to find harsher, scratchier finishes. I expect better in a car that costs more than $50,000.

The Forester is quite roomy for a mid-size SUV and this is the top-spec variant so there’s leather everywhere.

The interior layout is neat and tidy and lands firmly on the correct side of being practical and familiar, with all controls easy to locate and operate.

The touchscreen offers mostly simple intuitive functionality with infrequent need to cycle through numerous menus and sub-menus to access what you want.

The aforementioned mix of physical and on-screen buttons, as well as soft-touch surfaces and durable plastic are welcome here because, you know... real life.

The front seats offer ample support and the driver is able to dial-in their preferred position via power controls on the eight-way power-adjustable seat (with dual memory). The front passenger has an eight-way power-adjustable seat. Both seats are heated and ventilated.

The 60/40 split folding second-row seats aren’t too shabby either, in terms of comfort and amenities, with a fold-down arm-rest with cupholders and directional air vents etc.

Cargo volume is 496 litres (with rear seat in use) and 1174 litres (with the rear seat down, 1667 litres to ceiling.

The tailgate is powered and hands-free with a kick sensor (apparently). But I never tried that, instead opting for the tailgate-mounted button to open and close it.

The front seats in this car are deliciously comfortable. The bolsters hug you nicely and there’s plenty of upper back and leg support.

I’m also a fan of the upholstery finish in this Atmos trim. It’s a combination of leather and fabric which is great because the front seats also offer heating and now ventilation.

The steering wheel is a classic Toyota unit that features synthetic leather wrapping and heating function. There are also plenty of clearly labelled physical buttons that are a treat to use.

Behind this there’s a 12.0-inch digital instrument cluster like plenty of other Toyota models now. It features a familiar set-up that allows you to change a number of widgets and save multiple pages of configurations.

Moving across, the 10.5-inch touchscreen multimedia system is high-resolution and has crisp colours. There’s not a heap to do in the native user interface so there’s no excuse to get lost.

Thankfully there’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Connection was immediate with my iPhone 15 Pro Max when starting up the car and it remained rock solid throughout known interference points.

Under the touchscreen I appreciate that Toyota has retained physical climate control buttons and dials. They’re very easy to understand and use, especially on the move.

In fact, there are a lot of physical buttons around the cabin. This is great because you don’t need to dive into touchscreen menus and sub-menus.

In terms of amenities up front there are two cupholders, a wireless charger, USB-C charger, centre console box with a 12V socket, as well as a glovebox.

Moving to the second row there’s a decent amount of space for a small SUV, though if you want to use the seats more, you’ll likely want to opt for something larger, like a RAV4.

At 182cm tall I have minimal legroom behind my own driving position, though toeroom is excellent. Headroom is fine though it is impeded due to the panoramic glass sunroof, which notably doesn’t open despite the thick crossbar.

You can easily get two adults in the back of the Corolla Cross, though pushing it to three would make things squishy. It doesn’t help that there’s a central hump in the floor.

Amenities include rear air vents, two USB-C ports, bottle holders on the doors, plus a fold-down armrest with cupholders.

Around the back there’s a hands-free power tailgate that’s handy if you’ve got your hands full. In classic Toyota fashion, it opens and closes with plenty of beeps, which may attract attention.

There’s 380L of boot space with the rear seats upright, expanding to 2000L with them folded. This is fine for the segment, but doesn’t stand out. Front-wheel drive trims get a touch more boot space as they don’t have the rear electric motor.

In the boot area there’s a light, some hooks and a load cover. Unfortunately all-wheel-drive trims don’t come with a spare wheel whatsoever. Instead they only get a tyre repair kit.

It’s worth noting two-wheel-drive trims get a space-saver spare wheel. This is important if you frequently do long-distance drives away from tyre repair shops.

The 2026 Toyota Corolla Cross line-up now starts from $37,440 before on-roads for the GX Hybrid trim, however, on test here is the flagship Atmos Hybrid AWD trim at $50,990 before on-roads. That’s a fair chunk of change for a small SUV.

For context, you can get a mid-spec RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid for around the same price as this Corolla Cross. Ultimately it comes down to whether you want a bigger car or more equipment.

Speaking of the latter, this top-spec Corolla Cross is stacked with equipment.

Highlights include new 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a panoramic glass sunroof, 12.0-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.5-inch touchscreen multimedia system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a nine-speaker JBL premium sound system, heated and ventilated front seats, as well as premium leather-accented upholstery.

One of the few things this car is missing over its rivals is the availability of a head-up display.

The Forester has the line-up’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated boxer engine (producing 136kW at 5800rpm and 247Nm at 3700rpm) matched to a constantly variable transmission (CVT), which some people detest, and some people couldn’t give a rat’s whether it’s there or not.

Also onboard is Subaru’s all-wheel drive system, driving modes (including 'Normal', 'Deep snow/Mud', and 'Snow/Dirt') and 'X-Mode' “that constantly monitors the traction available to each wheel and centralises the control of key components including the engine, transmission, drivetrain and brakes to help manage slippery conditions”, according to Subaru.

Like last year, all Corolla Cross trims now come with a hybrid powertrain. It’s unchanged with this facelift.

There’s a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with either one or two electric motors, depending on whether you opt for a front- or all-wheel drive version. Our tester is the latter so it has two electric motors.

Total system output is 146kW with drive sent through an electronic continuously variable transmission (e-CVT). Top speed is 180km/h.

It’s worth pointing out there is no power difference between the front- and all-wheel drive trims. Uniquely, the latter picks up a ‘Snow’ drive mode.

Official fuel consumption on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle for the Forester is 7.9L/100km and it uses 91RON 'standard' unleaded petrol at a minimum.

On this test, I recorded 8.1L/100km. But fuel consumption was as low as a dash-indicated 1.7L/100km while driving the Forester with adaptive cruise control engaged.

The Forester has a 63-litre fuel tank, so, going by our on-test fuel-use figures you could reasonably expect a driving range of almost 780km from a full tank. However, as with any vehicle, once you’ve loaded the Forester with any real-world burdens (e.g kids, dogs, camping gear, etc) you’ll soon see the fuel consumption increase.

Toyota claims the Corolla Cross Atmos Hybrid AWD consumes an average of 4.4L/100km on the combined cycle. This is 0.2L/100km higher than front-wheel-drive trims.

During my week of testing I saw an average of 5.0L/100km, according to the trip computer. This is fine, but I’ve experienced better in other hybrid SUVs.

However, during one trip into the office with heavy traffic I achieved an average of 3.7L/100km. Now that’s frugal!

All-wheel-drive trims get a larger 43L fuel tank compared to the 36L unit front-wheel-drive versions have.

Using my as-tested fuel consumption, this car has a theoretical range of 860km.

All Corolla Cross variants require a minimum of 91 RON regular unleaded petrol.

The Forester feels comfortable and composed on sealed surfaces and offers some degree of dynamism to the driving experience – so in line with previous generations.

It feels more refined, sharper to steer and more responsive than before. There’s ample visibility to the front but a substantial B pillar obscures the driver’s vision back over their right shoulder.

The Boxer engine and CVT work well together, power and torque outputs are more than adequate in this package, and that much-maligned transmission is not intrusive if the Forester is driven with care and common sense.

However, acceleration from a full stop is sluggish.

The suspension set-up – MacPherson struts up front and double wishbones at the rear – yields a firm but not jarring sense of ride and handling.

The 1662kg Forester proved nimble to manoeuvre around the Big Smoke, the suburbs and in the bush (more about that soon) with a neat 10.8m turning circle.

All-wheel drive vehicles are capable of tackling off-road adventures in their own right but, for safety’s sake, AWD drivers should avoid anything beyond well-maintained dirt tracks in dry weather. AWD cars are designed for use on bitumen roads with some dirt or light-duty off-road use.

And so it was with our test of this Forester. On-test off-road terrain equalled firm-packed sand and gravel/dirt bush tracks in dry weather, although we did drive through one shin-deep mudhole with no trouble.

The Forester has a listed 220mm of ground clearance, the suspension held up well over a brief stint on mild corrugations and Subaru AWD proved more than up to the task when things became a little trickier, providing improved grip and traction in slippery conditions that demanded to be driven at very low speeds.

If push comes to shove, it’s capable of more than light off-roading, but the Forester’s ground clearance and off-road angles ultimately limit its off-road capabilities.

The Forester’s 'all season' tyres – Falken Ziex Z001A A/S (225/55 R18 98V) – are fine for light to moderate off-roading but anything more difficult than that and you’ll need to get a set of more aggressive all-terrain tyres. It does have a full-sized spare onboard.

It has maximum towing capacities of 750kg (unbraked trailer), 1800kg (braked) and a maximum towball download of 180kg. GVM is 2223kg; GCM is 4023kg.

Some niggles: The driver awareness system is annoyingly over-reactive.

When you first start up the car it usually defaults to EV mode unless the petrol engine is bone cold. If this is the case it’ll fire it up to get the fluids warmed up.

Once the engine reaches operating temperature it typically switches off again, allowing you to cruise around exclusively on electric power. This never stops being fun and it’s almost a game to try and eke out as much electric juice as possible before the engine fires up again.

This is inevitable however once the battery charge gets low enough, or you press the accelerator that little bit harder. There’s no noticeable switch from electric to petrol that can be felt, but you do hear the petrol engine whirring away under the bonnet.

Despite this hybrid powertrain producing a total system output of 146kW, it doesn’t really feel like it from behind the wheel. Once you push the accelerator, the petrol engine tends to sound strained. It’s not a nice sound as it’s amplified by the fact there’s an e-CVT that doesn’t require gear shifts.

There’s great regenerative braking as standard which helps recuperate kinetic energy from slowing down back into the battery. This is helpful as it acts like engine braking down hills without actually using the brakes.

When you come to a complete stop the transition from the regen brakes to the traditional friction brakes can be a little grabby. You need to be prepared to alter the pressure you’re applying to the brake pedal.

The suspension in this car is a major highlight. It balances comfort and composure perfectly, allowing for an effortless driving experience. It soaks up virtually all road imperfections with ease, including harsher speed bumps.

This flows on to the steering which does err on the firmer side, but feels direct and a touch sporty. Overall this makes the Corolla Cross a fun vehicle to pilot even on the most dull roads.

On the parking front there are front and rear parking sensors, as well as a surround-view camera with great resolution. Even though this car is easy to park, there’s also a semi-autonomous park assist that can be handy if you’re not great at parallel parking.

Out on the open road the petrol engine does stay on more consistently. It’ll quickly flare the revs if you need to accelerate harder which makes me grit my teeth every time because it’s not the most refined sound.

Despite this there were moments when I was travelling at 80km/h and the petrol engine turned off, allowing the car to drive exclusively on EV power. This primarily only happens on flat roads as the moment there’s even a whiff of a hill, the engine kicks back in again.

There’s a fair bit of road noise that enters the cabin at higher speeds, which isn’t uncommon for small SUVs. However, there’s also noticeable wind noise that sounds like it comes from the sunroof or the side mirrors.

The Corolla Cross was awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2022 based on testing conducted by Euro NCAP. The two safety authorities have harmonised testing protocols.

Standard equipment includes eight airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, lane centring, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, as well as a reversing camera.

The AEB system activates from 5km/h and lane-trace assist (lane centring) can be activated from 0km/h.

Also standard is one year of complimentary access to Toyota’s connected services. This allows for SOS emergency calling, as well as a range of remote features via a smartphone app.

Stepping up to the GXL brings a surround-view camera, as well as vehicle detection for the low-speed front and rear AEB.

All three rear seats have top-tether points and the two outboard rear seats have ISOFIX child seat anchorage points.

It’s all fairly standard on this front.

The MY26 Subaru range is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, five-year/75,000km capped price servicing, and 12 months roadside assistance.

A service is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs soonest. After your free “1 Month Health Check and Chat”, cost per service is $347.95 (at the 15,000km/12 month mark), $520.45 (30,000km or 24 months), $393.10 (45,000km or 36 months), $679.30 (60,000km or 48 months) and $358.20 (75,000km or 60 months). Average over the five years is $459.80.

Subaru Australia has more than 140 dealerships across the country with a decent spread over metro and regional areas. Foresters may be serviced at those dealers or by approved mechanics.

Like all Toyotas, there’s a five-year, unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty. However, if you service at Toyota dealers you get two additional years of engine coverage, bringing the total to seven years.

The high-voltage battery coverage can also be extended up to 10 years if you service at Toyota dealers.

Roadside assistance is available to purchase from $99 annually.

Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. The first five services are capped at $255 each, which is incredibly affordable. It’s only beaten by the likes of Honda.

Toyota has one, if not the, most prolific dealer networks in Australia. There are around 260 dealers and they span metro, regional and rural areas.