Model Year | 2013 | 2013 | |
Model | Subaru Forester | Acura MDX | |
Engine | turbocharged 2.5L H4 DOHC-4v 224 hp@5600 226 lb-ft@3600 |
3.7L V6 OHC-4v 300 hp@6300 270 lb-ft@4500 |
|
Transmission | 4-speed shiftable automatic | 6-speed shiftable automatic | |
Drivetrain | AWD | AWD | |
Body | 4dr SUV | 4dr SUV | |
Difference | |||
Wheelbase | 2,616 mm | 2,751 mm | 0 mm |
Length | 4,305 mm | 4,867 mm | 0 mm |
Width | 1,781 mm | 1,994 mm | 0 mm |
Height | 1,674 mm | 1,732 mm | 0 mm |
Curb Weight | 1,560 kg | 2,064 kg | -1 kg |
Fuel Capacity | 64 L | 79 L | -15 L |
Headroom, Row 1 | 1,057 mm | 996 mm | -995 mm |
Shoulder Room, Row 1 | 1,425 mm | 1,565 mm | 0 mm |
Hip Room, Row 1 | 0 mm | 1,499 mm | -1 mm |
Legroom, Row 1 | 1,095 mm | 1,046 mm | 0 mm |
Headroom, Row 2 | 1,016 mm | 980 mm | -979 mm |
Shoulder Room, Row 2 | 1,412 mm | 1,562 mm | 0 mm |
Hip Room, Row 2 | 0 mm | 1,501 mm | -1 mm |
Legroom, Row 2 | 965 mm | 983 mm | -18 mm |
Headroom, Row 3 | 0 mm | 953 mm | -953 mm |
Shoulder Room, Row 3 | 0 mm | 1,450 mm | -1 mm |
Hip Room, Row 3 | 0 mm | 1,067 mm | -1 mm |
Legroom, Row 3 | 0 mm | 739 mm | -739 mm |
Total Legroom | 2,060 mm (over 2 rows) | 2,769 mm (over 3 rows) | 0 mm |
Cargo Volume, Minimum | 949 L | 425 L | 524 L |
Cargo Volume, Behind R2 | 33.5 | 1,215 L | 32.5 |
Cargo Volume, Maximum | 1,934 L | 2,364 L | -1 L |
2013 Subaru Forester Seat Room and Comfort: Pros | ||
Year | Comment | |
2014 | Beyond visibility, people buy crossovers to get more space for people and cargo. As in previous Subaru Foresters, the 2014's ceiling is cathedral-high. I could have worn a top hat inside. If you're very tall, and have been seeking a compact vehicle in which you'll easily fit, you've found one. If, on the other hand, you've been seeking expansive elbow room, the Honda CR-V has more of it. And legroom? A combined (first and second row) figure of 81 inches tops every other compact SUV, including the otherwise segment-leading Honda (79.6 inches) and Toyota RAV-4 (79.8 inches). The Chevrolet Equinox offers another tenth of an inch, but with a 188-inch length (vs. the Forester's 181) and 4,083-pound curb weight (vs. the Forester 2.5i's 3,366) it's not truly compact. Subaru has worked no such miracles with shoulder room. At 56.5 inches, the Forester's is typical of the compact crossover class. Add in a small driveline hump (absent in the Honda) and three adults won't happily share the rear seat for long. But how many car owners put three adult-sized people in the second row for long, anyway? Measurements don't tell the entire story. The Honda's rear seat cushion is too low to the floor to provide adults with thigh support, and its rear seatback can be reclined to only two nearly identical positions. In constrast, the Forester's passengers enjoy a comfortably high rear seat that reclines through a broader range. One negative for rear seat comfort: unlike the Ford Escape (but like nearly all other compact crossovers, including the CR-V), the Forester has no rear air vents. Thanks to the tall, square rear body, cargo space is also the best in the segment, though not by as large a margin as the rear seat. Up front, there are plenty of bins in which to stash your stuff. see full Subaru Forester review |
2013 Subaru Forester Seat Room and Comfort: Pros | ||
Year | Body/Powertrain | Comment |
2014 | 4dr SUV 170-horsepower 2.5L H4 CVT AWD |
Huge rear seat for the car's size see full Subaru Forester review |
2014 | 4dr SUV 170-horsepower 2.5L H4 CVT AWD |
Excellent rear seat comfort and rear seats are 60/ 40 and easy to fold flat. rear seats also have recline function which is nice ... excellent leg room see full Subaru Forester review |
2013 Acura MDX Seat Room and Comfort: Cons | ||
Year | Comment | |
That's it for the significant advantages of the new Acura MDX. Most things it does well, but not significantly better than the generally good segment averages. It's quick, but not thrillingly so. The front seats are comfortable and supportive, and cushier than those in the Infiniti, but provide less lateral support than those in the smaller Acura RDX and are no match in comfort or support for those in a BMW X5, a Lexus RX, or the big buck Mercedes reviewed a few weeks ago. Ride quality, like the seats, is good but short of luxurious. With additional sound deadening and laminated front door glass, the 2014 MDX is quieter than the 2013, but this only brings it in line with the others. By the same token, there aren't many clear reasons to reject the 2014 MDX. The most obvious follows from its relatively compact size: though (as already mentioned) cargo volume is more than competitive, there's less room in the rearmost row than in the QX60. By sliding the second row up a couple of inches (it has a half-foot of travel), adults of middling size will fit back there. But with their butt low and knees high they won't be comfortable. The QX60 offers far more combined legroom based on the spec sheets, and a couple more inches in the real world. (The Acura's specs seem to under-represent reality for passengers even as they might over-represent it for cargo.) But the Infiniti's seats are flatter and less comfortable. The new Hyundai Santa Fe offers more legroom than the Infiniti, while Ford's large crossovers could be best of all for transporting up to seven adults--if still not as good as the typical minivan. see full Acura MDX review |
2013 Acura MDX Seat Room and Comfort: Cons | ||
Year | Body/Powertrain | Comment |
2012 | 4dr SUV 300-horsepower 3.7L V6 6-speed shiftable automatic AWD |
The interior prioritizes appearance over actual utility; it's surprisingly cramped for such a large vehicle. For example, my Highlander is roughly the same size externally but seems downright cavernous on the inside in comparison. A rear passenger can fully stretch out in the Toyota. Not so in the Acura. see full Acura MDX review |