Ford Edge vs Subaru Forester XT

[Cyberdave]

For fair comparison Forester should be up against Escape. Edge is in Tribeca class. Having owned all of these, Edge is better on comfort and features, but Subaru takes performance.

 

One could say that sure but based on what I have read the Edge seems to straddle both classes. Also I guess personally I am comparing the Edge to the Forester I own.

The Tribeca has a third row seat and is designed for 7 people (like the Toyota Highlander) but the Edge seats 5.

 

Which performance exactly are you talking about? AWD? Handling? It seems to me since these aren't sports cars the 0-60 performance doesn't really matter!

[carsick30]

 

One could say that sure but based on what I have read the Edge seems to straddle both classes. Also I guess personally I am comparing the Edge to the Forester I own.

The Tribeca has a third row seat and is designed for 7 people (like the Toyota Highlander) but the Edge seats 5.

 

Which performance exactly are you talking about? AWD? Handling? It seems to me since these aren't sports cars the 0-60 performance doesn't really matter!

 

Beleive me when I tell you that Tribeca's "3rd row" seat is the biggest crock of, well you know. All those clowns did was reduce trunk space, push the back seats up and crammed in 3rd row for what must be intended for infants and "little people" to use a pc term. So, the leg room for regular back seats is completely shot just so that they can say the have the 3rd row feature. This is one of the reasons I say comfort in Ford is significantly better. You cannot compare Tribeca to Highlander. Sure, we are not talking the need to do burnouts and take on 1/4 miles in drag races as far as performance goes. But, you do want to be able to take off from a red light better or merge onto a highway faster or move through traffic more effectively. You also want to handle windy roads with more confidence. Ford SUVs handle like marshmallows in corners and have heavier feel than Subaru. You will have fewer perfomrance and technology issues with Subaru. Ford has the advantage of not needing 93 octane in any of their SUVs while Subaru has to have 91+ in anything with a turbo. It comes down to what is more important to you: performance, handling, and reliability vs comfort, features, gas mileage/cost.

[Jgaul19]

I just traded in my 2010 forester XT for a 2012 Edge limited, both AWD. I like the forester in the snow and it was also fun to drive. It was quick and nimble, the turbo is a blast. The problem is that the forester is boring inside and rattles really bad.

The edge has every option and rides like a dream. It is quiet and a nice SUV to drive long distances.

It you want a " sport car " like feel then it's the XT ... If you want a high tech , smooth riding luxury car then the edge. I am glad I made the change to the edge. Hope this helps

[mjonis]

So I did a test drive of a 2016 Subaru Forester XT. And a Ford Edge 2015 SEL (nobody around here has a Titanium in stock).

 

The subaru engine was LOUD compared to the edge. Around 80db according to my sound meter. Vehicle was nowhere near as nicely apportioned (not even blind spot detection is available) compared to the Edge.

 

However, I did like that the cargo area/back seats had rubber/plastic covering on them so that if you fold them down you don't have to worry about scuffing up the cargo area.

 

The ride (trying to get an accelerometer/gravity thingy to more objectively measure) was more stiff than the edge.

 

Although the Forester was quieter than the Outback 2.5i Limited. Good grief, that thing was the noisest. LOTS of wind noise/engine noise. Almost 85db.

 

However, after reading all the issues on the 2015 Edge, I'd probably reconsider something else. Or wait for the 2016 Edge. Also, I had compared the 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0 Turbo (fully equipped). I'd take the Hyundai over the Forester (quieter, more features, IMO). But based purely on ride/feature I'd take the Edge over the Santa Fe. If money were no object (Edge Titanium with 302a and Driver's assist omes in about 8k more MSRP than Hyundai, but you have to factor in 10/5year warranty vs. Ford's anemic 5/3 warranty).

 

 

[mjonis]

Update:

As someone suggested, I took a look at the Kia Sorenta (2016) SXL w/tech package (MSRP is like 45,000, so a tiny bit more than the Edge Titanium with 302a and Driver's Assist).

 

Again, initial test drive is mainly for noise levels and "smoothness" of ride.

 

The Sorento was the AWD Turbo unit, not the V6.

 

Vehicle is approx. size of my current vehicle and the Edge/Santa Fe Sport.

 

On the way to the dealership, I took the quickest route, and noticed my vehicle peaked at 80db (I was like: Damn, it's loud in here).

 

I took a ride in the Sorento (with the sales guy in the car) to my place of work (same route I've taken other vehicles), and on the way back, just happened to take the same route that I had that morning. Sorento peaked at 75db.

 

I would say (again, not yet based on objectivity) that the ride was a *little* rougher than the Edge, but comparable to the Nissan Murano and definitely smoother than the Hyundai and of course, WAY smoother than my car.

 

Some quick nice features I liked on the Sorento was the all around camera (like the Nissan), and the passenger side seat has height adjustments (Edge I think is the only other vehicle that does that). The driver's side had even more, (14-way) where you can adjust the very tip (where your thighs are at the end of teh seat) up and down, which I thought was VERY nice, as some cars in long hauls get a bit uncomfortable for me there.

 

I thought the controls were well placed (better than Murano and Edge--remember I did not test drive the Titanium, only the SEL). In Edge, I thought the placement of controls was the worst in that the bottom row is too close to the shifter (you have to snake your hand behind the shifter to get to the buttons). Murano was a little better in that regard than the Edge.

 

I didn't think the interior of the console was as "sleek/modern" as the Edge, but that's highly subjective.

 

Fuel economy was good.

 

Turbo had adequate power, although I think it had a slight bit of lag compared to the Edge and Hyundai, but I could be imagining it.

 

I am not sure about phone integration. There's a few Kia forums, but one is unable to register (they did a bad job where it asks you for like 3 items and then you click Register and it says you didn't fill out 2 items that arent' even there). I inquired there, but after a week have yet to receive any response. I have no idea if it supports Siri Eyes Free, or Android Auto/CarPlay.

 

Supposedly 2016 Kia Optima has those features, so it may be in the 2017 model.

 

5yr/10yr warranty is very good (like Hyundai), and significantly better (IMO) than Ford or Nissan. Consumer Reports indicates drivers satisfaction is highest among all the vehicles I've test driven and reliability is excellent.

 

Vehicle does have fog lights, but no remote start via cell phone app. No vehicle parking assist. I forgot to check about adaptive steering, but it does have lane departure, blindspot and adaptive cruise.

 

I'm keeping the Kia on my top finalist now.

 

I have a feeling I'll have to wait a year for things to work out in terms of Smartphone integration on all 3 of my top picks (Hyundai would be #4, it's not bad, but not as smooth and quiet, although cheaper as it's not $45k either).

 

If I had to choose today, it would be REAL tough.

 

I plan on doing one more run of test drives on the 3 finalists when the Titanium comes in so I can measure g-forces for smoothness (Titanium has 19" wheels and SEL had 18" which can make a difference).