Compare the2026 Audi Q3VS 2026 Subaru Forester

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics

Safety

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The Q3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Forester doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q3 and Forester have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q3 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Forester’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Q3 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Forester doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Q3 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Forester doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Q3 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Forester’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Q3 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Assist and Automatic Brake Activation automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Forester and it’s not available on the Base and the Forester’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

Both the Q3 and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available around view monitors.

Warranty

The Q3 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Forester’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Q3’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Forester’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Audi pays for scheduled maintenance on the Q3 for 3 years and 30,000 miles. Audi will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Forester.

Reliability

The Audi Q3’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Forester’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

Engine

The Q3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 75 more horsepower (255 vs. 180) and 95 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 178) than the Forester’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Q3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 61 more horsepower (255 vs. 194) than the Forester’s optional 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q3’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Forester:

	Q3	Forester	Forester Hybrid
Front Rotors	13.4 inches	12.4 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	12.2 inches	11.8 inches	11.8 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Q3 has larger standard tires than the Forester (235/55R18 vs. 225/60R17). The Q3’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Forester (255/45R19 vs. 235/50R19).

The Q3’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Forester’s standard 60 series tires. The Q3’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Forester Sport/Touring’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q3 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Forester. The Q3’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Forester Sport/Touring.

Suspension and Handling

The Q3 has a standard driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Forester’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Q3 has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Forester doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

Chassis

The Q3 is 4.5 inches shorter than the Forester, making the Q3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Q3 easier. The Q3’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 27.8 inches, while the Forester’s liftover is 28.9 inches.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Q3. The Forester doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

The Q3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Forester uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Q3 offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Forester doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Q3 and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Q3 is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Forester prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Q3’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Forester’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. With the Forester Premium/Wilderness/Sport/Limited/Touring’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Q3 the driver can close all of them at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Forester can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Q3’s standard Audi Advanced Key allows you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless Access and Start is only offered on the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Wilderness/Touring, and doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The Q3’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Forester’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q3 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Forester doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Q3’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Forester Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring.

Both the Audi Q3 and Subaru Forester offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Q3 features standard power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Forester’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

The Audi Q3 has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the rear view mirror. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Subaru charges extra for Homelink® on the Forester.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi Q3 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Forester Premium/Sport/Wilderness/Limited/Touring offers wireless charging.

The Q3’s optional Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Forester doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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