The Outback is deeper while the Forester is taller. Both have about equal amounts of cargo space, just have to stack higher in the Forester.

Interior on the Outback is a little more upscale, but not much. In terms of layout and design, they are very similar.

The Outback will have a softer ride while the Forester will be more stiff. The FXT is a sporty crossover while the Outback is a cruiser.

EyeSight is great! The Outback has the newest version while the 2016 Forester XT has the previous version. Both work well, but the latest version will have a few extra features (Blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and improved forward range)

Navigation on the 2016 models is better than it was in the past and seems to get betting good reviews.

Both the FXT Touring and the Outback 3.6r have HID headlights standard. They are reflectors and not projectors, but still provide the nice bright white color and good output.

For comparing specifications and dimensions between the Outback and the Forester, http://cars101.com/ is a great website.

 

^^^^^^ +1

 

Excellent summary from Geojosh, but there's one additional difference that's pretty important to me personally: Performance.

The HP/Torque numbers are similar, but consider these details:
1. Outback weighs a couple hundred pounds more than Forester, yet has slightly less torque.
2. Depending on the source, the difference in 0-60 times is about 1 second (Forester is faster). That's noticeable. I'm too lazy to dig up the specifics, but I'm pretty sure it's because the XT get's its peak torque at a lower rpm, coupled with it's lower weight.
3. You get 3 driving modes in the XT. They're kind of fun.
4. Stopping distance is about 10% shorter in the Forester. That's also noticeable.

The Outback is a very nice vehicle, and I agree with Josh: It's a "cruiser" that's sufficiently powered. The XT is almost, almost a sports car in a small SUV's body.

I'll end with my typical advice: Test drive, test drive, test drive. I've never purchased a vehicle without test driving it for at least an hour, sometimes as many as 4, in various situations (city, highway, parking, winding roads, etc.). Unless a dealer can't keep cars on the lot, sometimes they'll even let you take them home overnight; that's the best test. By the time I leave the lot, there's no doubt in my mind I've made the right choice.

Good luck!

 

I've owned all of these vehicles except the Volvo. I had a 2009 VW Sportwagen TDI, which I sold after a year and bought a 2010 Outback. That car was a lemon and I got sort of soured on Subaru for a while, so I bought a 2011 Audi A4 wagon to replace it. I then got a 2013 Outback 3.6R and then a 2015 Outback 3.6R. After much deliberation, I sold it and bought a 2016 Forester XT Premium.

As stated above, the big difference between a 3.6R and a Forester XT is performance. The FXT is an effortlessly quick and fun car, while the Outback is, as stated above, more of a cruiser that will go fast if you need to. Handling-wise, the FXT is waaaay sportier than the Outback ever was. It's not a sports car but it will carve canyons better than almost any other small SUV, and it makes the Outback feel clumsy and mushy by comparison.

A big surprise of the Forester was that it's as quiet as the Outback. Another surprise for me was that the Forester interior is very close to the Outback in terms of quality. If you've owned an Audi (we've had several) then you become pretty picky about interiors. And the Forester's is pretty good.

The Forester is definitely smaller both inside and out. As GeoJosh says, it's roomy vertically. Your people and cargo have the same amount of room, it's just that everything is upright. The cargo area is a bit shorter but I can still fit my mountain bike inside without removing the front wheel, and that's good enough for me.

The FXT Touring carries a ridiculous price premium. I don't blame anyone for buying the Touring if they need nav and/or eyesight, but I personally don't need those items. I'm just not willing to pay $4000+ for partial leather seats, premium sound, climate control, and Not Much Else. I honestly don't know how Subaru expects people not to notice that, but it is what it is.

Instead, I spent $27,000 cash (+tax) for a Premium, then spent $300 on the Kicker speaker upgrade. I do miss the climate control but otherwise I'm loving it. I've had high end vehicles for a while and had forgotten how nice and comfy a good set of heated cloth seats are.

Your gas mileage will vary in both cars depending on how you drive. Both can drop into the teens if you're aggressive. And the Forester takes premium. The upside is that I've been able to get 27-30 MPG driving gently in the Foz, which is something I could never do in the 3.6R.

I've considered an allroad several times. I keep looking at them and keep walking away. Same with the Volvos. Both cars are wonderful to drive but horribly overpriced IMO. The Audi in particular drives and handles extremely nicely. Nothing upsets it. And you really can see where the extra $10,000 goes. The welds are perfect, it will go 100 MPH all day with no drama, and everything inside is so well done. If I was leasing or making payments then maybe, just maybe, I could justify it. But I pay cash and $27K for my Forester was something I was willing to do. $40K+ for the Audi or the Volvo? No thanks. I've owned those types of cars and they were lovely to have and great to drive, but that's just a lot of cash.

 

The FXT Touring carries a ridiculous price premium.

Good write up but I partially disagree on this.
FXT Premium was my first choice and it probably the best value on the market for what it is.
Touring also has few more things that you didn't mention but most importantly, has HID lights. For me, difference is huge.
If somebody is in doubt between premium vs touring should test HID lights. I don't care for gadgets (no eyesight and nav) and I got leather for practical reasons only (cloth is more comfortable but I have 2 small kids...) and HK audio is good and I like things stock.
I will buy Touring again for HID only...

 

I've test driven a lot of different Subaru models, and I thought the FXT was the sweetspot and a good blend of what the different models do best. It doesn't do anything particular well (aside from being a great daily driver), but it's good at a lot of different things. As mentioned previously, the FXT Premium is a really good value. I couldn't find anything that compares for that price (26.5k). I also think it's the best looking Subaru model except for maybe the Legacy.

 

I have a 2015 2.5i CVT Forester Premium with the all-weather upgrade. Love it!

I replaced the stock speakers for about $300.00. I added Dynamat Extreme (total cost about $110 from Amazon.com) to both doors. My Forester is noticeably quieter. Music sounds much better.

I also replaced the thumpy sounding stock Yokohama Geolander tires with Continental True Contacts. The new tires are noticeably quieter.

Now my Forester is pretty quiet even at highway speeds.

 

Call me retro but I'm not impressed with Eyesight at all, other than maybe the adaptive cruise control feature, and it worries me a lot. I hesitate to believe that I would ever be comfortable with turning over the car and my personal safety to what is basically a pretty new electronic device that can easily be snuffed by the rising sun. Even worse, alarms that go off letting me know what I should already know or applying brakes that I should apply myself if I was paying attention are not only unnecessary, but dangerous in themselves.

Some electronic assistants are appreciated, such as automatic mirror dimming and the back up camera, which don't require me to pass control and my welfare off to a gizmo. Passive devices such as structural cage design that resist impacts during crashes or air bags are appreciated. Those don't require me to gradually assume the electronics will take over for a lack of adequate driving skill or overall Inattention.

Kind of like the rear hatch programming. This is the same vehicle, after all. Would you trust your life to the rear hatch programmer? I wouldn't.


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I work third shift and my '15 FXT headlights are the best I have had high beam or low. And nobody high beams me either. (Rural driving)