2021 Toyota Sequoia vs 2021 Subaru Forester

Look around on the road today, and you are bound to see SUVs of all shapes and sizes. From three-row family haulers to subcompact runabouts. There is an SUV for nearly every need and every budget. The 2021 Toyota Sequoia might feel like it's from an earlier wave of the SUV craze, and that’s because it is. Born out of the 1990s SUV-excess-fest, the Sequoia has evolved into a niche vehicle for those who need serious space and truck-like capability.

The current generation of the Sequoia has been around for almost 15 years, and while Toyota has updated it in several ways, there’s no avoiding its age. Even with modern tech and safety features, this is still an aging beast. Can such a dated vehicle still be relevant in the modern car market? And is age really that important to buyers who are looking for tons of space and standard V8 power? Read on to find out.

The Subaru Forester was one of the original compact crossover SUVs. Along with the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and Toyota RAV4, it helped introduce a vehicular genre that is now displacing traditional sedans from American driveways. That means the Forester has more competition than ever.

What was once a small market segment has swelled with the addition of compact SUVs like the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Nissan Rogue, Volkswagen Tiguan, and the modern version of the Jeep Cherokee.

To keep pace with the competition, the Forester has packed on technology—and pounds. While the first-generation Forester (affectionately nicknamed “toaster” by fans because of its boxy shape) was genuinely compact, the current version has the footprint of a midsize SUV from two decades ago. This version was introduced for the 2019 model year, so it doesn’t change much for 2021. The only news is the addition of three standard safety features—steering-responsive LED headlights, automatic high beams, and a rear seatbelt reminder—standard fog lights and keyless access with push-button start for the Premium trim level, and additional equipment reshuffling on other trim levels.

The 2021 Subaru Forester is available in five trim levels—Base, Premium, Sport, Limited, and Touring—all with standard all-wheel drive (AWD). Our test car was the mid-range Sport model.