Top Safety Pick + Top Safety Pick criteria

2015 Subaru Forester

small SUV / 4-door SUV

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention

2015 Subaru Forester 4-door SUV
2014 Subaru Forester shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system
Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

  • Standard daytime running lights
  • Optional lane departure warning

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2014-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium 4-door 4wd

The Subaru Forester was redesigned for the 2014 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1303
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 9
Footrest (cm) 10
Left toepan (cm) 6
Brake pedal (cm) 6
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 0
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 5
Upper dash (cm) 4
Lower instrument panel (cm) 2

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1303
Head
HIC-15 127
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) no data
Extension bending moment (Nm) no data
Maximum Nij 0.00
Chest maximum compression (mm) 26
Femur (kN)
Left 1.7
Right 1.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 4
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.35
Right 0.41
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 2.3
Right 2.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 50
Right 47

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2014-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium 4-door 4wd

The Subaru Forester was redesigned for the 2014 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the passenger-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame and dashboard after the crash test indicates that the passenger's survival space was not maintained well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Despite extensive intrusion of the door hinge pillar and dashboard, risk of injury was moderate and limited to the right lower leg.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID CN15006
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 29
Footrest (cm) 24
Right toepan (cm) 17
Center toepan (cm) 11
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 4
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 15
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 26
Upper dash (cm) 23
Right lower dash (cm) 21

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CN15006
Head
HIC-15 77
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm) 17
Maximum Nij 0.22
Chest maximum compression (mm) 25
Femur (kN)
Left 1.7
Right 3.8
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 2
Right 10
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 1
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.56
Right 0.86
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 2.0
Right 1.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 129
Right 73

Driver injury measures

Test ID CN15006
Head
HIC-15 44
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.8
Extension bending moment (Nm) 14
Maximum Nij 0.17
Chest maximum compression (mm) 28
Femur (kN)
Left 0.9
Right 0.9
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 3
Right 2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.34
Right 0.24
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.9
Right 1.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 55
Right 35

How the passenger-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2014-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium 4-door 4wd

The Subaru Forester was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Subaru as part of frontal crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1301
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 1
Left (cm) 2
Center (cm) 3
Right (cm) 4
Brake pedal (cm) 2
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) -2
Right (cm) 0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -3
Rearward (cm) -5
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1301
Head
HIC-15 223
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.8
Extension bending moment (Nm) 30
Maximum Nij 0.37
Chest maximum compression (mm) 31
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 1.5
Femur force - right (kN) 1.3
Knee displacement - left (mm) 3
Knee displacement - right (mm) 2
Maximum tibia index - left 0.48
Maximum tibia index - right 0.49
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.4
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 63
Right 50

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2014-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Premium 4-door 4wd with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Subaru Forester was redesigned for the 2014 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Subaru as part of side crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1224
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -14.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1224
Head HIC-15 186
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.7
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 39
Lateral force (kN) 1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 37
Average deflection (mm) 30
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.97
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.67
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.8
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.1
Combined force (kN) 2.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.4
L-M moment (Nm) 85
A-P moment (Nm) -31

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1224
Head HIC-15 75
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.2
Compression (kN) 0.4
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 42
Lateral force (kN) 2.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 31
Average deflection (mm) 22
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.28
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.48
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.4
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.6
Combined force (kN) 1.6
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.6
L-M moment (Nm) 20
A-P moment (Nm) 75

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2014-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 3,352 lbs
Peak force 16,585 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.95

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power cloth seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Power cloth seats
Geometry
Backset (mm) 23
Distance below top of head (mm) -2
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 14.5
Head contact time (ms) 58
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 347

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Optional EyeSight

Package name

  • Optional EyeSight

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2014-16 models

Superior
Superior
with optional equipment
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

How front crash prevention is evaluated

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2015 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim 2.5i Premium
Seat type cloth

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim 2.5i Premium
Seat type cloth
1 2 3
G Good
A Acceptable
M Marginal
P Poor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
difficult to maneuver around anchors
2
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
none available
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
difficult to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Not visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 48
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Not visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 49
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
No

Seat position 22

2

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
No

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Not visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 59
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Not visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 53
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
No

How child seat anchors are evaluated