Subaru of America, Inc. announced today that the 2024 Subaru Forester received the highest possible rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for their new, tougher vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention test.

As part of its ongoing efforts to improve vehicle safety, IIHS introduced the new vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention test to address the higher-speed crashes that occur at higher speeds and those in which the struck vehicle is a motorcycle or large truck. To assess current model performance, the IIHS tested 10 small SUVs, including the 2024 Subaru Forester. The Forester is the only vehicle among those tested to earn the highest possible rating of “Good”.
 
The original vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention evaluation was developed when the technology was relatively new, so the performance requirements only addressed low-speed crashes. By the time the original evaluation, with test runs at 12 and 25 mph, was discontinued at the end of 2022, all tested vehicles were earning the top rating of superior. While real-world data indicate that front crash prevention is eliminating higher-speed crashes, the original test did not provide a way to gauge the performance of specific systems at those higher speeds. Additional IIHS research also showed that today’s systems are less effective at preventing crashes with motorcycles and medium or heavy trucks than they are at preventing crashes with other passenger vehicles.

To address those issues, instead of the earlier 12 and 25 mph speeds, the updated test includes trials run at 31, 37 and 43 mph. In addition to a passenger car target, the test examines performance with a motorcycle target and a semitrailer. As a result, the new evaluation reflects a substantially greater proportion of police-reported front-to-rear crashes, including many that are more severe.

In the new evaluation, multiple trials are conducted with a target representing a passenger car, a target representing a motorcycle and an actual dry van trailer. Tests are run at all three speeds with each vehicle type. The trials using targets evaluate both the forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems. In each test run, an IIHS engineer drives the test vehicle toward the target at the selected speed and records when the forward collision warning occurs and how much the AEB system slows the vehicle to prevent or mitigate the impending impact. If the test vehicle fails to achieve a minimum speed reduction at the slower test speeds, only the forward collision warning system is evaluated in the higher-speed tests. In all the test runs using the trailer, only the forward collision warning system is evaluated, and the driver steers out of the lane to avoid a crash.

Points are awarded for warnings that occur at least 2.1 seconds before the projected time of impact and for substantial speed reductions in the AEB tests. Speed reductions account for two-thirds and warnings account for one-third of the maximum possible score.

The good-rated Forester avoided a collision with the passenger car target at every test speed, avoided hitting the motorcycle target at 31 and 37 mph, and slowed by an average of 30 mph before hitting the motorcycle target in the 43 mph tests. The forward collision warning alerts also came more than the required 2.1 seconds before the projected time of impact in all those trials and in those conducted with the trailer.

“We are thrilled that the Forester shined in this new tougher test,” said Jeff Walters, President and Chief Operating Officer, Subaru of America, Inc. “Our top priority with Forester, and all our models, is to provide customers with vehicles meeting the highest standards in safety.”

The 2024 Forester delivers the optimal blend of SUV capability and car-like ride and handling with standard Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, Active Torque Vectoring and Vehicle Dynamics Control. The standard 8.7 inches of ground clearance for Forester (9.2 inches for Forester Wilderness) is greater than that of many SUVs, yet the compact SUV maintains a comfortably low step-in height for both front and rear passenger entry. With a starting price of $27,095, the 2024 Forester is available now at Subaru retailers. 

In addition to achieving the top rating in the new vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention test, the Forester retains its previously earned 2023 TOP SAFETY PICK award. The Forester is an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK for 17 years running (2007-2023). Since 2013, Subaru has received a cumulative total of 71 TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards, which is more than any other brand (as of April 2024). *

For more information about IIHS testing and TOP SAFETY PICK awards, please visit https://www.iihs.org/.

_{*Claim applies to U.S.-spec vehicles. Based on research conducted by Subaru of America and Subaru Canada.} 


  Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $300 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged nearly 88,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.