The Ford EcoSport has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Forester doesn't offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Both the EcoSport and the Forester have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee 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, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford EcoSport is safer than the Subaru Forester:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

There are almost 5 times as many Ford dealers as there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the EcoSport's warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 14th in initial quality. With 20 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 24th.

Both the EcoSport and the Forester have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stop lights and heavy traffic. All EcoSport's have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The EcoSport has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it's removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Forester doesn't offer a cap-less fueling system.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifies the Ford EcoSport as a “Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle” (PZEV). The Subaru Forester is only certified to “Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (SULEV) standards.

For better stopping power the EcoSport's standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the Forester:

The EcoSport stops shorter than the Forester:

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

The EcoSport Titanium handles at .80 G's, while the Forester Wilderness pulls only .77 G's of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The EcoSport is 1 foot, 9.4 inches shorter than the Forester, making the EcoSport easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The EcoSport's standard towing capacity is much higher than the Forester's (2000 vs. 1500 pounds).

The power windows standard on both the EcoSport and the Forester have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the EcoSport 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 EcoSport's standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn't have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Forester's manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The EcoSport SES/Titanium's standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

The EcoSport (except S) offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Forester doesn't offer a house-current electrical outlet.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the EcoSport is less expensive to operate than the Forester because it costs $272 less to do the manufacturer's suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the EcoSport than the Forester, including $265 less for a water pump, $272 less for a starter, $332 less for fuel injection, $8 less for a fuel pump and $61 less for front struts.