After a Year, We Love Our Subaru Forester’s Pet Accessories
And yeah, we guess the dogs of MotorTrend do, too
Earlier in the year, I enlisted the help of my 11-year-old border collie, Leica, to help evaluate our 2025 Subaru Forester Sport. Leica appreciated the Forester’s low “hop height” and ample second-row seat space, but the added Subaru-branded pet accessories were the squeaker inside of the chew toy.
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After 11 years of pet ownership, I have purchased and unfortunately worn through and thrown away all sorts of dog accessories, so after a year of use, I thought it was worth checking in to see how the Subaru pet accessories fared.
Rear Seat Cover
Not only have the optional $250 rear seat and armrest covers held up well to the wear and tear from my two dogs, but they have also been extremely helpful for non-dog-related hauling. As a photographer, I am constantly hauling large amounts of gear. Most of it is metal or stored in large cases, but at the end of a long photo shoot, cleanliness is rarely my first concern.
With the seat cover installed, I am less worried that an errant sharp edge will cut or tear the seat material. It also makes vacuuming any dirt or debris much easier, as the cover keeps the grime from falling into the cracks of the seat. The cover doesn’t constrain you from using it to haul passengers, either, as it is still easy to use the seat belts. Even the folding rear center armrest has a cutout allowing it to function normally. Dog or not, if this Forester was my personal vehicle, I think I would install the cover.
Pet Rear Door Protector
Throughout the past 11 years, I have used half a dozen or more products that were designed to protect the rear doors from pet scratches. Most of the products are made from canvas seat cover material and slide between the rear window glass and the rubber seal on the inside of the window frame. Without fail, these products have all suffered from the same issues.
First of all, the plastic pieces that slide into the window frame to hold them against the door rarely stay in place when the window is rolled down, causing the door guards to come loose and fall. The second issue is that the plastic used on those mounting pieces is never heavy-duty enough and becomes brittle and breaks. Having to constantly reinstall the covers every time they fall adds additional stress and hastens the problem.
The Subaru door covers, a $200 option, are made out of heavy-duty polyester form-fitted to the shape of the door, and the plastic pieces that hold them in place are long and rigid enough to not come loose when the window is opened. In fact, outside of the few times I’ve removed them, the door guards have stayed perfectly in place. As a bonus, the fact that they are a solid material also keeps them from staining (dog drool, gross!) and makes them easy to wipe off.
