If you make an AWD crossover or compact SUV in 2021, you’re legally obligated to release some kind of adventure edition. It must have plastic body cladding. Any chrome bits must be replaced with black bits. Upgraded fog lights are mandatory. AT tires legally have to come standard. The headrests must, we repeat, must, have the edition’s name stitched into the faux leather that’s also water repellent. There must finally be unique badging that tells everyone, hey, you get, like, out there out there. Think, the Toyota TRD Pro edition RAV-4, the Trailhawk Jeeps, and the new Badlands version of the Bronco Sport.
But what if you’re Subaru and you make the Outback, which is already the adventure version of a regular family hauling wagon? Do you just slap some mountain logos on it and call it a day? Or do you actually listen to customer input and make substantive improvements?
It appears Subaru has done the latter with the new Wilderness edition of the Outback, just unveiled this morning. We haven’t driven one yet (though we’ve asked, believe me), but based on the new reveal today, this is the Outback hardcore Subaru off-roaders have been asking for.
Full reveal: I am a dedicated Outback owner. I will soon be writing about all the wonderful things I’ve done to and with my Subaru. But, I’m also deeply suspicious of adventure-washing and approached this reveal with trepidation. But these changes look meaningful and welcome.
Let’s dive in.
Ask anyone who drives an Outback off-road and they’ll likely have two complaints. One, the approach and departure angles are, well, not atrocious but definitely challenging. The Outback has a long snout that makes dipping into steep wash and stream crossings dicey. Same deal out the back when exiting big dips or beginning a steep climb. The second is that the transmission is continuous variable geared for highway mileage, which means if you really push it climbing ultra-steep trails, it can go into protection mode to limit heat buildup, which limits power output. (There are ways around this, but as a default it can be annoying).
Neither of those constraints are really that big of a deal for a soft-roader like the Outback, which is far more likely to use its impressive AWD and ground clearance for driving in deep snow and on rough Forest Service roads than crawling over nasty trails, but still, those are really the only significant limits for where the Outback can realistically and safely take you.
So the Wilderness addresses those head on.
The front and rear bumpers are shortened and re-angled. The Wilderness edition also has 9.5 inches of ground clearance, nearly an inch more than the regular Outback. Combined, those two upgrades provide an approach angle of 20 degrees, a breakover angle of 21.2 degrees, and a departure angle of 23.6 degrees. Each of those numbers is a couple degrees better than the run of the mill Outback.
Then, there’s an improved gearing for the Wilderness edition, allowing it better low-speed climbing and the ability to climb a 40 percent grade without the transmission throwing up its hands and bailing.
Boom, just like that, the Wilderness edition is significantly more capable than the regular Outback.
To go along with those upgrades, Subaru added beefier longer-travel suspension, a metal skid plate up front to protect the sensitive underbelly, new electronic drivetrain modes that will help traction in dicey conditions, and standard Yokohama Geolandar AT tires, same ones I run on my rig.
Finally, in a less-heralded but important upgrade, the roof rack can support 700 pounds, a huge improvement that’s designed to support roof top tents. Yakima and Thule won’t like this, but it means you won’t need to shell out hundreds of dollars to buy a burlier roof rack system if you want to throw a rooftop tent up there (and you do).
Now, there are already Subaru fanboys in forums arguing that these changes aren’t significant enough, that you can do all this in the aftermarket.
That’s not at all true.
I have more ground clearance on my Outback than standard thanks to a 1.5-inch lift kit. I installed metal skid plates. I have bolted on a tough roof rack that can support a tent. But I can’t improve the angles without fabricating a whole new bumper, front and rear. I can’t reprogram the ECU for cooler drive modes. I can’t install new gears in the differentials to improve crawling.
Those are the real upgrades, the ones that will be noticed by hardcore users who frequently put their family haulers in places they weren’t really designed to go. Until now, that is.
Subaru hasn’t released price or availability information yet, so we don’t know whether it’s really worth it or not to buy one of these things. There’s also a legitimate question to be asked here, which is that as the Outback becomes more capable off-road, it approaches the territory of real-deal off-roading SUVs and trucks, so why wouldn’t you just get one of those instead? I’ll be trying to answer that question in a later essay, but for now, these are welcome additions to a terrific adventure platform.
Definitely, this one is more wilderness-er.
When my Tacoma Double Cab needed replacing, and I couldn’t afford the 4Runner I really wanted (yeah I’m a Toyota guy), I picked up a 2016 Outback out of a combination of desperation and curiosity. I’m still on the fence about Subaru long term, but so far I really like it, and this new model could be what keeps me as a customer. I’ve added about 1.25″ of lift, smaller rims w bigger tires (Cooper Discoverer), and heavy-duty springs (Ralitek). The OB does about 90% of what I asked the Taco to do, and it is WAY more capable in the snow. But the two things I really need to keep with this car are the approach and departure angles a lack of ‘low range’ mode. Hoping this model really takes care of all that. Cheers.
700 pound roof load is insane. Thats Land Cruiser territory and a very big deal.
Manual transmission please – I’ve owned 6 Outbacks but won’t ever buy another until they bring back a manual. NO way an auto can match the versatility, reliability and repairability of a manual, particularly off-road – keep the electronic doodads and give me a manual again…
that’s why I bought the vw golf alltrack. it has a 6 speed manual transmission. not as much ground clearance but way more fun to drive on the road and excels in the snow
Thats why I’m still hanging on to my manual 3rd Gen OB.
Still a gas burner/climate change contributor. I wish Subaru would get with the fucking program and make an electric Outback. The last car I owned was a Subie, and I loved it, but I’ll never buy another polluter again.
When I went to a Subaru media event for the 2020 Outback, they said they’re working on an electric platform shared with Toyota for the Outback, and, I’d assume, the RAV-4. Not sure when it will come out though.
FWIW the Crosstrek (known as the XV over here) is only sold as a Hybrid over here because thats what the market wants.
Dont blame subaru for not having EVs (they do) blame them for not offering them in the US. And blame the ‘average’ US consumer who is more interested in larger displacement engines with turbos than batteries…..Subaru is only going to offer what they can sell.
I’ve also heard of this collaboration with Toyota, but in the meantime, the RAV4 has come in Toyota’s standard hybrid version for several years, and for 2021 is available as a plug-in hybrid with a 40+ miles all-electric range. Sounds like Subaru better revisit the partnership.
We also have a 2018 RAV-4 hybrid and it’s a wonderful vehicle. I adore it. I would swap the engine/trans out of it and into the Outback in an instant if I could.
Toyota salesman told us the same thing. Toyota now has a stake in Subaru and is helping with safety features and fuel economy issues. We went with a RAV-4 Hybrid over another Subaru primarily for the fuel economy. We’ve been averaging right around 37.5 mpg, which much better than the ~25 mpg of our 2016 Outback.
Also, I do like that Toyota seems to still believe in buttons for some of the controls whereas the Outback seemed like you had to click through a lot of menus.
It gets complicated:
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R46420.pdf
Love my Outback (not the useless rack), but will stick to fossil fuel until the electric grid is powered by something other than fossil fuels.
I’m a 2-time Subaru owner, so you could call me a fan, but: 1. Ditto to Ed’s comment: Isn’t it time they produced an electric vehicle, for god’s sake? and 2. Isn’t it a little tone-deaf to name an automobile “Wilderness” when the Wilderness Act states: “areas considered as wilderness should have no commercial enterprises within them or any motorized travel or other form of mechanical transport (e.g., vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles).” Hmmmm.
These modifications are all smart choices, although an overheated CVT would not be ideal. I now have a 4Runner for my adventure mobile, but still have a Forester and an early Outback. I’ve taken the Outback places where it shouldn’t have gone, and paid for it: holed oil pan (because no skid plate); torn sidewalls (because of highway tires–and early Outbacks only had space for a donut spare, making things very anxiety producing).
The roof rack comment seems to wrong – they finally put in a really strong set of roof rails see we can leverage Yakima or Thule bars without the plastic on plastic landing pad. Best change that they made to the car in my book. But you still need cross bars as the car i saw did not have them stock. Which is good, because Thule or Yakima are the only ones i would trust.
Right, but crossbars only cost like $60. The podiums that support enough weight to mount a roof top tent are hundreds of dollars, which you won’t need to buy if you get this edition, because the rack is strong enough. I’m not even sure you need crossbars, however. It’s a ladder-style rack, so there may already be enough space to mount the tent without them.
The Subaru racks have been an embarrassment, especially for those of us who haul sea kayaks, surf skis and ultra-distance racing canoes, so I’m glad Subaru finally developed a platform that easily accepts aftermarket bars. I may trade in my current Outback for this new one, if for the racks alone.
The crossbars shown in the photos are Thule Wingbars with Rapid Crossroad towers. That setup runs about $440. Even factory crossbars would be around $200 and they are usually junk. If I was gonna put a rooftop tent on I would definitely go aftermarket bars. This is definitely a welcome change they should make to all trim levels on the outback. I was torn between the Crosstrek and the Outback and part of the reason I leaned toward the Crosstrek was the roof railings instead of those useless fold out bars.
Yeah, I guess those bars are more expensive than I thought. Either way, that’s my point — this rack system is awesome, and, I assume, eliminates the need for the aftermarket podiums that are strong enough to handle a rooftop tent. I have the Thule Evo Wingbars on my Outback, with the proper weight-bearing podiums for my rooftop tent.
Outback is a fine vehicle, I own one and am mostly happy. Great for road tripping. This version will also be a fine vehicle, but no amount of electronic traction control, lower gearing, or fancy tires can overcome the lack of limited slip differentials. I won’t buy another Outback – just not worth it when it has trouble getting moving on even a gentle slope in the snow because one tire is just spinning, with the brakes honking trying to slow it down, and slowly and painfully inching out of a stopped position.
Because of environmental concerns and because of the lack of CVT reliability and longevity, we won’t be buying another Subaru gas powered car. (We have two at the moment, both CVT, one has been replaced under warranty, the other is running fine, but I do not have confidence that it’ll make it to 150,000 miles or beyond).
Next car will be a Toyota/Lexus or Honda/Acura hybrid, or maybe electric if Toyota deliver on the solid state batteries by 2025, or maybe this Toyota/Subaru electric platform car if it’s more Toyota than Subaru.
to minimize our footprint, we need decent mpg (i.e. electric or hybrid), but then also a car that’ll go to 300,000 miles over 15-20 years of ownership, and then can still be sold on). A car that is worth $3k at 150,000 miles and needs a $3k used CVT replacement is just stupid. I can accept less mpg if the car lasts twice as long and I can spread the manufacturing and disposal footprint over more miles.
The front and rear bumper are in the Subaru parts catalog and show compatibility with 2020-2021 models so there is a chance you’ll be able to switch those out aftermarket.
Ultimately i think this is a solid update but I can’t think of many trails it would change my “go/ no go” decision on compared to an Onyx with wildpeak tires and lift. With price estimates coming in at $40k+ that is a big ask since the people who this appeals most to will likely want a more aggressive AT tire.
So where is the 2 in receiver for the bike rack?
The market this vehicle is aimed at use bikes.
Putting on an aftermarket receiver means losing what you gained with the new bumper