REAL DEAL RIGGING
Rugged and capable crossover tough enough to appeal to outdoor-active customer base
Subaru sees adventure seekers as the target market for its new 2022 Outback Wilderness. But it doesn't take an extreme-sports type to appreciate the effort Subaru put into making the Outback a more attractive proposition to its outdoor-active customer base.
To wear the Wilderness badge, the Outback has been significantly worked over from stem to stern, the result being demonstrably enhanced off-road capability. The key difference between it and other compact crossovers with specific off-road packages — think Toyota RAV4 Trail AWD, Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk and Ford Bronco Sport Badlands as the primary competition — is what Subaru says will be a minimal trade-off in on-road comfort and handling.
Ted Lalka, senior adviser at Subaru Canada, says it came about after noticing customers were modifying their vehicles.
“We saw an opportunity to attract a new set of buyers who were interested in a vehicle that not only had added capabilities, but also looked like a tougher and more rugged vehicle. That led to the creation of Outback Wilderness.”
The design elements that bulk up the Outback Wilderness are numerous:
a revised front grille within a new front bumper, a reworked rear bumper, larger wheel-arch cladding, black exterior trim on door mirrors, window mouldings, roof rails, front grille and badging, and a black hood decal to minimize sun glare on bright, off-road trails.
There's more: Yokohama Geolandar all-terrain tires mounted on matte-black alloy wheels, LED hexagonal fog lights and four skid plates — two under the engine and one each under the transmission and rear differential. Fixed roof rails offer 318 kilograms of static load capacity with four tie-down points, as well as front and rear tow-point covers.
More substantive are the mechanical tweaks. With the introduction of the sixth-generation Outback last year, Subaru dropped the previous generation's optional six-cylinder engine in favour of a 260-horsepower, turbocharged 2.4-litre boxer four-cylinder engine that runs on 87 octane gas. The engine, which also generates 277 pound-feet of torque at 2,000 r.p.m., is paired with a Lineartronic CVT featuring an eight-speed manual-mode function with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Towing capacity is unchanged, at 1,588 kilograms (3,500 lbs.).
The suspension has been reworked to provide another 21 millimetres of ground clearance (now 241 mm), aided by uniquely tuned shocks and springs. The power-steering rack has also been retuned for the modified suspension geometry. Approach, departure and breakover angles are increased over the standard Outback, at 20 degrees (+1.4), 23.6 degrees (+1.9) and 21.2 degrees (+1.8) respectively. Body width has been increased by 40 mm and front and rear tracks are slightly wider.
Subaru's highly regarded symmetrical full-time all-wheel drive is a given, as is the standard X-mode system. The latter has seen its control logic enhanced to allow the system to operate at higher vehicle speeds, such as when on ice, dirt, mud or gravel roads. Also, the driver can now track roll-angle info, which has been added to the X-mode display screen in the centre console.
The Wilderness was given a solid workout on the roads throughout Eastern Ontario's Lanark County. And by roads, I mean everything from secondary highways to cottage and lake roads, and from concession roads to dirt and gravel roads. And, best of all, off-road — as in a challenging 45-minute trek through a 4x4 recreational area that threw dirt, mud, water high enough to float a boat, and rockstrewn hills at the Subaru.
The off-road bona fides of the Wilderness do not come at the expense of a punishing ride or increased cabin din. The suspension handles the patched tarmac and dirt roads with little upset. Handling is more than acceptable, with a solid weight to the steering. I pushed the Outback on some twisting gravel lanes to see if it would get out of shape. The active torque vectoring and vehicle dynamics control systems kept the wagon in line. Yes, there's slightly more road noise from the Geolandar rubber, but that's about it.
The inside is mostly standard Outback, with a few Wilderness touches such as easy-to-clean, water-resistant upholstery, unique anodized copper-finish accents, and alloy pedals.
The original 1995 Outback was essentially a jacked-up Legacy station wagon with macho body cladding, larger wheels and mud flaps. The Wilderness is much more the real deal: a rugged and very capable crossover and a distinctive addition to the Outback lineup. Priced at $41,995, it won't be Subaru's volume model, although it is competitive with its rivals.