With the Subaru Outback, you don’t get into the mud and this new Wilderness version takes the off-road skills of Subaru’s station wagon to an even higher level. In a literal sense, that is. The Outback Wilderness is not only roughly dressed, it is also higher on its legs.
The Subaru Outback is a true all-rounder with its 22 centimeter ground clearance and permanent four-wheel drive. In the United States there is now an extra skilled variant of that station wagon. This is the Outback Wilderness, according to Subaru the most capable Outback the brand has ever made.
The Outback Wilderness is a cleaned up version of the regular Outback. At 24.1 centimeters, the ground clearance of the Outback Wilderness is more than two centimeters larger than that of the original. The Wilderness is not only higher on its legs. Subaru also puts the coolly dressed Outback on special Yokohama Geolander off-road tires. Those tires have a white print, a nod to the primal Outback.
Subaru Outback Wilderness
The springs and dampers are not only longer, they are also set for heavier off-road work. In addition, they naturally have longer suspension travel than the original ones. The exit and approach angles of the Outback Wilderness are respectively 1.4 and 1.9 degrees greater than those of the conventional Outback (18.6 and 21.7 degrees). Subaru has further adjusted the rear differential and the CVT transmission has also been adjusted differently.
From the outside, Subaru hangs the Outback Wilderness full of extra plastic. The front bumper, with striking LED fog lights, is completely new, just like the one on the back. Just like the roof rails, which can handle more weight, and the strips at the bottom of the doors, the bumpers are decorated with orange colored details. Subaru continues the chrome work of the Outback and dresses the Wilderness edition with black window moldings, a black rear spoiler and black trim around the rear lights. More black extras? Certainly. The side mirror covers on the Outback Wilderness are also not painted in body color. The furniture is decorated with water-resistant fabric, complete with Wilderness logos. Subaru applies copper-colored accents here and there to brighten things up further.
The list of internal extras includes aluminum pedals, all-weather floor mats and an extra sturdy plate to protect the loading floor against dirt and wetness. Handy when you get back from pursuing your active lifestyle, shall we say.
The Outback Wilderness is only available with the 264 hp and 376 Nm strong blown 2.4 boxer engine, a machine that is always linked to the Lineartronic CVT. Is the Outback Wilderness coming to the Netherlands? We fear not.