Six Reasons the Outback Wilderness Should Be Your Next Off-Road SUV

Although an off-road SUV might be considered a niche item, you have quite a few options for one when you’re shopping for your next vehicle. As a Subaru dealer, you’re probably not surprised to see us suggest the Subaru Outback for your next off-road SUV. While we’re certainly partial to the Subaru lineup, there are also several good reasons for suggesting this. The Outback is one of the most impressive midsize SUVs on the road, with fantastic features and eight different trims for you to choose from, making it easy to get everything you’re looking for in your next Outback.

That being said, there’s one particular trim that we’re going to look at today: the Outback Wilderness. Every Outback model comes with Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD) standard, which means any model can be great on dirt roads or in slippery conditions, but we wouldn’t necessarily take them all into rougher terrain. The Wilderness, however, is designed through and through to be a fantastic off-road vehicle that works beautifully for your daily routine. Some other off-road SUVs sacrifice comfort and ride quality for advanced trail-ready features, but the Outback Wilderness is perfect for both the city and its namesake.

Reason #1 – The Turbocharged Engine

While the engine isn’t the only thing that makes a vehicle particularly well-suited for hitting the trail, it’s certainly important. You need something with enough power to get you where you need to go and to be able to navigate whatever is thrown at you. There are two engines offered on the Subaru Outback, but the Wilderness comes with the more powerful of the two, giving you advanced performance and plenty of muscle for the trail.

This is a 2.4L turbocharged Subaru BOXER 4-cylinder engine that delivers a robust 260 hp and 277 lb-ft of torque. That’s plenty of muscle to enjoy getting around town and exploring the great outdoors, plus it affords the Outback Wilderness up to 3,500 lbs of towing capacity, perfect if you have a small boat or camper you want to take with you. The Wilderness features retuned gearing for the drivetrain that improves low-speed climbing, which is perfect for letting loose on the trail.

Reason #2 – Improved Ground Clearance

The Base version of the Subaru Outback is surprisingly capable of going off-road thanks to its standard Symmetrical AWD – in addition, it has 8.7 inches of ground clearance, which is quite impressive for a midsize SUV. With the Wilderness trim, however, the Outback has been elevated, and you get 9.5 inches of ground clearance, giving you nearly a foot more space underneath your SUV to clear objects. On paper, about a foot of space might not seem like too much, but out on the trail, that can mean the difference between easily climbing over an obstacle and hearing the dreaded sound of a rock or other object scraping across the underside of your ride. If you should happen to overestimate how much space you have, however, then you’ll still be alright thanks to the…

Reason #3 – Front Skid Plate

No matter how careful one is, mistakes can always happen, and it’s all too easy to hit something with the underside of a vehicle out on the trail. That’s why the Subaru Outback Wilderness comes with a standard front skid plate to help protect the components on its underbelly. When going off-road, you need to be able to drive with confidence and know that no matter what you encounter, you’ll be able to get past it and reach your destination.

Not only does the Wilderness have a front skid plate, along with improved ground clearance, but its front and rear bumpers have also been redesigned compared to the standard models. They don’t hang as low, which gives the Wilderness improved approach and departure angles out on the trail, making it easier to navigate tough terrain and large obstacles. This can also help in the city if you encounter many steep driveways that can easily scrape the underside of other vehicles, further ensuring you’re always in great shape.

Reason #4 – Off-Road Wheels and Tires

There’s an old adage about the tires on your car being the only point of contact between it and the road, stressing the importance of having good tires on your vehicle. This is true, of course, but it’s also worth remembering that your tires are the only part of your SUV that touches the trail too (hopefully), so tires are just as important, perhaps even more important, for going off-road as driving on the highway. Large tires can be great, but what’s really essential is having tires designed for the trail and handling the roughest, sloppiest terrain.

The Subaru Outback Wilderness comes with 17-inch matte-black alloy off-road wheels designed to handle all of the bumps and bruises of the trail. They’re wrapped in Yokohama GEOLANDAR all-terrain tires that have been engineered and designed for optimal performance on tough trails and rough conditions. With these tires, it’s easy to maintain control as they find their grip in mud, snow, dirt, and everything in between. Plus, the Wilderness comes with a full-size spare tire below the cargo area to ensure that even if the unexpected happens, you’ll still be able to get home safely.

Reason #5 – A Rugged and Functional Exterior

We’ve already talked about the wheels and tires, along with the skid plates and redesigned bumpers on the Outback Wilderness, but those aren’t the only parts of the exterior designed for the trail. You also get reinforced roof rails set off with Anodized Copper-finish accents. These are engineered to support the weight of a rooftop tent, providing you with an easy option for setting up a base camp out in the middle of nowhere. The Wilderness has an anti-glare hood with a unique matte-black decal that reduces glare when you’re out on the trail, making it easy to always be aware of your surroundings.

Reason #6 – The Comfortable and Practical Interior

A luxurious interior might be the last thing you’re worried about when looking at off-road SUVs, but it’s not something you want to overlook. Your time out on the trail will be spent with you inside of your vehicle driving it – along with getting around town and taking care of daily errands the rest of your time – so it’s important to get something you’ll actually enjoy driving and being in. The standard interior features on the Base trim of the Outback are great, but the Wilderness adds to it in numerous ways to give you one of the most impressive rides around.

Inside the Wilderness, you get power-adjustable front seats, heated front and rear seats, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter handle. The Wilderness has StarTex water-repellent upholstery that’s easy to keep clean no matter what kind of fun you get into out on the trail. You get dual-zone climate control to keep everyone comfortable while on your next adventure, along with an 11.6-inch infotainment system with a six-speaker sound system. All of this comes together to make a comfortable and enjoyable driving experience.

The Outback Wilderness Truly Lives Up to Its Name

You can see why we’re such big fans of the Outback Wilderness, and not just because we’re so excited about the full Subaru lineup. It really delivers the kinds of features we want in our off-road SUVs, combining impressive functionality and capability with enough comfort and luxury to ensure you enjoy driving it on the trail and around town. Most of us can’t just have a dedicated off-road SUV, so we need these kinds of features to create the perfect overall option, which is exactly what the Wilderness delivers on. But don’t just take our word for it; visit us at Richard Lucas Subaru to see the Outback Wilderness for yourself and make up your own mind.