First Drive: 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness

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“Work hard. Play harder. I am wired for outdoor adventure, have a go-getter spirit and always say ‘yes’ to new challenges so I can live a life full of transformative experiences. I’m game for adventure, whether that means carving slopes through freshly fallen powder, car camping in the winter of hiking to the tallest peak. I’ll only opt for authentic and credible brands that fit my lifestyle. I can smell a phony from a mile and will call it out.”

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What? Oh, not me ! No, no, I am wired for mowing the lawn, have a mañana spirit and always say yes to an afternoon nap. The above is what Subaru confidently trusts is the mantra-like philosophy of the adventure seekers it is targeting for its new 2022 Outback Wilderness.

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First Drive: 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness Back to video

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Though generally inured from what might be considered a pretentious marketing cliché — were it coming from most other manufacturers hyping their latest sport-utes —  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. Individually, the improvements to the crossover-wagon are small; collectively they add up.

To wear the Wilderness badge, the Outback has been significantly worked over stem to stern, the result being demonstrably enhanced off-road capability (more on this later). 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.

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As to why the Outback was selected for this overt transformation and not the automaker’s more popular selling Crosstrek or Forester, Ted Lalka, senior advisor 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 to Wilderness tough 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, 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 lamps 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.

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That’s just the visual. 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 that runs on 87 octane. The engine, which also generates 277 pound-feet of torque at 2,000 rpm, is paired with a Lineartronic CVT featuring an eight-speed manual mode function with steering wheel paddle shifters. Towing capacity is unchanged at 1,588 kilograms (3,500 lb).

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: 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.

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Subaru’s highly regarded symmetrical full-time all-wheel drive is a given, as is the standard X-Mode system. However, 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 highway, cottage and lake roads, concession roads, dirt and gravel roads and, best of all, off-road. As in a challenging 45-minute trek through a 4×4 recreational area that threw dirt, mud, water high enough to float a boat, and rock-strewn hills at the Subaru. OK, it wasn’t the Rubicon, but it was gnarly enough, the sort of terrain that would have a typical soft-roader broken down by the side of the trail before the first kilometre. And all that was required of the Wilderness was to select its X-Mode’s deep snow/mud setting and let the electronics handle the rest. Adding to its hill-climbing ability is a revised rear differential with a final drive ratio of 4.44:1, and the Lineartronic CVT was modified to achieve an equivalent final drive ratio at the front wheels.

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And give Subaru its due; the Wilderness’s off-road bona fides 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 due to the Geolandar rubber, but that’s about it.

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The inside is mostly standard Outback, with a few Wilderness touches such as easy-to-clean, water-resistant upholstery with the Wilderness logo embossed into the headrests, unique anodized copper-finish accents, black headliner, all-weather rubber floor liners and alloy pedals. A front-view camera provides a near 180-degree view in front of the vehicle, a help when entering a blind intersection or while traversing steep hills. The interior also adds a heated steering wheel, plus LED rear gate lamps, which improve lighting in the cargo area. The centre stack is taken up by Subaru’s StarLink 11.6-inch multimedia system, which offers direct touch controls for multimedia, HVAC, X-Mode and vehicle settings.

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The original 1995 Outback was essentially a jacked-up Legacy station wagon with macho body cladding, larger wheels and mud flaps. A unique take on what was then a burgeoning SUV segment, the public ate it up, helped by a brilliant marketing campaign featuring Australian actor Paul Hogan (a.k.a. Crocodile Dundee). The Wilderness is much more the real deal, a rugged and very capable crossover that is 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 aforementioned Toyota, Jeep and Ford opposition. Nor is it likely the only Subaru that will wear the Wilderness name. The parting words from Ted Lalka: “I … believe that there are opportunities beyond the Outback.”