Why more and more automakers are catering to the outdoorsy crowd

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Bumping along the rutted and pot-holed forest service road, the Toyota RAV4 hits a bump and soaks it up with ease. This is the TRD model, and that stands for “Toyota Racing Development”; it’s a badge that’s supposed to stand for tough, off-road-ready capabilities. In this case, it seems to be working, as I’m able to easily keep up to a pack of actual rally cars ahead.

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Admittedly, one of those cars is a Saab Sonnett with less than 60 horsepower. Perhaps we’re setting the bar a little low.

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Why more and more automakers are catering to the outdoorsy crowd Back to video

But welcome to the latest trend in selling cars. At time of writing, the RAV4 is the best-selling passenger vehicle in Canada — assuming you leave full-size pickup truck sales off the list. Where once ordinary families got around in four-cylinder, four-door sedans, we now apparently must have the go-anywhere, do-anything capability of a crossover. In this specific case, the trendy RAV4 TRD made for a great chase photography vehicle for covering one of Classic Car Adventure’s more-adventurous rallies .

Back when everyone was buying sedans, car companies looked to increase sales by bringing out sport versions. They still do so, but to a lesser extent in the mid-size sedan market. For a time, however, you could spec your Honda Accord with a spoiler, and your Nissan Altima with aggressive wheels and uprated V6 power. Actually, come to think of it, the Altima SE-R was a genuinely cool machine.

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But did consumers actually need all this performance for the average school run? Probably not. Overall, the sport package or appearance package remains just an attempt to entice buyers into showrooms and get them all riled up about buying something that is basically a dishwasher on four wheels.

Now that tastes have changed for appliances that are large, somewhat blobby, tall hatchbacks, manufacturers are looking for new ways to differentiate their models . Selling the look of performance is still part of the strategy, but a growing number of automakers are now baiting their hooks with the fat, juicy worm of off-road capability.

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Subaru owes basically its entire brand identity to the idea that families can purchase an ordinary car that’s capable of doing roughly 80 per cent of what a Jeep Wranger or Toyota Tacoma is capable of doing. But even it is doubling down with its new Wilderness edition of the Outback , and an extra-off-roady treatment is coming for the Forester as well .

To be fair to Subaru, this move is both marketing savvy as well as responding to actual market demands. There’s a late-model Outback down the street from me with a lift kit and Primitive Racing heavy-duty skidplates armouring its underbelly. It’s perpetually muddy and has a light coating of B.C. bush pinstriping (that is to say, scratches from the small trees that encroach on narrow trails).

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This is to say nothing of the hordes of chunky-tired Crosstreks roaming the corridor between North Vancouver and Whistler. Subaru owners like to modify their vehicles to be (or at least look) more off-road-capable.

Do Honda owners? Well, that’s what that company is betting on with its upcoming TrailSport lineup . According to the official press release, “The first models to incorporate the TrailSport treatment will feature rugged front and rear styling, durable cladding, and exclusive interior touches, including high-contrast orange stitching and available signature all-weather mats that are easier to clean.”

Honda’s release goes on to say that later models will get increased ground clearance, a full-size spare, and other useful off-road equipment. However, first prepare for a Ridgeline that looks tougher than the regular-strength version, but actually isn’t.

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A growing number of automakers are now baiting their hooks with the fat, juicy worm of off-road capability

Over the next few years, buyers will have to be extra-informed about what the capabilities of their off-road-look crossover actually are; our testing team will keep you alerted to any soft-roaders pretending to be outdoor heroes. Singling out the TrailSport line is not meant to throw Honda under the bus, as the all-terrain tires and softer suspension on the aforementioned RAV4 TRD make for worse fuel economy and less cornering grip, respectively. Honda is perhaps serving its customers better by offering an appearance upgrade that won’t come with a penalty at the pump.

Actual technical off-road driving requires both a skilled driver and a proper 4×4 vehicle. The local Toyota 4×4 club in B.C. is happy to help new owners learn the ropes, but if you talk to experienced owners, even they will mention that a factory-spec Tacoma has its limitations when the going gets really rough. On trails where a Tacoma or Jeep Wrangler is going to struggle, your shiny new extra-lifted Subaru is probably not going to make it.

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Having said that, it should be pointed out that the local Subaru owners club also hosts off-road excursions for Foresters and Crosstreks and the like. Getting out and exploring the outdoors with your friends is great fun. I will also admit that there is something incredibly satisfying about dropping off the kids at school in a mud-spattered Subaru and parking next to a never-seen-a-mud-puddle Mercedes-Benz G-Class .

Consider carefully, however, whether all this off-road capability is something you either want or actually need. Off-road-capable tires look cool, but they’re task-specific. You’ll get worse fuel economy, and have less grip on tarmac. If your kids are prone to motion sickness, I have bad news about what a lifted suspension can do to queasy rear-seat passengers in a series of corners.

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The other part of the equation you probably already know, and that’s the fact that most gravel roads aren’t really all that challenging. A non-TrailSport Honda CR-V is perfectly capable of getting to most of the trailheads that an Outback Wilderness can get to, and almost all of the same camping sites. Heck, you could probably get the same places in a Honda Civic.

If you’ve done a bit of off-roading, or at least exploring along gravel roads, then you know that it’s common to run into all sorts of ordinary cars out in the woods, from low-powered Westfalias to battered Toyota Priuses. Or that Saab Sonnet mentioned earlier.

It’s the same game it’s always been, whether it’s spoilers on sedans, or plastic body-cladding on crossovers. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go ask Subaru if it’s going to make a Wilderness edition of the Subaru WRX. Obviously, nobody needs such a ridiculous thing. But wouldn’t it be fun?