Photo: Kolesa.ru
From January through the end of December, Subaru sold 611,942 vehicles in the United States. The Forester compact crossover accounted for 176,996 units, and in second place, the Outback proved to be extremely lucrative for the Japanese automaker with 153,294 examples to its name.
The reason the Outback is so popular in North America is obvious. Instead of marketing it as a station wagon with all-wheel drive and comparable trunk space to a sport utility vehicle, this fellow is marketed as a crossover. But this trick alone isn't enough to explain the Outback’s commercial success.
Another reason the mid-size family hauler is selling like hot cakes is the ground clearance. 8.7 inches or 22 centimeters from the factory is pretty impressive by all accounts, even if we compare the all-road wagon to a proper crossover. The Honda Passport, for example, offers 7.5 or 8.1 inches (19 or 20.5 cm) depending on the drivetrain, and not even the Ford Explorer can match the Subaru because the most it offers is 8.2 inches (20.8 cm).
Redesigned from the ground up for 2020, the Outback is expected to receive an all-new variant by the end of 2021 for the 2022 model year in the guise of the Wilderness. The Forester and Crosstrek are also rumored to get this off-road trim level, but Subaru hasn’t announced anything official so far.
Based on spy photos of the Outback Wilderness, our friends at Kolesa.ru came up with a faithful rendering of the real deal. The hexagonal fog lights, for instance, are shared with the production version. The same can be said about the mesh grille with large honeycomb-inspired holes, but the visual changes won’t end here. The rear bumper will be tweaked as well, and chances are that Subaru will offer trim-specific wheels as standard.
Don’t expect any improvements under the hood, though. As ever, customers will choose between a free-breathing and a single-turbo boxer with 2.5 liters of displacement and four cylinders. Don’t get your hopes up for an auto either because the Lineartronic CVT is how Subaru likes to roll these days.
Another reason the mid-size family hauler is selling like hot cakes is the ground clearance. 8.7 inches or 22 centimeters from the factory is pretty impressive by all accounts, even if we compare the all-road wagon to a proper crossover. The Honda Passport, for example, offers 7.5 or 8.1 inches (19 or 20.5 cm) depending on the drivetrain, and not even the Ford Explorer can match the Subaru because the most it offers is 8.2 inches (20.8 cm).
Redesigned from the ground up for 2020, the Outback is expected to receive an all-new variant by the end of 2021 for the 2022 model year in the guise of the Wilderness. The Forester and Crosstrek are also rumored to get this off-road trim level, but Subaru hasn’t announced anything official so far.
Based on spy photos of the Outback Wilderness, our friends at Kolesa.ru came up with a faithful rendering of the real deal. The hexagonal fog lights, for instance, are shared with the production version. The same can be said about the mesh grille with large honeycomb-inspired holes, but the visual changes won’t end here. The rear bumper will be tweaked as well, and chances are that Subaru will offer trim-specific wheels as standard.
Don’t expect any improvements under the hood, though. As ever, customers will choose between a free-breathing and a single-turbo boxer with 2.5 liters of displacement and four cylinders. Don’t get your hopes up for an auto either because the Lineartronic CVT is how Subaru likes to roll these days.
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