Photo: Subaru
Subaru launched the Wilderness trim level for the 2022 model year with the Outback, a mid-size wagon that’s curiously marketed as a crossover. The Forester also received the Wilderness treatment for the 2022 model year. Next month, on the first media day of the New York International Auto Show, the Japanese brand will reveal the third member of the Wilderness household.
The debut will be livestreamed at 10:10 ET on April 5th. As to which Scooby will enter the Wilderness family, the answer is pretty straightforward. Of the 556,681 vehicles delivered by the Japanese automaker in the United States last year, the Crosstrek finished in first place, with 155,142 copies to its name. The Outback and Forester totaled 147,262 and 114,096 examples, respectively.
The Ascent shouldn’t be ruled out either, but given the commercial success of the Crosstrek, the most obvious candidate is the compact-sized crossover. There was hearsay in regard to a revival of the Baja, yet Subaru doesn’t plan to bring that fellow back from the dead.
Way too expensive when it was new despite not being as capable as a body-on-frame pickup from that era, the Baja rusts like crazy. It also sold poorly between the 2003 and 2006 model years, with Subaru moving approximately 30,000 units in total. By comparison, the Ford Escape-based Maverick is a relatively affordable pickup that moved 74,370 examples in the United States market alone last year.
Expected to mirror the 9.2-inch ground clearance of the Forester Wilderness, the Crosstrek Wilderness may also get black wheels and Yokohama-supplied tires. The Geolander all-terrain rubber boots of the Forester Wilderness and Outback Wilderness feature raised white letters. The dual function X-MODE system is pretty certain as well, as is the StarTex water-repellant upholstery the 2024 Crosstrek Sport does not have.
The Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system will be joined by the Lineartronic CVT, which employs a chain rather than a belt. Save for the rear-wheel-drive GR86 sports car and Solterra electric utility vehicle, all other Scoobies in production today feature this gearbox.
Something else the Crosstrek Wilderness may get is an upgraded rear differential, a 180-degree front monitor and a skid plate to boot, and lots of anodized copper interior accents. As you can tell from the latest teaser published by Subaru, the rear bumper is branded Subaru in uppercase letters. The colored tabs on the bumper of the Outback Wilderness hide the recovery points.
As opposed to the 2.5-liter Forester, the Crosstrek features a standard 2.0-liter powerplant. Only the Sport and Limited come with the 2.5er, which is also a member of the FB engine family. Codenamed FB25D, this lump is good for 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet (239 Nm) of torque in the Forester. The Sport and Limited trim levels of the Crosstrek boast two more pound-feet for a grand total of 178 pound-feet (241 Nm).
Although we all want a turbocharged boxer in the Crosstrek, the Wilderness isn't likely to get one. Alas, the naturally-aspirated 2.5 mentioned earlier will have to make do.
The Ascent shouldn’t be ruled out either, but given the commercial success of the Crosstrek, the most obvious candidate is the compact-sized crossover. There was hearsay in regard to a revival of the Baja, yet Subaru doesn’t plan to bring that fellow back from the dead.
Way too expensive when it was new despite not being as capable as a body-on-frame pickup from that era, the Baja rusts like crazy. It also sold poorly between the 2003 and 2006 model years, with Subaru moving approximately 30,000 units in total. By comparison, the Ford Escape-based Maverick is a relatively affordable pickup that moved 74,370 examples in the United States market alone last year.
Expected to mirror the 9.2-inch ground clearance of the Forester Wilderness, the Crosstrek Wilderness may also get black wheels and Yokohama-supplied tires. The Geolander all-terrain rubber boots of the Forester Wilderness and Outback Wilderness feature raised white letters. The dual function X-MODE system is pretty certain as well, as is the StarTex water-repellant upholstery the 2024 Crosstrek Sport does not have.
The Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system will be joined by the Lineartronic CVT, which employs a chain rather than a belt. Save for the rear-wheel-drive GR86 sports car and Solterra electric utility vehicle, all other Scoobies in production today feature this gearbox.
Something else the Crosstrek Wilderness may get is an upgraded rear differential, a 180-degree front monitor and a skid plate to boot, and lots of anodized copper interior accents. As you can tell from the latest teaser published by Subaru, the rear bumper is branded Subaru in uppercase letters. The colored tabs on the bumper of the Outback Wilderness hide the recovery points.
As opposed to the 2.5-liter Forester, the Crosstrek features a standard 2.0-liter powerplant. Only the Sport and Limited come with the 2.5er, which is also a member of the FB engine family. Codenamed FB25D, this lump is good for 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet (239 Nm) of torque in the Forester. The Sport and Limited trim levels of the Crosstrek boast two more pound-feet for a grand total of 178 pound-feet (241 Nm).
Although we all want a turbocharged boxer in the Crosstrek, the Wilderness isn't likely to get one. Alas, the naturally-aspirated 2.5 mentioned earlier will have to make do.
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