The Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness Is an "Outback Moment" Nearly 30 Years Later

As they say, history repeats itself. You can point to pre-Outback Subaru and post-Outback Subaru. The model was wildly successful in the States and led to Subaru trying some interesting things. The WRX came stateside, and the Subaru Baja debuted just a few years after the ’96 Outback’s big glow-up. Subaru was trying things, and it was working. These attractive new ideas brought young buyers to the brand. Those jokes about Outbacks have some level of truth to them – even if they are nothing but. Young buyers keep brands going, and building loyalty at a transition point in the brand’s history, like it faced then and is facing now, is critical.

I see the same thing happening now, though, with a different cast of characters. The Crosstrek, for example. Dimensionally, it’s pretty close to that first-generation Outback. The two practically share a wheelbase – at 104.33 inches (Outback) to 104.9 inches (Crosstrek Wilderness). The Crosstrek is significantly wider and taller, but the formula that inspired the Outback’s sport-utility push is alive and well in the Crosstrek and the Wilderness brand as a whole. Subaru takes its standard car, then makes some mechanical and cosmetic changes to broaden the model’s appeal to younger, more athletic buyers. Not only is the Crosstrek physically very close to that first Outback, but many of the things that Subaru has become well-known for are being emphasized.

The Crosstrek is affordable, and its Wilderness trim starts at $33,000 before options, tax, and destination. That’s far cheaper than the larger models in the brand’s lineup, now with the desirable off-road options blended in – included some special styling cues to keep the Crosstrek looking young.

To be fair, the Crosstrek has been doing that for some time. It’s a cheap, incredibly popular car for first-time buyers and brand loyalists alike, and people love to modify them. At around $35,000, the new Crosstrek Wilderness will only broaden that appeal. Hell, you can’t throw a rock without hitting a Crosstrek on the Western Slope of the Rockies. Now, Subaru is leaning into that demographic with much the same bag of tricks as it did 29 years ago.

Subaru knows this will work. The brand expects some 20% of 2024 Crosstrek orders to be in Wilderness spec. Already, the brand itself is incredibly popular. Wilderness trims are offered on the Outback, Forester, and now, the Crosstrek. These are historically Subaru’s biggest sellers. Last year, the brand sold 416,500 cars across the three nameplates. All told, the brand sold 556,581 cars. If 20% of the Crosstrek’s sales (155,142 YTD in 2022) are Wilderness trims, Subaru is looking at an extrapolated 31,000 or so additions to the Wilderness brand this year.

Unfortunately, Subaru doesn’t say much about sales of other Wilderness models, though the Forester and Outback are on a similar level as the Crosstrek – at least sales-wise. I won’t speculate on these, but it’s safe to assume the brand has, at the least, proven popular enough to warrant the expansion of Wilderness offerings. People have even joked that the WRX should get the same Wilderness treatment.

Honestly, maybe it should, though WRX’s sales pale in comparison to the three cars discussed here and justifying it, as a result, would be tough. Still, that level of experimentation is present in Subaru now, just in other places.

While the Solterra isn’t a fantastic EV, it is the brand’s first effort. Subaru wasn’t working with other brands to further its lineup back then, but it is now. In at least one way, that’s been a success in the form of the refreshed and greatly improved BRZ/GR 86 twins.

Thirty years ago, a somewhat similar circumstance led Subaru to commercial success. History repeats. However, what is to come as a result of the topics discussed here is tough to say. Subaru hasn’t really committed one way or the other to electrics. Like so many other Japanese brands, Subaru feels somewhat apprehensive toward EVs.

Some Subaru sales figures don’t look so hot, however. Forester sales have been on a downward trend, and enthusiasts are still pretty miffed there isn’t a new STI model in the lineup. Some think that will come later with electrification. Perhaps Subaru will be able to turn this new footing with its Wilderness brand into something more successful. Pushing your audience towards sporty, off-road cars has worked in the past, after all. Now, the segment is much more fleshed-out, however. What Subaru does with this growing momentum from its Wilderness brand will certainly be interesting, especially as the industry weighs the merits of electrification.