2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness Inside and Out | Autoblog
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 Published On Jul 9, 2021

The last few years have seen the continuing rise of off-road-oriented vehicles. Whether it’s a few-expenses-spared Ford F-150 Raptor or a more modest Jeep Renegade Trailhawk, customers seem to be increasingly obsessed with taking their cars as far as they can. And it’s reached a point that one of the rugged car pioneers, the Subaru Outback, is needing yet another dose of capability. The result is the 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness, which cranks up the capability while maintaining impressive comfort and refinement. That being said, it has some compromises that mean it’s not the perfect choice for everyone.

To beef up the Outback, Subaru focused mainly on the suspension, tires and bodywork. It features new springs and shocks that raise the ride height, increasing ground clearance from 8.7 inches to 9.5. That actually puts it well ahead of the Ford Bronco Sport Badlands (8.6 or 8.8 inches) and Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk (8.7 inches). Subaru also revised the bodywork not just for style, but for function. The front and rear bumpers are a little more tucked in to improve approach and departure angles, and they feature larger sections of tough, black plastic that tend to wear scuffs and scrapes better. The approach angle is 20 degrees, breakover is 21.2 and departure is 23.6. The aforementioned Ford and Jeep both have better approach and departure angles, though the Subaru’s breakover number falls between them (ahead of the Ford, behind the Jeep).

Rounding out the chassis upgrades are 17-inch wheels with Yokohama Geolandar All-Terrain tires and a standard aluminum skid plate at the front. That can be supplemented with an additional aluminum skid plate under the engine, and steel skid plates for the transmission, differential and fuel tank. The Subaru X-Mode driving mode that adjusts the stability and traction control for low grip situations (and activates hill-descent control) has also been updated specially for the Wilderness. In all Outbacks, there are two types of low-traction settings, and they only operate under 25 mph. But on the Wilderness, the Deep Snow/Mud setting stays on even above 25 mph, and above that threshold, it uses a unique traction and stability logic from the low-speed version. And lastly, the final drive ratio is slightly shorter at 4.44:1 for better low-speed response.

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