Outback Will get the Wilderness Therapy
Subaru has a reward for loyal Outback homeowners wanting extra off-road functionality and ruggedness—the brand new 2026 Outback Wilderness.
Clear Fleet Report was among the many first automotive journalists to drive the 2026 Outback Wilderness at a media occasion in Healdsburg, California. A drive route of freeway, hills winding via Sonoma Valley vineyards and a few difficult off-roading, gave us an excellent style of what the Outback Wilderness can deal with.
What did we be taught? The enchantment of the Outback grows with the Wilderness choice that also delivers very composed and comfy on-road driving, but in addition spectacular off-roading for all the things as much as rock crawling. It is a nice mixture for a single automobile.
The Wilderness Sub-brand
The Wilderness sub-brand now consists of the Crosstrek, Forester and Outback fashions. Subaru took the bottom mannequin of every and gave them elevated floor clearance, all-terrain tires and exterior and inside design options to make them extra succesful in an off-road setting.
The Outback Wilderness, first launched as a 2022 mannequin, had been developed off the prevailing Outback platform. Whereas it was common with Subaru prospects, Jenny Van, automotive line planning specialist at Subaru of America, instructed us the brand new 2026 Outback Wilderness “was purpose-designed with off-road use in thoughts. The Wilderness sub-brand is totally essential to our [Subaru] model. It’s not a distinct segment, however is now a essential stream model for Subaru. It’s one thing quite a lot of prospects are on the lookout for because it has off-road and on-road functionality, providing a steadiness. Wilderness badged fashions are 15% of our gross sales, so that may be a fairly large share of our gross sales and is one thing we count on to develop.”
Jenny Van completed with: “There are commonalities between the Outback and Outback Wilderness buyer. Gender is about the identical, however the Wilderness skews youthful.” Our take: Driving down the common age of a model’s buyer is important to long-term gross sales success.
Energy and Drive
The two.4-liter intercooled, twin-scroll turbocharged boxer engine runs on 87 octane. It places out 260 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 277 pound-feet of torque in a really helpful 2,000-4,800 rpm vary. All 4 wheels are pushed via a constantly variable transmission (CVT) that features a number of drive modes and an 8-speed handbook shifting choice that may be managed with the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. The EPA has rated the gasoline economic system at 21 mpg metropolis/27 freeway and 23 mixed. Clear Fleet Report has intensive expertise driving Subarus, so are assured it is possible for you to to surpass 30 mpg on the freeway.
The usual Symmetrical All-wheel Drive consists of the most recent technology of X-Mode which will increase grip and traction in icy, sloppy and off-road circumstances, including hill ascent and descent management. X-Mode has two programs with particular person controls for Snow/Grime and Deep
Snow/Mud settings. Hill Descent Management comes on robotically when the system senses the necessity. It labored completely.
On-Street Driving Expertise
Our drive on paved surfaces was a mixture of in-town cease and go, mountain roads with sweeping turns, just a few tight twisties, open highways and rural winery roads. The CVT was clean with the pc defaulting to favor gasoline economic system, which is okay for metropolis and freeway on a regular basis driving.
Nonetheless, at instances it was essential to make the most of the handbook setting and paddles to drag a grade or get up-to-speed shortly. Since there aren’t any ‘gears’ in a CVT, utilizing the paddles held the CVT in a rev ratio at about 4,000 rpm and roughly 45 mph when climbing a hill. It was very useful and labored completely.
Some may query the presence of paddle shifters on a non-sporty automotive. Within the case of the Outback Wilderness they had been purposeful and will likely be much more necessary when its loaded with 4 adults and all their gear headed-out for a weekend journey or pulling a trailer (up-to 3,500 kilos).
Subaru says the suspension is “Off-Street Tuned,” however don’t assume this implies the on-road driving has been compromised. The 4-wheel impartial suspension is properly tuned to place cornering of every type underneath management with physique lean simply and shortly managed. We examined it in methods you by no means will by pushing it on corners. The concept was to not break the legislation, however to get a really feel for a way the Outback Wilderness would reply in an emergency state of affairs with your loved ones onboard.
The steady trip is the results of automobile dynamics and electrical traction management, lively torque break up and electronically managed dampers. The electrical power-assisted steering was responsive and exact, delivering an excellent really feel of the highway. Mixed, they accepted all the things we threw at them.
The Outback Wilderness is well-suited for 2 or 4 folks to hit the highway for a weekend journey, for commuting or in-town driving for chauffeuring the youngsters or bread-and-butter runs.
Off-Street – Time To Get Soiled
Subaru has earned a powerful repute constructing off-road succesful SUVs. All the pieces they provide comes customary with the Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system that transfers torque to the wheels that want it, on- or off-road. This lively torque break up constantly varies front-to-rear based mostly on inputs from acceleration, steering angle and yaw price sensors.
The Outback Wilderness can also be geared up with X-Mode, which provides much more grip and traction for sand, mud and snow. The Wilderness trim has further off-road functionality over the bottom Outback with a beefed-up suspension, tires, underneath physique safety, upgraded rear differential and higher method and departure angles.
An enormous issue for a way properly a automobile handles off-road driving is the tires. The Outback Wilderness was shod with Bridgestone Dueler A/T 225/65 all-terrain tires, with raised white lettering, on matte black 17-inch rims. This tire carried out very properly on the off-road course and offered respectable on-road dealing with for a clean trip. Subaru neatly has included a full-size 17-inch matching spare tire.
The paths we drove on the 19,000-acre Cooley Ranch offered the chance to check the Outback’s readiness to assault steep ascents and descents on various surfaces. The Wilderness bundle is as much as the duty, giving homeowners the choice to seek out forest service roads and even take-on off-road park trails. Activating X-Mode on the steering wheel, we traversed steep sections of onerous and comfortable grime and even a little bit of mud when crossing a creek mattress.
The 9.5-inches of floor clearance got here in useful a number of instances, particularly when utilizing the Hill Descent Management, the place the pc retains the downhill pace underneath 12 mph. The Outback Wilderness floor clearance bests its key rivals on this recreation of inches.
- Toyota RAV4 Woodland at 8.1-inches;
- the Honda CR-V TrailSport at 8.2-inches;
- the Hyundai Tucson XRT at 8.3-inches;
- the Nissan Rogue Rock Creek at 8.2-inches and
- the Ford Bronco Sport Badlands at 8.8-inches.
Would we take the 2026 Outlander Wilderness on forest roads and for medium difficult off-roading? We’d with confidence.
Straightforward-To-Perceive Controls
There may be one customary Outback Wilderness inside, with non-obligatory seat and know-how packages. The bottom Wilderness is provided with absolutely animal-free inside surfaces and water resistant StarTex (an artificial upholstery materials) in black with copper-colored stitching and the Wilderness brand embroidered on the entrance seat headrests. It comes with thick rubber all-weather mats and a rubber cargo tray. We put these to good use as driving off-road will get messy and the mats and tray captured the entire gunk we left behind.
The seat choice bundle has Slate Black nappa leather-based, additionally with copper accent stitching. This bundle is greater than the leather-based seating improve because it features a energy moonroof, 360º encompass view monitor, energy folding exterior mirrors and a 12-way energy adjustable driver’s seat with reminiscence and a leg extension.
The bottom Outback provides the entrance passenger 4-way handbook seat changes, however when upping to the Wilderness trim they get 8-way energy changes with warmth and air flow.
The skinny A-pillars, excessive seating place and tall home windows present wonderful ahead and facet visibility. The configurable 12.3-inch digital instrument gauge cluster works as an info show for automobile capabilities. The horizontal 12.1-inch touchscreen homes navigation and, customary on Wilderness fashions, the 12-speaker, 576-watt with sub-woofer Harman Kardon sound system for AM/FM HD and SiriusXM radio, wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. USB-A and C ports and wi-fi cellphone charging are customary.
The rear seat’s head, shoulder and leg room was ample for 2 adults, three in a pinch. Comfort options features a fold down armrest with cup holders, heated outboard seats and USB-C cost ports.
You bought gear? The Subaru Outback Wilderness will eat it up because the cargo space is urging to be packed for a weekend highway journey. With the 60:40 break up rear seat upright space for storing is 42.8 inches, when folded it grows to 75.9 inches. The widest level between the wheels is 43.3 inches and the peak is 34.1 inches measured to the panoramic moonroof. There are a number of cup and bottle holders with the most important able to holding a 32-ounce container. Restroom breaks in your highway journey might be frequent.
Enhanced Rugged Exterior
The Outback exterior design is boxier general than the outgoing mannequin with a flatter roof, a steeper rake to the rear raise gate glass and quick entrance and rear overhangs. The brand new design consists of Wilderness-only cues of anodized copper accents on the physique and roof rail tie-down factors, redesigned facet rocker panel safety and cladding, a horizontal off-road truck-like entrance grille, vertical headlights, black hood decal, fog lights and utterly redesigned entrance and rear bumpers and twin entrance and rear tow factors. The outside energy mirrors are heated as are the windshield wipers for de-icing.
While you’re placing the 9.5 inches of floor clearance to work, you’ll respect the Outback Wilderness’ enhanced fender brush guard cladding, although it’s additionally helpful when encountering a wayward purchasing cart. Cladding can also be discovered throughout the entrance and rear fascia.
The Outback Wilderness is prepared for some severe tenting, that includes ladder-style roof rails with load capability scores of 800-pounds static (perhaps for 2 adults and huge canine in a tent), laterally (for an awning) of 220-pounds. The dynamic roof cargo ranking is 220-pounds. To make loading roof cargo simpler, new for 2026 are built-in rope tie-down hooks within the rack rails.
Exterior colours out there at no further value, on both the Outback or Outback Wilderness, are Crystal Black Silica, Crimson Purple Pearl, Crystal White Pearl, Magnetite Grey Metallic, Ice Silver Metallic and Sapphire Blue Pearl. Deep Emerald Inexperienced Pearl and River Rock Pearl are $395 further. Geyser Blue, at no premium, is solely out there on the Wilderness.
The ability hatch, with LED tail lights, has a small lip spoiler and a wiper. New this yr are raise gate gear rests to tie-down skis and snowboards with out scratching the paint.
Security and Comfort
The Outback Wilderness comes with lively and passive superior driver assistamce programs (ADAS) which might be all a part of the EyeSight system. Security know-how consists of a number of airbags, superior adaptive cruise management, automated pre-collision braking and throttle administration, emergency cease help, freeway lively lane change help and lane departure warning. Within the case of an accident or different emergency, the Starlink Linked Companies characteristic will place a name to emergency providers.
Security options additionally embody blind spot monitoring with lane change help, a 360-degree digicam and Security Exit Alert that notifies occupants, earlier than exiting the automobile, of obstacles and pedestrians with an audible and visible warning. There may be additionally a rear seat reminder to verify yet another time earlier than exiting to make sure no children or canine have been left behind.
Further comfort options embody twin zone automated local weather management, rear imaginative and prescient digicam, push button begin/cease, distant keyless entry, steering wheel with audio and Bluetooth management switches, tire stress monitoring system and 4-wheel disc anti-lock brakes.
Pricing and Availability
The 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness, assembled in Gunma, Japan, rolls into sellers starting in early 2026. The bottom costs, together with the $1,450 vacation spot and supply price, ranges from $46,445 to $50,535. Subaru has the complete pricing and choices.
Observations: 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness
The 2026 Outback Wilderness must be common with loyal Subaru homeowners, plus many ready to personal an Outback for the primary time. The Outback Wilderness proprietor is prone to take part in outside actions and hobbies resembling tenting, mountaineering, fishing and backpacking. They’re into kayaking, biking, cross nation and/or mountain biking, mountaineering, snowboarding and snowboarding. Subaru’s analysis exhibits 58% are canine homeowners and three% personal chickens. Does this sound such as you?
In the long run the 2026 Outback Wilderness will fill the wants for these wanting a totally succesful weekend journey SUV that may additionally deal with a commute and household in-town errands.
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Story by John Faulkner. Photographs by John Faulkner and Subaru.
