New "Rugged" Subaru-- 2022 OUTBACK WILDERNESS

[Snowfan]

One of the guys in the Outback forum received his recently. Black beauty. I don't want a "look at me" car but kinda like this one. The black paint hides the IMO stupid bling overdose plastic.

 

[neonorchid]

'22 Outback Wilderness $36,995

 

[Ogg]

One of the guys in the Outback forum received his recently. Black beauty. I don't want a "look at me" car but kinda like this one. The black paint hides the IMO stupid bling overdose plastic.
View attachment 137135

Paint all the flat black with the glossy body paint and add some wheels with contrast(silver, pewter, gold, red, blue, whatever) and it would look sweet, IMO. I'm not a big fan of the excessive body cladding to give the "rugged" look.

 

[Philpug]

Paint all the flat black with the glossy body paint and add some wheels with contrast(silver, pewter, gold, red, blue, whatever) and it would look sweet, IMO. I'm not a big fan of the excessive body cladding to give the "rugged" look.

I am less of a fan of the orange accents than the cladding.

The trim on the Forester Sport makes it look like Batman and Catwomen got married, moved to the suburbs and had a couple of kids.

 

[cantunamunch]

The trim on the Forester Sport makes it look like Batman and Catwomen got married, moved to the suburbs and had a couple of kids.

While holding down marketing jobs at Milwaukee Tools.

 

[Tom K.]

Tested: Subaru Wilds Out with the 2022 Outback Wilderness

With more ground clearance and more body cladding, Subaru's fun wagon is ready for more anything.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[nay]

This is @nay just waiting for those ruggerized subbies to hit deep snow...

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The offroad stuff is a bit of a joke. But. This is my updated garage.

Sold the two oldest Toyota sh*tboxes, handed the ‘04 Sequoia now at 345K to son #2 and the ‘04 4Runner now at 260K to son #1.

Bought a 2015 Forester XT Touring with 63K miles for $12,500 (ask me) for my daughter. It is criminal that car wasn’t available in a manual, but fun and really done right with the XT suspension and 250hp turbo. Right size and design before they bloated it and killed off the turbo.

Just bought a 2021 Ascent Touring for my wife this weekend. That car is flat out gorgeous and drives effortlessly in swag comfort. Yes it has X-mode and whatever, but the problem we’re trying to solve is that it’s too nice for our dogs. So I’m shopping for seat protectors and cargo area dog padding and that kind of stuff. It’s also a perfect ski rig except it’s too nice to get ski dirty.

The Outback doesn’t have much of a point when the Ascent has better seating position and cargo space - the second row has raised stadium seating and heated seats - and drives quite a bit smaller than it is…and the Forester is more practical and cuter (in a good way).

 

[nay]

Oh and the Ascent is getting full ceramic tint and the front windows will be the same shade as the rear. I figured while I was paying MSRP I’d might as well go 8 years / 120 miles on extended warranty and add some dealer bling stuff.

Money is cheap and used cars are the worst possible deals right now, especially Toyotas with the overlanding mania. I sold this with 280K for $9,400. The standard is “looks good from 20 feet”. Lots of upgrades including an expensive front bumper, but still. That’s $7K max.

Probably will backfill with another 1st gen Sequoia for me as a mud room rig, but I’d rather find another XT turbo Forester as a daily whip. Problem is stupid pricing, that car isn’t worth $20K with 100K miles or even close. Still, these Touring editions get it right and it’s a bit shocking how much room there is for 5 in that supposedly little car.

The Ascent in its size with a compact 4 cyl turbo has so much front room that you aren’t sitting near the doors at all and a 6’ passenger can stretch his or her legs out completely without touching the firewall. It’s got 8 speeds of manual paddle shifters. They aren’t a ton of fun in the Ascent, but the six speeds in this Forester keeping the turbo spooled up will start to outperform its suspension right around 100 mph, which happens more quickly than you expect. They’ll even get snow tires since they’re cars .

 

[JeffB]

So I’m shopping for seat protectors and cargo area dog padding and that kind of stuff. It’s also a perfect ski rig except it’s too nice to get ski dirty.

Re the dog protection, I’ve used the Orvis stuff for years. It’s expensive but does the job. Problem I have with it is that I hose it off as designed but then leave it outside for too long and it eventually mildews. But that probably says more about southeast humidity and my failure to finish chores than the product itself.

 

[Ken_R]

The offroad stuff is a bit of a joke. But. This is my updated garage.

View attachment 137648

Sold the two oldest Toyota sh*tboxes, handed the ‘04 Sequoia now at 345K to son #2 and the ‘04 4Runner now at 260K to son #1.

Bought a 2015 Forester XT Touring with 63K miles for $12,500 (ask me) for my daughter. It is criminal that car wasn’t available in a manual, but fun and really done right with the XT suspension and 250hp turbo. Right size and design before they bloated it and killed off the turbo.

Just bought a 2021 Ascent Touring for my wife this weekend. That car is flat out gorgeous and drives effortlessly in swag comfort. Yes it has X-mode and whatever, but the problem we’re trying to solve is that it’s too nice for our dogs. So I’m shopping for seat protectors and cargo area dog padding and that kind of stuff. It’s also a perfect ski rig except it’s too nice to get ski dirty.

The Outback doesn’t have much of a point when the Ascent has better seating position and cargo space - the second row has raised stadium seating and heated seats - and drives quite a bit smaller than it is…and the Forester is more practical and cuter (in a good way).

View attachment 137650

View attachment 137651

I love my Ascent. Its really the perfect i70 or Highway ski vehicle. The engine is really really good at altitude.

 

[John O]

The Outback doesn’t have much of a point when the Ascent has better seating position and cargo space - the second row has raised stadium seating and heated seats - and drives quite a bit smaller than it is…and the Forester is more practical and cuter (in a good way).

That all depends on your priorities; everyone's situation is different. For me the Outback makes the most sense because it's the smallest vehicle that will fit my roof box. The Ascent is both longer and wider, two things that are a problem for me living in the city and parking on the street. And the Forester doesn't have a long enough roofline for the box. It's good to have choices, so people can pick what works best for them.

 

[François Pugh]

.
but the problem we’re trying to solve is that it’s too nice for our dogs.

Not a problem; just put them in there for a few months and it won't be.

 

[nay]

Not a problem; just put them in there for a few months and it won't be.

Just have to let them break it in. We were talking about this today - there’s no way we’re are not using the Ascent for the dogs and skiing. Subaru even sells a pet protector cover for the center console. Just gonna buy this stuff.

 

[nay]

I love my Ascent. Its really the perfect i70 or Highway ski vehicle. The engine is really really good at altitude.

I’m kind of stunned. The car mags don’t love it, just sort of gets dinged for being good at hauling people and their stuff really well and not much else (ok?), but the engine is superb, the suspension has just enough SUV to it while eating up crappy mountain roads (and the I-25 construction gap) and the whole platform is built for long haul comfort for everybody.

I‘b been hunting for a current model Sequoia for months, and it’s just a bad combo of price and age in this market. We drove a friend’s and it was so underwhelming across the board to cost real money. At 11K elevation, a 260 hp turbo is going to be equivalent to close to 350 hp naturally aspirated and you can use the paddle shifters to keep the turbo spooled up when needed, although I think the CVT on both the Ascent and Forester does a nice job of spooling up in concert.

You have to drive those things differently or they are jumpy with the turbo, but that comes quickly. I can see some people not liking it and I’d caution a long test drive or you might be wanting to sell a really low mileage vehicle, and there are a lot of them out there.

Back to the Outback, my neighbor has an Ascent and yesterday he had a new Outback out front. His Ascent is in for the 30K service and he has a loaner. Asked him what he thought, and it was basically exactly what I said above:

“It‘s got the 2.4 turbo so it’s zippy, but it’s big without the good seating position and it doesn’t have the utility.”

And the killer:

“Reminds me of our old Outback” (a 2007)

However you take that last bit is likely exactly right.

 

[Philpug]

And the killer:

“Reminds me of our old Outback” (a 2007)

Having about 15 Subarus...the 05-09 was my favorite generation of Subies.

 

[nay]

Having about 15 Subarus...the 05-09 was my favorite generation of Subies.

I think there are a lot of people who would agree with you from a “everything is too big now” perspective. Like “a Forester is a $20-$25K car, not a $36K car”.

I really like that 2015 Forester - it’s so right sized from a practical perspective while still being (turbo) fun to drive. Again that’s Touring edition with the great stereo and top line interior, but with the turbo XT sport suspension you can go drop people for a bit and they don’t see it coming from a cutesy car.

Here’s a couple of pics of the Ascent. 2021 was the first year you could get the Touring without the Java Brown leather, which is pretty polarizing. We like the ice silver with black interior - in 2019/20 you could only option up a limited and no ventilated seats. You don’t think you need those for airflow cooling until you drive it, and then you do. Also that thigh support extender. Money.

I also haven’t bought anything newer than a 2004 Toyota since 2007, so I’m catching up a bit here.

 

[nay]

Well this is fun and I’m fanboying the not-offroad stuff. Which is pretty much everything.

Panoramic moonroof with power retracting cover.

LED cup holder swag.

The rear view mirror flips to a rear camera you can use when you have it fully loaded. Or whenever.

Front camera for parking and that offroad rock crawling

4 potential cup holders per middle row door.

Second row retractable sun shade.

120v outlet, more cup holders, 2 USB ports.

Third row cup holders and USB. Plus one of the 14 Harmon Kardon speakers.

And for whom it’s really for. Goose and Maisel aka Goob and Tov.

 

[dbostedo]

Also that thigh support extender. Money.

A car I've just ordered is going to have those... and several of the various cars I test drove had those. But I'm struggling to see the point. Maybe it's just my legs or preferred seating position - but what help do they provide?

 

[Jimski]

We got our Outback "Onyx Edition" XT last Fall. Great car!

 

[Ken_R]

I’m kind of stunned. The car mags don’t love it, just sort of gets dinged for being good at hauling people and their stuff really well and not much else (ok?), but the engine is superb, the suspension has just enough SUV to it while eating up crappy mountain roads (and the I-25 construction gap) and the whole platform is built for long haul comfort for everybody.

I‘b been hunting for a current model Sequoia for months, and it’s just a bad combo of price and age in this market. We drove a friend’s and it was so underwhelming across the board to cost real money. At 11K elevation, a 260 hp turbo is going to be equivalent to close to 350 hp naturally aspirated and you can use the paddle shifters to keep the turbo spooled up when needed, although I think the CVT on both the Ascent and Forester does a nice job of spooling up in concert.

You have to drive those things differently or they are jumpy with the turbo, but that comes quickly. I can see some people not liking it and I’d caution a long test drive or you might be wanting to sell a really low mileage vehicle, and there are a lot of them out there.

Back to the Outback, my neighbor has an Ascent and yesterday he had a new Outback out front. His Ascent is in for the 30K service and he has a loaner. Asked him what he thought, and it was basically exactly what I said above:

“It‘s got the 2.4 turbo so it’s zippy, but it’s big without the good seating position and it doesn’t have the utility.”

And the killer:

“Reminds me of our old Outback” (a 2007)

However you take that last bit is likely exactly right.

I have done about 8, 700 mile drives in the Ascent and even if you are in the back you are comfy. Fuel economy is about 25 mpg on those trips. I dont love CVTs but I dont hate the one in the ascent. Overall after a few years of ownership (2 ski seasons) I am very happy.

Downsides, dont love the fact that you need to remove plastic cladding to use the trailer hitch (one can make a custom one by modding the stock one though). In cold weather the front windows get stuck.