Subaru Outback Wilderness-2022

[Almighty]

I'm excited to post about a new adventure wagon I am about to order.

I'm USA based and aware that Subaru UK do not sell the Outback with the FA24 (2.4 turbo) motor. It's available in the Outback XT and the Wilderness.

The Wilderness was announced earlier in 2021 and deliveries started taking place in the summer.

Some dealers have been charging markup around $15k over it's $36,995 msrp (£27,733) I've found a dealership that's willing to charge me it's regular MSRP and a free lifetime powertrain warranty.

The lifetime powertrain warranty is a must for me considering it is a CVT and I plan to tow a small camper with it.

The Wilderness is the hardcore off road trim. The Forester Wilderness has just been released and next is supposed to be the Crosstrek (XV in the UK).

Here is the long & fancy official launch video from Subaru.

https://youtu.be/kKIkZUNJbJE

And the short to the point version:

https://youtu.be/BZDxH9zTvQ8

This wagon is going to bad ass.








I'll update as I go along.

[smifffymoto]

We had a 2007 UK Outback,gearbox was a rubbish 4 speed auto but everything thing else was bloody brilliant.
If you like yours,like we liked ours it will be very happy.

[DoctorX]

I like that, cool car. The unpainted (?) parts look better on the silver one though.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

That's just the ticket for whizzing down to Waitrose thru the mean streets of West London. Want!

[Almighty]

smifffymoto said:

We had a 2007 UK Outback,gearbox was a rubbish 4 speed auto but everything thing else was bloody brilliant.
If you like yours,like we liked ours it will be very happy.

My wife has a 2012 Outback 2.5 NA with CVT. It's a very comfortable and spacious car. I really don't like the interior design and materials. The 2020+ outbacks are so much nicer.

The CVT on her 2012 has not given us any issues. I never use the paddle shifters. It's fine for regular driving but given the option I'd rather have dct or dsg.

Deposit was placed today, it will probably arrive beginning of the spring. The Canadian Wilderness has a heated steering wheel which I wish it had.

I choose the only option package available which includes navigation, sunroof and reverse autonomous braking.

I wanted the navigation because phone service in the mountains is non existent.

Android auto Google maps or Waze only displays on half off the 11.6 starlink screen and I don't want an apple phone for car play.

The sunroof is on the small size. I'd much prefer the large moonroof on the Forester.

Reverse Autonomous Braking can be an issue when backing up with a trailer or bicycle hitch. It can be turned off easily and stays off until the engine is shut down.

There are a ton of OEM accessories I want but I don't want to pay for stealership labor fees so I'll get them after purchase and install them myself.

Color will be the launch color geyser blue.

Review video
https://youtu.be/VPP7t-Uau9w

[MattsCar]

I see one of these everyday on my commute to work. If I won the lottery, it is the only new car that I would buy. That is how cool I think they are.

[Almighty]

Awaiting a VIN to be assigned.



Subaru USA is currently donating $250 per sale to the charity of the buyers choice that they have approved so I picked the ASPCA.

A friend of mine had his Outback Wilderness delivered in September.



Screen protectors for the piano black plastics have been ordered and Subaru OEM Wilderness mudflaps. The regular OEM mudflaps are Ridgid. The Wilderness mudflaps are floppy so they don't get caught on something off road and cause damage.



I wasn't aware that Subaru UK is now a shadow of it's former self. In the USA Subaru is like the 7th best selling automaker. Hopefully the UK will get the 2022 WRX/STI

[xcseventy]

That is seriously cool, can imagine they sell very well in the US. Price seems good value too. Over here that would be £35k/£40k.

[jwwbowe]

Very nice OP, more pics when it arrives please.

We have a venerable old Gen 3 Outback 3.0R, it’s a bit of a shed but the drivetrain is lovely and everything is robust and feels like it will last another 122k miles no problem. Gratuitous pic, they look good in white IMO.

Ah yes Subaru is fast becoming a small niche in the UK, if that. They sold 950 odd cars in 2020, yes we had C19 but for context pre C19 they sold approx 3000 in the UK in 2019 when Porsche sold 15000+

Subaru’s petrol cars not being particularly economical and the UKs petrol price being approx £1.50 per ltr (imagine a gallon costing you guys $7.50) puts lots of people off. Their diesels have a reputation for unreliability here and their dealer network is small (probably shrinking to). Factor in a strong Yen and they aren’t cheap either.

We lost Mitsubishi last year in the UK, for similar reasons (and they had a PHEV), unfortunately I can see Subaru going the same way. It’s a crying shame as they produce some lovely cars, particularly the Outback. Good to see they are going strong across the pond I can totally see why.

[Pica-Pica]

Wait for the Solterra:

https://subaru.co.uk/solterra-coming-soon/

[Almighty]

xcseventy said:

That is seriously cool, can imagine they sell very well in the US. Price seems good value too. Over here that would be £35k/£40k.

Thank you.

I had a look at the Subaru UK page. I am surprised by the asking price of the outback. I think they are definitely overpriced there. The UK warranty is longer than the USA, USA 36,000 miles/3 years, UK 60, 000 miles/3 years and I think Australia is 5/6years unlimited miles. I had a look at the Subaru UK page. I am surprised by the asking price of the outback. The UK warranty is longer than the USA, USA 36,000 miles/3 years, UK 60, 000 miles/3 years and I think Australia is 5/6years unlimited miles.

I believe Subaru is the 7th best selling auto manufacturer in the USA. In the Pacific Northwest, Rockies, Appalachians and New England states they are very popular. Mainly I see are outbacks and the crosstek (XV), following that are Foresters and then the Ascent.

I've only seen 2 Outback Wilderness's on the road since they were launched.

[Almighty]

jwwbowe said:

Very nice OP, more pics when it arrives please.

We have a venerable old Gen 3 Outback 3.0R, it’s a bit of a shed but the drivetrain is lovely and everything is robust and feels like it will last another 122k miles no problem. Gratuitous pic, they look good in white IMO.

Ah yes Subaru is fast becoming a small niche in the UK, if that. They sold 950 odd cars in 2020, yes we had C19 but for context pre C19 they sold approx 3000 in the UK in 2019 when Porsche sold 15000+

Subaru’s petrol cars not being particularly economical and the UKs petrol price being approx £1.50 per ltr (imagine a gallon costing you guys $7.50) puts lots of people off. Their diesels have a reputation for unreliability here and their dealer network is small (probably shrinking to). Factor in a strong Yen and they aren’t cheap either.

We lost Mitsubishi last year in the UK, for similar reasons (and they had a PHEV), unfortunately I can see Subaru going the same way. It’s a crying shame as they produce some lovely cars, particularly the Outback. Good to see they are going strong across the pond I can totally see why.

The only issue I have with my wife's 2012 outback is the paint quality. There are multiple spots where the clearcoat has failed. I don't know about the rest of the world but in the USA, outbacks are made in Indiana, the crosstrek and forester are made in Japan. Personally i'd rather buy a Japanese car made in Japan and an American car made in America.

What impressed me the most about our old Outback is the ride quality. We lived in Hawai'i (O'ahu) and the roads there are the worst I have ever seen. You wouldn't believe how bad. The Outback soaked everything up. With the old EJ25 2.5 I got around 35 UK mpg combined driving conservatively. I once got around 45 UK mpg driving around the island, following the speed limits and being very light on the throttle.

I think your generation of Outback is one of the best looking exteriors. I've not heard anything negative about the H6 engine other than fuel economy. Apparently they are super smooth. I really think if I could drive the new 2.5 Outback i'd be able to pull off 40mpg. I've seen U.S. 2.5's get that high.

As for the diesel, we never got that. We never get diesels. By the time they are EPA ready they have a ton of expensive sensors and parts that are going to fail. I think if they had sold diesel Subaru's in the USA their sales would double. What made them unreliable?

Mitsubishi did look like it was on the chopping block until the Nissan merger. The new Outlander actually looks really nice. It's based on the Nissan Pathfinder and I don't trust modern Nissans. I had bought a Mitsubishi Mirage 3 months ago brand new. The car that every auto journalist hates. It was actually excellent and I'd highly recommend one as a frugal commuter car. I sold that because I was offered nearly twice the price I paid by a major car dealer here.

[Almighty]

Pica-Pica said:

Wait for the Solterra:

https://subaru.co.uk/solterra-coming-soon/

So the Solterra. I am not against EV's, the issue is the 220 mile range at best. In the USA, unless you live and travel around a city an EV is not realistic. Cross country drives, adventure travelling in an EV is not going to happen. Also bear in mind Subaru's are mostly sold in the colder states, cold kills range. I travel to see my wife's family frequently at 400 miles one way. The Outback has a 18.5 gallon tank (I think that's 74 litres), I can get around 500 miles to a tank at 30 mpg/ 36 UK MPG.

If I had a Solterra, I don't know if anywhere on the way to recharge and I don't want to wait more than 15 minutes to fully recharge. With the way society is going I can see public EV recharging points being a target for robberies.

The Solterra looks good apart from the front which looks like a Ford Mach E, which I can't stand.

If an EV was cheap i'd own a current one for local use. Once the pandemic started the price of high performance cars increased. Regular cars and EV's didn't at first. Early this year I was looking at very low mileage Chevy Bolt EV's for $13k, 8k quid. My problem was I lived in Hawaii and knew I had to ship 2 cars back already and drive one of them across the USA. Had I bought the Bolt EV it would have cost me time and money to transport it.

Present day, all of the Bolt EV's on sale, new and used cannot be sold due to the battery recalls. They are listed on autotrader but dealers are forbidden to sell them until the battery pack recall is complete.

[Almighty]

The Forester Wilderness models are now being delivered to customers. The main difference between outback and Forester is that the Forester does not get the WRX motor.

I sat in a base trim Forester to see if I preferred it, I did not. The seating position is a little bit higher than a regular Outback, lot of headroom but the boot is slightly smaller than an outback

This is the Forester Wilderness.



https://youtu.be/J0bNRgfWTas

[Almighty]

Struggling Subaru’s U.S. Order Backlog Is 45,000 Cars And Growing By 10,000 Each Month

https://www.carscoops.com/2021/12/struggling-subar...


Subaru Can't Build New Forester And Outback Wilderness Fast Enough

https://www.torquenews.com/1084/subaru-cant-build-...


This is going to be a long wait.

Here is a modded outback wilderness with about $10k in upgrades. The read wheel carrier on it looks great.

https://youtu.be/7YnNaNoYZ7A