NZ Autocar
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Electric
  • Commercial
  • Industry
  • Bikes
  • Classics
  • Motorsport
  • Prices
    • New Car Prices
    • New Bike Prices
  • Subscribe
    • Print
    • Digital
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Advertise
NZ Autocar
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Rugged new Subaru Outback Wilderness revealed

by Matthew Hansen
September 23, 2021
Rugged new Subaru Outback Wilderness revealed

Just yesterday we profiled the new Toyota Yaris Cross Adventure — an example of how the compact crossover and SUV space is starting to lean more into the rugged, rough-and-tumble world of off-roading. At least in name and appearance.

Now, Subaru has joined the party with a similar tact; unveiling its new Outback Wilderness overnight as the iconic nameplate’s new gravel-focused mud-slinging flagship.

The rumour has proven partially true, with Wilderness instead appearing as a trim-level on the Outback. It’s thought that a Forester Wilderness is on the way, too.

The most obvious change to the Outback Wilderness is the additional cladding on all four corners. It gets new front and rear bumpers, a model-specific grille, fog lights, a Jeep-esque anti-glare matte hood decal, wheel-arch extensions, and a new bash plate. Added together, it makes the Wilderness a striking visual package.

My favourite piece of eye tinsel though is probably the smatterings of anodized copper, featuring on the Wilderness’ tow points, roof-rack tie-down points, and new badging.

Where the Wilderness differs somewhat from the aforementioned Yaris Cross Adventure is that it backs up the styling tweaks with a few practical performance upgrades. It sports a 20mm suspension lift, increasing outright clearance to 241mm.

Each corner gets a new 17-inch wheel wrapped in Yokohama Geolander all-terrain rubber, and the model gets new front and rear springs and dampers with longer travel, all of which improves the Outback’s approach, break-over, and departure angles.

These tweaks complement Subaru’s proven symmetrical all-wheel drive system, which on the Wilderness comes with active torque vectoring and ‘X-Mode’ functionality. This is all paired to a turbocharged 2.4-litre flat four producing 194kW/375Nm — an engine not offered in New Zealand.

Those a little more serious about taking their Wilderness into the … wilderness … can option their example with aluminium or steel skid plates specifically built for the engine, transmission, or fuel tank. There’s also an optional rear differential protector, too.

Whether it will come to New Zealand remains to be seen. But, given the thirst for the outdoors in this part of the world, you’d think the Wilderness would be a shoe-in.

Share
Previous Post

Confirmed: Mercedes-AMG says the C 63 will lose its V8

Next Post

Subaru confirms March as its best NZ sales month in history

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NZ Autocar is New Zealand’s leading automotive magazine. Delivering news reviews from the automotive world, including commentary from leading automotive writers and covers the scope of motoring including new cars, classic cars, EVs and motorbikes.

Our team

Publisher: Mark Petch
General Manager: Gavin Shaw
Editor: Kyle Cassidy
Senior Editor: Peter Louisson
News Editor: Zane Shackleton
Art Director: Alex Schultz
Photographer: Tom Gasnier

To Subscribe

nzautocar.subscription.co.nz

Contact Us

Advertising:
Gavin Shaw
gavin@autocar.co.nz
.
Editorial:
Kyle Cassidy
kyle@autocar.co.nz
.
NZ Autocar
PO Box 44 304
Point Chevalier
Auckland 1246
New Zealand

Categories

  • Bikes
  • Classics
  • Commercial
  • Electric
  • Industry
  • Motorsport
  • News
  • Reviews
  • YouTube

Useful Links

Home
News
Motorsport
New Car Prices
New Bike Prices
Subscriptions
Competitions
Contact Us
Advertising
Terms and Conditions

© 2021 AUTOCAR 2016 LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Electric
  • Commercial
  • Industry
  • Bikes
  • Classics
  • Motorsport
  • Prices
    • New Car Prices
    • New Bike Prices
  • Subscribe
    • Print
    • Digital
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Advertise

© 2021 AUTOCAR 2016 LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.