So I test drove a Subaru Outback Wilderness

That turbo 4 is going to generate a lot more low end torque than the 4.0 does. That will be good both on and off road. Downside is people are going to think it should get 25+mpg and that isn't going to happen. Aerodynamics will still be similar to a brick and it takes fuel to make power so with similar power numbers, mpg is not going to improve a ton (well, maybe if you baby it and stay out of boost but then you might as well just have a non-turbo 4.)

As for the Bronco, unless you're married to the MGV seats, go Wildtrak and just get some manual swaybar disconnects. The Wildtrak has the upgraded steering rack and retrofitting it into the Badlands has been a bust as far as I know.

And Subaru...dunno, my gf has a Forester, it rides nice and seems quicker than my 4runner. She had a Crosstrek before that and a Legacy before that. Her only disappointment with the Forester is she thought the mpg would be similar to her Crosstrek and it is not.

 

And:
Toyota owns 100% of Daihatsu, Hino, Lexus, 20% of Subaru Corporation, 5.1% of Mazda, 4.9% of Suzuki, 4.6% of Isuzu, 3.8% of Yamaha Motor Corporation, 2.8% of Panasonic, and 4.9% of Suzuki (MTMUS).

 

Driving Sports TV did an off-road comparison of the 4runner and Outback Wilderness
https://youtu.be/dE2maJuHaBY?si=T27SjQtOQlico8q0

 

Different horses for different courses... when I bought my 4R five years ago, I was using it to tow, drive a bit offroad and use it as an actual utility vehicle around the farm. My daughter has moved four hours away for work, and I have discovered just how poor the 4R is as a highway vehicle. The seats and the ergonomics are not so bad, but the handling, swaying in even a light breeze and the numb tracking, all of which make it a great offroad vehicle, are not a great recipe for long highway drive. The Outback by all reviews seems to be a pretty good vehicle as long as your focus is nothing more than fire roads.

 

I know this is an old thread, but it got bumped, so what the hell, I'll post again.

My wife's first 2022 OW went 25,000 miles with no problems. She has done several trips to and from Chicago fully loaded and pulling a trailer, and we rented a camper and pulled it to Kentucky for a long weekend, then dropped the camper and railed on a bunch of curvy roads and did the less aggressive portions of the Daniel Boone Backcountry Byway with it.

She recently traded in to get a 2024 OW (better color and some revisions) and so far it has proven to be just as good.

She absolutely loves it.

I'm still not in love with the looks, but I do really enjoy the engine and overall comfort. It is absolutely a better road trip vehicle than a 4R. It's not bad on anything you'd use 4hi for and the ground clearance is essentially the same as a 4R.

The price has held at around $39k for the lowest OW level and anymore that seems like an ok deal.

I'm obviously not going to buy one but I sure don't mind having it in my garage.

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I had a 2003 Outback 2.5 with 5spd manual and rear LSD. No traction control or nannies. That thing was unstoppable in the snow with proper tires, and a hoot to drive. You could throw the back end out and hold it there endlessly. It threw a head gasket at 225k miles and I dumped it. Ever since then, no Subie has been the same (besides the 06-07 STI GOAT).

 

CVTs scare me.

 

Valid reason and very common in Subaru groups

 

It seems like to me is that Honda is the only one who has CVTs figured out.
A Honda vehicle would be a very close next choice to Toyota for me.
The only thing is they don’t make a BOF(truck) vehicle.

 

I bought my wife a 2019 3.6 Outback Touring in August of 2019. No turbo, good screen, comfortable, and a safety rating out the wazoo. The first new vehicle we ever bought, because at 66, she wasn't getting another one. It's zippy and handles great, with a firm ride. Production date 07/2019. There is some CVT hesitation, but I've never regretted buying it.

The 2020's were out with the 4 cyl turbo and the Uuuuuge screen. Yuck! 6 cylinder Subarus were no longer available.

It's faster than my 2023 4Runner.

 

My wife has always kept a Nissan in the stable (even though we have better cars). She's on her 3rd Rogue and I cringe at the CVT - BUT the dealer she buys them from offers a 12yr/200k warranty on top of the extended Nissan CVT warranty on all CPO CVT cars.....so I'm not worried about it. Not a bad perk - at least they stand behind the junk they are selling.

 

I bought a first year Armada in 04, absolutely loved the driveline but the interior just fell apart.
That said, I really like the new Armada(Patrol) a lot. It would be the only Nissan I would consider buying.

 

I doubt it would be reliable as your Toyota 4runner
Here's some example of injector failures with new Honda Pilots.

 

My only experience was with the wife’s 2016 CRV with a CVT and it was reliable as a pet rock. I kinda regretted selling it when gas prices shot up.

 

Subaru is the Japanese word for "oil leak."

 

With the pulley CVTs you gotta change fluid often. I know an Ascent owner that got it done and so far it hasn’t croaked but of course YMMV.

The few Honda CVTs in my life range from 30k to 105k miles (first year the Civic had a CVT at the oldest) and are ticking along fine but I’m not sure on the service history of the higher mileage ones.

My chief complaint about the Ascent actually was the Subaru approach angle (not much to be done there) and the relatively small fuel tank.

Subjected to LA conditions you’d be talking 4Runner MPG (albeit the 4Runner would’ve done worse naturally) on a tank 4-5 gallons smaller. I miss my Sorento’s range compared to both the Ascent and 4Runner now that I mention it.

I don’t care for the boxer engine and CVT much but driving in my experience was fine. Not too wide too. Not that I’d own one.

I don’t doubt that it may fall a little short of the 4Runner standard but I want to note that those examples span a number of years and are pretty insignificant in the land of mass production.

A drop in the bucket compared to say, Hyundai/Kia engine failure/thefts and especially compared to how many Pilot’s and its platform-mates with the J35(?) V6 were sold.

You’ll find the most complaints for the last gen Pilot were mostly first year transmission complaints on CarComplaints.

Now they seem to have the solid ZF9 to replace their in-house 6-speed - although I do not like the loss of the mechanical shifter. At least Honda uses a geared transmission for the big vehicles though…

 

I had two transmissions replaced in my 2012 Tacoma (same as current 4R?) within the first 14,000 miles. No car is perfect.