Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness vs Ice, Snow & Mud! Will the Subaru Make it Through?

We hit the winter trails with the Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness to see how it does Off-road.

Let us know what you think of the Crosstrek Wilderness in the comments below.

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#subaru #crosstrek #wilderness

[nlken]

That little thing was super impressive.

[rickm]

It’s looks like a 90’s hiking shoe. Having grown up in the 90’s, I love it.

[SME]

I’m not a Subaru fan and I usually don’t like all the Subaru plastic but I like the way this looks … Subarus awd is top class

[jeremythebeer]

I've had my CrossTrek XV for 10 years. No issues. I wish they still had a manual transmission.

[ken]

Got a my first Subaru years ago. Loved it. Super capable and dependable. We live in the north where we see a lot of snow and harsh weather ❄️ Now we are a family with all Subaru’s! 😎

[MarcGaerlan]

Great vehicle. My only complaint is not having a front camera like the Outback and Forester Wilderness editions. A vehicle made for going harder on trails/off road really should have that.

[zgh]

Impressive! Wheels throwing snow like a snow blower!

[knightryder]

If that was a new vehicle with less than 2000 km on it, the smell you were describing is the undercoating being burnt off of the various exhaust components.

[cryptojlg]

They gotta put a bed on one of these. CrossTruk.

[RidersInBlack]

Great video Steve! What an impressive car on your test! 3500lb towing capacity! Transmission cooler! Reasonable price for what you get sounds like a winner to me

[phillippowell]

I have the 2024 outback wilderness. It is awesome in the winter. Kind a wish I would’ve bought this one.

[uncalm]

Good, fair review and a great demonstration of the kind of capability you can and cannot expect. It's not a truck and not pretending to be. The Crosstrek is a "rough roader", like you said.

That said, a truly surprising number of people mod and off-road these. Lots of people add a 1-2" lift for the reasons you stated. The aftermarket is quite large, with everything from lift kits to skid plates to auto-locking rear diffs available. The smell is likely the brakes, as all of these Subaru Wilderness models (I have an Outback myself) use open differentials and the torque vectoring is accomplished solely via wheel braking and the center clutch pack. Especially given that you were in the "allow more wheel spin" mode, the interventions of the brakes will be happening when the wheels are spinning a bit faster. I'd be curious to see if you still got the smell when using the "Snow/Dirt" mode, since it biases toward more aggressive braking and slower wheel speeds. Thanks again for a cool demonstration!

[seanholloway]

I love your reviews and yhe fact that you do canadian testing. Most offroading tests I see are in the desert or dry, rocky terrain. I live in Labrador, Canada, and seeing deep snow, proper mud and forest trails are very relatable. Keep up the great work!

[c.d.]

I myself own a cross truck, not the wilderness. however, that smell is usually first round run, mine went away after about a week. and I love this vehicle.

[Zanderthelab]

Thank you for finally doing a Subaru video! I’ve been waiting for you to do one I love subies!

The burning smell is obviously the brakes from vectoring.

[tonycarel]

Great review! I love the fact that Subaru implements real-world use in their vehicles. Rather than just being a sticker in a badge package very impressive I would like to see more horsepower and torque. I would definitely buy one for myself and or my wife

[Soulburn]

Im 72 and i just bought one for adventure fishing and i love it except for all the tech i wish there was less tech but i do love it and do not regret my purchase

[lmac]

Awesome video! You doing an amazing job putting everything together and I hardly ever see those stop and go editing glitches!

[kyjpevb]

I'd like to see these tests done with proper winter tires.

[davidwayne]

I"ve been against these for a while-- because of "feelings" from past experiences-- that boxers are weak and cvts are trash and they sound "tinny" and cheap---- to realizing that's all BULLSHIT and these are GREAT CARS... finally- it's taken a long time to overcome the negatives of past info... BUT I always like the looks of these- and they look like FUN too.. :) I LOVE that blue too!!! :) and even the Gold accents.. -- wish they'd do the gold wheels as SARAH-N-TUNED suggested... :)