Hyundai Santa Fe XRT & Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness | Do You Really Need a Ford Bronco to Off Road?

The Hyundai Santa Fe XRT and Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness are both off-road-oriented trims of SUVs that, well, weren’t exactly built with off-roading in mind. But do these trims really add much in the way of capability? In this video, Edmunds’ Brian Wong puts both the Santa Fe XRT and Crosstrek Wilderness up against our ultra-capable Ford Bronco on the trails to find out if these soft-roaders are more than just a marketing ploy.

00:00 Intro
00:37 "Zigger-Rock" of Integrity
03:35 Hill Climb
06:24 Dirt Track
11:57 Interior & Styling
19:16 Edmunds' Take

[edmundscars]

What other soft-roaders would you like us to test off the beaten path? Let us know in the comments!

[volleyskate]

I feel like a better comparison would have been the Outback Wilderness rather than the Crosstrek, since the size would have been closer to the Sante Fe and Bronco.

[sarrum]

Am I wrong in thinking that the Outback Wilderness would’ve been a better choice to compare to the SantaFe?

[jonathanmejia]

All right first you can't compare the Crosstrek in a Santa Fe to a full-size bronco. If you really want to compare it equally compare it to the bronco sport.

[markherman]

XRT owner here and I feel like this is a fair review. Yup it's not meant for anything hardcore, and I've yet to really even test the 4wd. Note the skid plate is not standard either so had to add that for ~$400. Agree it's an excellent value and the interior utilization is incredible...would make a good overlanding vehicle possibly. Perfect for car camping too which I've done with my son.

[allenesaacson]

Crosstrek probably would have done even better on the hill climb in the level 2 XMode. I don’t even bother with the first step anymore.

[loadblock]

I’m on my second crosstrek now own a wilderness. I couldn’t be happier really. I off road some on construction sites (work) and haul bikes and a paramotor biweekly.

[garthhowe]

My only surprise was how well the soft roaders did. I didn't expect they would get up that hill.

[paulh]

Well there is an enormous gulf in price differences between the Bronco and the others in this comparison. Broncos were built specifically for offroad while the others not so much. You may well substitute a Jeep Wrangler against the other two and you will get similar results.

[issamohammed]

Hyundai/Kia really needs to stop using this DCT transmission in the Santa Fe and Sorento. It is so unreliable and can't even do relatively simple off-road obstacles. Its a jarring decision considering they have a perfectly good 8-speed auto available.

[CarazyDiamond]

Why not a Bronco Sport? would've been a complete test...

[KMFDM]

I ended up with a Forester Wilderness because of the better visibility and the much better ground clearance and approach and departure angles. While I love the Crosstrek's look much more, it's not as much of an off-roader as the Forester and even the Outback Wilderness models. I took my FW to Redbird Offroad Park in Indiana and mistakenly ended up on parts of the Jeep Badge of Honor trails which surprisingly the Forester handled with no issue. This was deep deep mud bogs, huge ruts and 16% inclines/declines. The problem I have with the Bronco is that it's a wide vehicle and some of those tighter trails with sharp turns and angles would be a challenge for a big truck like the Bronco and even the Outback Wilderness.

[Zanderthelab]

The bronco is an off-roader until you break a tie rod. Then it’s back to being a road friendly show vehicle. I’ll never buy one and I can’t wait to get an outback wilderness and a wrangler rubicon unlimited.

[themagician]

Honda pilot (and Passport/Ridgeline) and Bronco sport seem to be the capability leaders for non-4WD off road vehicles.

[StevenShepard-zr]

The trouble is, in 5 years nothing will work in the Hyundai, but everything will work in the Subaru. The bronco costs to much.

[OlivierGlaser]

that jump into the trunk should happen more often! :) also, would love to see the 3 Brian test with 3 Brians on one shot/screen. I thought someone was going to steal the snacks when he put them into the center console lol.

[eugeneevangelista]

We love our crosstrek wilderness, nothing negative to say about it!

[Jamal-ubko]

Hyundai - Stop using DCTs in SUVs and Pickups

[urbanstrencan]

Would still took Subaru over Hyundai, 😊
Great video 👍👍

[mikga]

The dive at 16m47s was really impressive :) I hope there were no injuries.