[Move Zig]

Sorry non wilderness 2022 outbacks... the tow rating is only for the wilderness... an interestingly nothing in the manual about the trailer stability assist, nothing showing the extra tow hook/recovery points, or the extra capability of x-mode for the wilderness... not even if x-mode stays active above 25mph or whatever speed.... I expect a document revision to come out sooner rather than later for some of that stuff.

Also, the static load limit is different on the roof rails for the wilderness only... not for the other models... 800lbs vs 700lbs... and the dynamic load limit is unchanged.

 

[zachavm]

nothing showing the extra tow hook/recovery point

Unlike the Outback, the Forester Wilderness did not add any tow hooks. It still only has one at the front and back. At least that's what it looked like in the videos. My guess is that is why they are not using copper accents. They didn't want the accent to be only on one side and possibly didn't want to highlight the discrepancy. It is annoying, but not a big deal.

 

[Move Zig]

I wondered about that... I want to say one first look video mentioned something about the accented tow hook covers "but there they are black"... I shouldn't pay so much attention to first look videos... haha!

 

[Move Zig]

usually subaru will list it either as 10% of the towing capacity or some oddball smaller number like 7 or 8% of the towing capacity.

 

[zachavm]

Probably need to pick a thread and stick to it. I'm going to choose this one for now.

Just found this nugget in the manual. They only put the dang camera on the Wilderness. Where do they expect us to use it?

 

[FozzieBalou]

In parking situatinos and I'm sure they're talking more about driving "fast" on a dirt or snowy road.

 

[cesposito54]

Hello folks, newbie here shopping for his family’s first Forester, indeed our first Subaru, and the Wilderness caught my eye. A lot of that had to do with towing performance. I’m usually a Toyota snob because of reliability, the less time my cars spend the in the shop the better. With that comes my question:

Does anyone have any reliability concerns with regard to the apparent engine/drivetrain setup for the Wilderness? Is there any reason to expect that the improvements to the car would be less reliable? Thank you.

 

[zachavm]

@cesposito54

Well the Subaru forester has won the 5-year cost of ownership title for five years running now.

https://www.kbb.com/best-cars/lowest-5-year-cost-to-own-cars-trucks-suvs/

Consumer reports has ranked it the top compact SUV for 8 years running now and has very good reliability for both recent models and predicted reliability of the current. In fact, it is actually better than Toyota due to the Rav4 having some recent stumbles.

Now, I know your question was specifically about the Wilderness and that is a harder to say. I'm personally planning a purchase now and have no concerns about the reliability. This is the first time these parts have been used on a forester, but they all should be parts that have been used before on other models for some time. Specifically, I believe the Forester's Transmission and Rear Diff are taken from the Outback.

The Ascent had some early reliability issues due to it's entire drivetrain being designed new for it. That appears to be mostly worked out and that is what is used on the Outback Wilderness, not the Forester Wilderness. Regardless, I wouldn't be concerned with purchasing either right now. Just my 2 cents.

 

[cesposito54]

@cesposito54

Well the Subaru forester has won the 5-year cost of ownership title for five years running now.

https://www.kbb.com/best-cars/lowest-5-year-cost-to-own-cars-trucks-suvs/

Consumer reports has ranked it the top compact SUV for 8 years running now and has very good reliability for both recent models and predicted reliability of the current. In fact, it is actually better than Toyota due to the Rav4 having some recent stumbles.

Now, I know your question was specifically about the Wilderness and that is a harder to say. I'm personally planning a purchase now and have no concerns about the reliability. This is the first time these parts have been used on a forester, but they all should be parts that have been used before on other models for some time. Specifically, I believe the Forester's Transmission and Rear Diff are taken from the Outback.

The Ascent had some early reliability issues due to it's entire drivetrain being designed new for it. That appears to be mostly worked out and that is what is used on the Outback Wilderness, not the Forester Wilderness. Regardless, I wouldn't be concerned with purchasing either right now. Just my 2 cents.

Right on man. I was hoping that would be the case. When it comes to finer details like that, I’m ignorant I’m afraid. But hearing that made me feel more confident. I had read a lot about the Forester’s reliability and that’s mostly what was attracting me to this make and model to begin with. I’m looking forward to being a Subaru owner, hopefully before the snow starts falling this winter.

 

[FozzieBalou]

The Ascent had some early reliability issues due to it's entire drivetrain being designed new for it. That appears to be mostly worked out and that is what is used on the Outback Wilderness, not the Forester Wilderness.

The Ascent drivetrain was a wholly new bit - the 2.4 Turbo was new and (at the time) only on the Ascent. As it probably didn't go as gangbusters as hoped, that could be one of the reasons the OB Wilderness got the motor.

As for the reliability question from cesposito - there should be no question. While nobody makes a perfect car and all manufacturers have at least some issues on some models at some time, don't be worried about buying a Forester, Wilderness or other.

 

[FozzyX3]

@zachavm @cesposito54 The transmission in the Wilderness is unfortunately not the TR690. It's the TR580 we all know and....um....tolerate with a number of improvements exclusive to the Wilderness (apologies once again to SOA)...

The rear diff is the same model used in the OB Wilderness and WRX.....

 

[zachavm]

@zachavm @cesposito54 The transmission in the Wilderness is unfortunately not the TR690. It's the TR580 we all know and....um....tolerate with a number of improvements exclusive to the Wilderness (apologies once again to SOA)...

Yes, I do realize that. My thinking was that the Forester Wilderness uses the 2.5L Outback's version of the TR580. I based this off the gear ratios when looking at the specs between the two. I realize these are the fake ratios of the CVT, but the top and bottom ratios should show the range of the transmission.

Similar story on the rear diff. The Outback Wilderness and Ascent have a 4.444 final drive ratio while the Outback XT and Forester Wilderness have a 4.111 final drive ratio. Thus, I concluded the transmission was from the standard Outback and the rear diff was from the Outback XT. Now I could be mistaken on this as I have not dived into the maintenance documentation, but that was how I came to my conclusion.

The first pic is from the Outback's specs and the second is the forester.

 

[Nasarog]

horrible design imo. What is the point of that cladding? What does it accomplish? Most people (where I’m from at least) film their front ends, and this just makes it harder.

it looks terrible, serves no purpose ... and already dates the vehicle.

Exactly. Maybe a future iteration will forgo the stupid cladding.

 

[puffdc]

The StUpId cladding is there to protect from pinstriping and/or general scratches when going off road.
Definitely serves a purpose.
I know this is crazy but maybe they actually thought this through?. SMH
Kudos to them for doing their research.

 

[gsdude]

Totally agree with @puffdc on the value of cladding. You'll thank the cladding after you drive through tight, brush lined roads. I'm an expert in pinstriping which is why I now drive a white colored Sport.

 

[FozzieBalou]

Eh ... It may be that they've done their research but it is butt-ugly. But then again, styling is in the eye of the beholder...

Personally, if an off-road beast (ok, maybe not quite a beast or I would have a Jeep) doesn't have some pin-stripes, scrapes and scratches from the off-road adventures, it's a bit of a mall-marauder. Battle scars make us who we are in life....

And as mentioned by another, I'd put a clear protective layer over that bumper if I was really concerned about those battle scars... And if Subaru REALLY wanted to protect the Wilderness from those battle scars, there would be protection around the entire body, not just on the front bumper.

Make no mistake about it - it was done for "the look" and much less for protection.

I have more than a few of those battle scars on my Foz... Oddly, the worst was actually from a tree branch in the parking lot of a shopping center and NOT from one of my off-road adventures... Talk about a smack my head moment...

 

[puffdc]

The cladding goes around the side too...yeah, it looks butt ugly definitely functionality over looks. They obviously can't get everything right but not too shabby. Haters gonna hate...

 

[FozzieBalou]

Beyond the wheel arches and the very bottom, the cladding still won't protect the paint on the sides ... there's a lot of painted real-estate that will be or can be scratched all to h-e-double-hockey-sticks ...

On my own Forester? I've got pin-stripes here and here and here ....

As mentioned by @gsdude - with his Sport in CWP - the scratches may not show up as well. But to any of us owners - we know them all too well... much like a boxer/fighter can tell you where he got this scar from and that one and the other one over here...

 

[puffdc]

Regardless, it's better than nothing. If you take your car off road it's going to get scratched. That's been established. Whether they put it on for looks or functionality? It is what it is...

 

[zachavm]

You know what? I'm good either way. To me it looks good with cladding and it looks good without. I'm happy with its functionality and I'm happy with its aesthetics. To me all of this is just like someone gave me the choice between cake, ice cream, and cookies. Sure I might have a preference, but I'm going to be smiling regardless.