The Subaru Cross Trek Wilderness: A Perfect Blend of Adventure and Practicality

It was a no-brainer that Subaru would be building this version of the Cross Trek right the addition of the Wilderness trim to a handful of Subaru models has proved to be a success. In fact, Subaru says that of those models that offer a Wilderness variant, the take rate is 20% and it could be even higher than that with the Cross Trek. So what makes this Cross Trek a better Cross Trek? Let's dive into the specs.

The standard Cross Trek is a pretty sweet machine, designed with adventure in mind. There's nothing overtly overwhelming or even thrilling related to the powertrain, but it gets the job done. And that powertrain remains mostly the same here on the Wilderness model. Under the hood sits a 2.5L boxer engine producing 182 horsepower and 178 lb feet of torque. That's backed up by a CVT, which may not be the most thrilling transmission, but Subaru has a knack for getting them to not be absolutely miserable. Helping out with that notion is the revised final drive on this Wilderness version, which swaps out the 3.7 gearing for shorter 411 gears. This will help it feel just a bit more sprightly off the line while also making better use of that torque when onroad.

You also get a greater towing capacity on the Wilderness model, climbing from just 1,500 lb up to a far more usable 35,000 lb. Subaru swaps on a transmission cooler and a beefier radiator to help handle the increased capability. Speaking of capability, this thing is a mountain goat. The rear differential is beefed up, the springs are taller, and you'll find the Wilderness-specific wheels wearing Yokohama Geolander all-terrain tires. Those tires are a perfect compromise between on-road noise and handling to being actually useful off-road. They're not the most aggressive tires, but they get the job done well on this Cross Trek.

Which allows it to be a wonderful daily machine and also a great weekend warrior on the trails. With the taller springs, the ground clearance comes out to 9.3 in - that's better than a whole bunch of the competition and even more aggressive off-road machines. The Grand Cherokee on coil springs sits at 8.5 in, a non-Willis or Rubicon Wrangler sits just a hair better at 9.4 in, and there are versions of the full-size Ford Bronco down at 8.3 in. Still, you need protection when wheeling, so the Cross Trek Wilderness gets aluminum skid plate protection to protect the powertrain inside.

Inside the Cross Trek Wilderness, Subaru outfits it with water-resistant STARX seating material, rubber floor mats come standard, and the rear doors are even protected if you're cruising with your furry best friend and they decide to run their claws down the door material on the outside. There are a few great color options to complement all that extra body cladding - there's a new Wilderness-specific blue, as well as a lovely green and a pretty good red. Add in the requisite extra badging, those anodized copper accents, and a big Subaru branded rear bumper, and you have a solid upgrade package on this Cross Trek.

Even better, it's priced pretty well too - the starting price sits at $3,290, if you compare that to say a Compass Trailhawk or the wonderfully capable Bronos Sport Badlands, you're sitting far under their respective asking prices. Could the engine use a bit more power? Well, this Cross Trek will do just fine for having a great time getting out there and enjoying the sights away from the beaten path.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enit was a no-brainer that Subaru would be building this version of the Cross trick right the addition of the Wilderness trim to a handful of Subaru models has proved to be a success in fact Subaru says that of those models that offer a Wilderness variant the take rate is 20% and it could be even higher than that with the cross Trek so what makes this cross Trek a better cross Trek let's dive into the specs the standard cross trck is a pretty sweet machine it's a tall wagon with Adventure in mind there's nothing overtly overwhelming or even thrilling related to the powertrain but it gets the job done and that powertrain remains mostly the same here on the Wilderness model under the hood sits a 2.5 L boxer engine producing 182 horsepower and 178 lb feet of torque and that's backed up by a CVT I know that's not the most thrilling transmission but Subaru has a knack for getting them to not be absolutely miserable also helping out with that notion is the revised final drive on this Wilderness version which swaps out the 3.7 gearing for shorter 411 gears this will help it feel just a bit more sprightly off the line while also making better use of that torque when onroad you also get a greater towing capacity on the Wilderness as well it climbs from just 1,500 lb on up to a far more usable 35 500 lb Subaru swaps on a transmission cooler and a beefier radiator to help handle the increased capability speaking of capability this thing is a mountain goat the rear differential is beefed up the Springs are taller and you'll find the Wilderness specific Wheels wearing Yokohama geolander allterrain tires those tires are a perfect compromise between onroad noise and handling to being actually useful off-road they're not the most aggressive tires but they get the job done well on this cross track which allows it to be a wonderful daily machine and also a great weekend warrior on the trails with the taller Springs the ground clearance comes out to 9.3 in that's better than a whole bunch of the competition and even more aggressive off-road machines the Grand Cherokee on the coil springs sits at 8 and 1/2 in a non- Willis or Rubicon Wrangler sits just a hair better at 9.4 in and there are versions of the fullsize Ford Bronco down at 8.3 in still you need protection you're going Wheeling so the cross Trek Wilderness gets aluminum skid plate protection to protect the powertrain inside the cross Trek Wilderness Subaru outfits it with the water resistant starx seating material rubber floor mats come standard and the rear doors are even protected if you're cruising with your furry best friend and they decide to run their claws down the door material on the outside there are a few great color options to compliment all that extra body cladding there's a new Wilderness specific blue as well as a lovely green and a pretty good red add in the requisite extra badging those anodized copper accents and a big Subaru branded rear bumper and you have a solid upgrade package on this cross Trek even better it's priced pretty well too the starting price sits at $3,290 if you compare that to say a compass Trailhawk or the wonderfully capable bronos sport Badlands you're sitting far under their respective asking prices could the engine use a bit more power sure this cross Trek will is well speec for you to have a great time getting out there and enjoying the sights away from the beaten pathit was a no-brainer that Subaru would be building this version of the Cross trick right the addition of the Wilderness trim to a handful of Subaru models has proved to be a success in fact Subaru says that of those models that offer a Wilderness variant the take rate is 20% and it could be even higher than that with the cross Trek so what makes this cross Trek a better cross Trek let's dive into the specs the standard cross trck is a pretty sweet machine it's a tall wagon with Adventure in mind there's nothing overtly overwhelming or even thrilling related to the powertrain but it gets the job done and that powertrain remains mostly the same here on the Wilderness model under the hood sits a 2.5 L boxer engine producing 182 horsepower and 178 lb feet of torque and that's backed up by a CVT I know that's not the most thrilling transmission but Subaru has a knack for getting them to not be absolutely miserable also helping out with that notion is the revised final drive on this Wilderness version which swaps out the 3.7 gearing for shorter 411 gears this will help it feel just a bit more sprightly off the line while also making better use of that torque when onroad you also get a greater towing capacity on the Wilderness as well it climbs from just 1,500 lb on up to a far more usable 35 500 lb Subaru swaps on a transmission cooler and a beefier radiator to help handle the increased capability speaking of capability this thing is a mountain goat the rear differential is beefed up the Springs are taller and you'll find the Wilderness specific Wheels wearing Yokohama geolander allterrain tires those tires are a perfect compromise between onroad noise and handling to being actually useful off-road they're not the most aggressive tires but they get the job done well on this cross track which allows it to be a wonderful daily machine and also a great weekend warrior on the trails with the taller Springs the ground clearance comes out to 9.3 in that's better than a whole bunch of the competition and even more aggressive off-road machines the Grand Cherokee on the coil springs sits at 8 and 1/2 in a non- Willis or Rubicon Wrangler sits just a hair better at 9.4 in and there are versions of the fullsize Ford Bronco down at 8.3 in still you need protection you're going Wheeling so the cross Trek Wilderness gets aluminum skid plate protection to protect the powertrain inside the cross Trek Wilderness Subaru outfits it with the water resistant starx seating material rubber floor mats come standard and the rear doors are even protected if you're cruising with your furry best friend and they decide to run their claws down the door material on the outside there are a few great color options to compliment all that extra body cladding there's a new Wilderness specific blue as well as a lovely green and a pretty good red add in the requisite extra badging those anodized copper accents and a big Subaru branded rear bumper and you have a solid upgrade package on this cross Trek even better it's priced pretty well too the starting price sits at $3,290 if you compare that to say a compass Trailhawk or the wonderfully capable bronos sport Badlands you're sitting far under their respective asking prices could the engine use a bit more power sure this cross Trek will is well speec for you to have a great time getting out there and enjoying the sights away from the beaten path\n"