New Subaru Outback Wilderness revealed

The tougher new 2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness has been revealed in the US and it’s being described as the most rugged and capable Outback in history.

Under consideration for release in Australia, where the sixth-generation Subaru Outback went on sale in February and was last week hit with a stop-delivery to fix AEB issues, the new Wilderness flagship brings a host of extra off-road features.

Chief among them is a 20mm suspension lift that now brings ground clearance to a decent 240mm, and the fitment of Yokohama Geolandar all-terrain tyres wrapped around exclusive black 17-inch wheels, adding 5mm to the car’s front and rear tracks.

Combined with chunkier bodywork including bespoke front and rear bumpers, side skirts and wheel-arches, which add 40mm to the vehicle’s width, this improves the approach, departure and breakover angles by between one and two degrees to a respective 20, 23.6 and 21.2 degrees.

Like all 2021 Subaru Outback models in Australia, the Wilderness comes with new X-MODE drive system that adds snow/dirt and deep snow/mud modes.

There’s no change to the powertrain, which in the US means an optional 194kW/376Nm 2.4-litre turbo-petrol boxer four matched to a continuously variable transmission.

However, Subaru says it has shortened the CVT’s final drive ratio from 4.11:1 to 4.44:1, giving the Wilderness Edition more bottom-end torque at the wheels and enough for the Wilderness to climb a 40 per cent grade on a gravel surface.

Inside the chunkier all-wheel drive wagon, which can be had in an exclusive new Geyser Blue paint colour inspired by the brand's rally heritage, there’s black StarTex faux leather seat trim, unique copper-colored contrast stitching throughout and anodised copper highlights on the steering wheel, gear shifter and door panels.

The same 11.6-inch vertical infotainment touch-screen and EyeSight active safety technology from other Outbacks carries over.

When it was launched in Australia last month, the Mk6 Subaru Outback arrived with only a single powertrain – an upgraded 138kW/245Nm 2.5-litre flat four-cylinder petrol engine, spelling the end of diesel power and the previous generation’s 191kW/350Nm 3.6-litre boxer six.

But Subaru Australia has confirmed it is keen to introduce the turbocharged 195kW/375Nm 2.4-litre boxer available in the US-spec Outback locally, where it could power the new Wilderness range-topper – which is expected to form a new sub-brand that may expand to other Subaru models.

Subaru’s new turbo engine will power a variety of upcoming models due on sale later this year, including the new Subaru Levorg wagon and the new WRX with up to 213kW/412Nm, plus the even more powerful new Subaru WRX STI due in 2022.