Can This Car Handle ANY Terrain? | Subaru X-mode TESTED

[@Doc1855]

Put your Subie in Xmode Before you start to descend while your Subaru is stopped. Let off the brakes and the Xmode will keep your speed at 1 to 2 mph. Let the Xmode do the work for you. Another thing that I do with our Subie’s is when we’re on snowy roads and you need to slow down, use your paddle shifters. This way you’re not braking, rather you’re “down shifting” while maintaining control.

[@Doc1855]

The dual X mode is fabulous ! We live in a very mountainous area of north central WA state and get 4-5 feet of snow every winter. We’re 5 miles from town and live on a private road which we have to plow and maintain ourselves. The county road is the last road to be plowed. After turning off the county road we put both of our Subie’s into Xmode just to get up our road and into our garage. We bought 1/4 of a Mtn and then built 1/2 way up our Mtn. On the back side of our property is National Forest. There’s 9 of us who live on our road. So the 9 of us own another Mountain that’s adjacent to our Mtn. The trail head is about 50 yards from our front door. We have Elk, Mountain Lions , Deer, Wild Turkeys and a Bear. She lives on the SW area of our property. Six families on our road own Subaru’s. Everyone loves them. One of our neighbors has 2 boys that are in college. Their parents bought each of them Subaru Forester’s for college. About 45%-50% of the people in our area drive’s Subie’s. When we buy our Subie’s we use our factory tires year around until they’re worn out. We found an AWESOME tire for our Subie’s. They’re Michelin Cross Climate. They’re excellent in snow, slush, rain and dry roads. They’re very quiet and you won’t take a hit on your fuel economy. They’re NOT good for off roading other than gravel, dirt, washboard roads. When we do more serious off road trips we take our 4X4 pickup. I use Cooper Discoverer A/T tires year around on the pickup. I also put 250# of sand bags over the rear axle in the bed of our pickup for winter traction.

[@gordon3988]

Cross climates seems great…we added the directional tread on our Acura Csx and the Agilis Cross Climates symmetrical (LT) version for our van (slightly better off road according to Michelin, but more for soft turf and light sand). Both work well in heavy rain and light snow.

[@AJ-qn6gd]

We fitted Cross Climate 2s to our forester, we don’t get much snow in my part of the U.K. but we do get plenty of rain ! These tyres seem to clear water well and don’t aquaplane like a summer tyre would. I would like to buy a newer Forester but in our market Subaru no longer offer the diesel boxer engine and the manual gearbox so will have to keep the present one running as long as I can ! It’s nine years old now and still looks and drives like a new car it’s been very reliable too. 👍🏻🇬🇧

[@Doc1855]

@@AJ-qn6gd My Forester Touring has only 15K miles on it and it’s in the repair shop AGAIN ! They’ve already had to replace the DCM in the computer and that didn’t clear up the major problems I keep having. It’s a 2019 and I started complaining about all of the major issues I’m having with it. Now that the factory warranty has expired, I’m having to eat the repair costs. The DCM was $1600, the dashboard lights keep burning out, the StarLink won’t allow me to start my Forester remotely, I dashboard keeps telling me that the tires needs repairs. The facial recognition system constantly fails, the memory seats fail, since the DCM was replaced I’m now getting 20mpg, down from only 24mpg. The transmission slips, the lane keeping assistance drives over the lines, my Forester unlocks itself, the rear hatch opens up when the car is parked and locked. It’s on its 3rd battery… shall I go on? I’m disabled and it took me many many years to save up the money to pay cash for it. I bought it when it had only 4,700 miles and it’s a Certified Subaru, but that only covers the power train, yet Subaru still won’t replace the transmission. My wife’s 5 year old Outback hasn’t given her Any problems. My Forester is my First Subaru and it will Definitely be my LAST SUBARU. As far as I’m concerned Subaru can go 🖕🏽🖕🏽🖕🏽 Themselves. I’m trying to save as much money as possible so in 26 I’ll be selling my 🍋 Lemon and going back to Toyota. I plan on buying another RAV4 AWD Hybrid and drive it until the day I die. My sister Loves my Forester, but because of all of the problems I’m having with mine, she too will be buying a new RAV4 AWD hybrid this summer. I told her to wait for 26 like I am, but it’s up to her . I wouldn’t recommend Subaru to Anyone, EVER !!! Sadly if reality like my Forester, but with only 15K miles on it and with all of the problems I’m having, I think Subaru’s are a POS automobile and even though Subaru knew about all of its issues Long before the warranty expired, they’re still making me pay for all of the repairs out of my pocket. I dont make very much money on SSI, so it’s a hardship. Furthermore the closest Subaru dealership is 3 hours away. The Toyota dealership is only 30 minutes away. Subaru is a 💩 assed company that WONT stand behind their product.

[@AJ-qn6gd]

@@Doc1855 Wow that certainly sounds like a lemon you have there ! I’ve worked in the motor trade for 20+ year and always found Japanese cars in general very reliable (but expensive on parts) my wife has only ever had Japanese cars and I have a Toyota Hilux, both have served us well. It sounds like you need a change of dealer as much as a change of manufacturer as they don’t seem to have helped you at all. Best wishes fella and enjoy your Rav4 👍🏻 we had one for fourteen years ! 🇬🇧

[@Doc1855]

@@AJ-qn6gd I’ve driven Toyota’s for 40+ years and I’ll go back to Toyota ASAP. The most mileage I ever got from a car was a 78 Corolla. My grandparents bought it new and sold it to my sister in 81 for $950 (that’s all she got from her worn out Celica, to use for her college car. In 83 my sister sold it to me for $500 for my college car. It had 70K miles on it when I bought it. I immediately had the transmission and rear end grease changed, as well as an oil and filter changed. I changed the oil and filter every 3K miles and had the transmission and rear end grease changed every 30K miles after that. During its life I went through 2 radiators, 2 water pumps, a starter, a 4 sets of brakes and 2 clutches. When it finally died in 2002, it had 488K miles. The front drivers seat was so wore out that I put a thick telephone book on top of the seat springs, then a dense foam piece over that and seat covers over the foam to hold everything in place. The Corolla was a bare bones car. Vinyl seats and flooring. The vinyl flooring was worn down to the metal subfloor so I bought carpeted floor mats. At 350K miles the rear end was howling so I removed the rear seat and stuffed the same dense foam in the back and reinstalled the rear seat over it to cut down on the noise. It was White with tan interior. Believe me, I wanted to buy a new car after college but I was buried in student loans, so I kept driving it. After I got my student loans paid off, I started saving money for a down payment on my first house. After I bought my first home, I needed new furniture, so I kept driving my little Corolla. Like I said before, it died in 02 at 488K miles, so I replaced it with a new Camry. I drove the Camry until my needs changed so in 11 is when I bought my RAV Limited 4WD and drove it until I bought my POS FORESTER.

[@martinr8278]

That’s some challenging terrain. I’m always impressed with how Subaru’s do, despite what the haters have to say about CVT‘s, and how terrible they are off road. Using common sense and knowing just how far you can take a Subbie….. they are little mountain goats for sure. Great video. Hope you make some more viva Subaru.

[@MarcsMotors]

Yes I agree! The CVT gets a bad reputation from many without even driving it. I find it more than enough and off road it's proving to be very capable as well in my own use and many other reviews on KZbin. I think others are jealous of their poor mpg and need to find a way to justify it

[@martinr8278]

@@MarcsMotors well said🏆🏆🥇🥇

[@rodneywk1]

Totally agree. These Wildernesses have the high torque version of their CVT. Definitely way more robust than the non-HT for activity like this.

[@joesteel]

My 2023 Subaru Forester Wilderness so far surpassed all the negatives mentioned on the videos I saw before I purchased. I basically did this without ever driving it as i negotiated the price online via email and over the phone. I started wanting the premium and ended up with the Wilderness.

[@brookcampbell2940]

Just picked up my 2023 Sport Forester and love it. I have a Wrangler for this type of work and a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Bought the subi over the 4 Runner and get to keep my Jeeps.

[@nimbuscycles2354]

I wish cameras could really capture how difficult the terrain is. I was watching your video thinking it wasn’t too bad but then I remember taking my work truck off-road.. and boy some of those inclines and ruts looked so weak in picture but were pretty sketch when driving over them. I’m considering picking up a Outback sport.. so thanks for sharing!

[@CaptainEverythingHumorandMore]

I would never use the tire ruts. Looks like a good way to smash the oil pan.

[@spencerboaz2385]

Oil pan is protected but with mine I always take the high ground if possible . I go places with my Impreza I wouldn't take my 08 Ram 1500 .

[@Doc1855]

I wanted to by a Forester Sport in 19, but my wife and I have decided that we refuse to buy another vehicle with 33 year old Gloomy Grey or Boring Black interior colors which became popular in 1990. So I had to go all the way up to the Touring model to get the brown leather interior. Actually after owning my Touring, I made the right decision. My passengers love the heated rear seats during our cold snowy winter months. I’d never had a vehicle with a heated steering wheel and now I’m spoiled. Over the years I’ve gotten so many complements on the Saddle Brown interior. Everyone thinks it’s gorgeous, as do I. In spring of 24, Subaru is supposed to be coming out with a totally redesigned Forester with the available Rav / Venza hybrid system. If that’s the case, I’ll wait until the 26 year model so the bugs can get worked out and I’ll sell my current 19 Forester and buy a Hybrid Forester. With the Hybrid system, the Forester should have over 200hp and get much better fuel economy. I currently have less than 8K miles on my Forester. I’m driving more now, so in 1.5-2 years I will probably have around 20-25K miles on my 19 Forester. I’m thinking it’ll be worth about $28-$30K. Hopefully by then Subaru will offer Red, Tan or Brown interior colors in lower trim level’s. If not I’ll buy another Touring. My current Forester has Sephia Bronze paint. I’m thinking I’ll get either a White , Brilliant Bronze, or Crimson Red next time as the Sephia Bronze is too Grey when it’s cloudy. My last vehicle was Gold, but had faded to Tan metallic. That color was so easy to keep clean. My wife’s Outback is Cinnamon Brown Pearl with Ivory interior. She too wants her next Outback in Brilliant Bronze Metallic. Our 12 year old Ranger XLT super cab 4X4 was originally Silver. We bought it used , so I didn’t have a choice of the color. We don’t like Silver, Grey or Black. I had our Ranger 2 toned in Silver over Red metallic. Of course the interior was gloomy grey and depressing black so I had it reupholstered in Red with Black stitching and trim to match the exterior paint. On all of our vehicles, I change the oil every 4K miles and change the front and rear differential, transfer case and transmission flush& bleed the brakes , back flush the radiator and have new antifreeze installed every 30K miles. Every 60K miles I have new belts and hoses installed. Our Ranger is different as we drive about 3K miles a year, so the oil is changed every 6 months, (which is only about 1,500 miles). Our Ranger current has only 35K original miles. We normally keep our vehicles for 15-20 years or 250K-300K miles. When we do sell our vehicles, our family and friends want to buy them bc they know how well I maintain them.

[@KingsleyAgyemang-zw8up]

Wow nice video best driving with the x mode loved the way you tackle obstacle

[@spencerboaz2385]

I have a 09 Impreza and will have a 2024 outback soon . I go a lot of rough places even with my low ground clearance in the Impreza . I bought everything to lift it 2" should help a lot . I just pray the 2024 Outback will be as good as my Impreza has . Great video You have a blessed one .

[@Doc1855]

If you don’t have the Wilderness model, simply add a 2” lift, additional oil and transmission cooler, aftermarket front, transfer case, gas tank and rear differential skid plates. I’ve also found that adding a K&N cold air intake and a FlowMaster, Borla, Magniflow exhaust and muffler and at least a 1/2” increase in diameter for your exhaust system, you’ll improve your Ho, torque and mpg. I added these modifications to our 11 Ranger XLT super cab 4X4 pickup. Before the intake and exhaust mods I was getting 19mpg on the freeway with the cruise set on 75mph. After the mods, I consistently get 23mpg. I have noticed an increase in the go, torque and of course the mpg. I went with a 3” exhaust. I also added a “free flow” headers on our Ford. We mainly use our Ranger for work around our property. I added air shocks as well. With the 6’ bed I use to get 1/2 a yard of gravel, top soil, etc and now I can get just over a yard with 70# psi in the rear air shocks. Skid plates are a must for any vehicle that is going to go off road. If you hit a log, large rock or a big chunk of ice and those skid plates pay for themselves.

[@notme3252]

Recently got stuck in XMode lol but it was because I didn’t consider my approach angle and bottomed out going over a rock lmao Had to wait for recovery. So embarrassing.

[@vivianrogers2125]

Great job .Best of luck from ireland

[@MarcsMotors]

Thanks you! That means a lot!

[@Baumrah]

Love the 360 camera view!

[@MarcsMotors]

Thanks! Trying to add something different

[@s13steve]

Hope to see some more off road adventures soon?

[@hostak1026]

I see you have Jersey plates. Where are you doing this off road demo?

[@MDZac2024]

Super impressive. Love the cross bars and basket set up. What are you using for the cross bars and basket?

[@kmfuentes2012]

It’s amazing!! What’s color is these Subaru?

[@texavery711]

Pretty impressive for it's class 👍

[@MarcsMotors]

I know, right??!!

[@ParrotHead1980]

How do you like those Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires on your forrester? I'm in a toss up between the michelin crossClimate 2's or the stock Yokohama GEOLander Go15 tires.

[@louisvilaros9066]

Can barely hear u otherwise great video I dig that roof rack

[@MarcsMotors]

I know. I need to speak up more. I'm learning a little at a time to be more confident in front of the camera but I appreciate the reminder!

[@symmetry08]

i think rear-locker is must have item, if one will be spending a lot of hours driving thru of-road situations.

[@MarcsMotors]

I've never had the fortune of driving a vehicle with a rear locker but I heard it makes a big difference for sure. As this is my daily driver, I'm trying to go easy with it.

[@salsamancer]

Interesting how the camera seems to flatten everything. It doesn't look that impressive from the shots but I'm sure it's a different situation from the driver's POV

[@MarcsMotors]

Agreed! I'm constantly trying better angles to really show it from my perspective.

[@MrSchattka]

How are you finding your Subaru Forester?

[@MarcsMotors]

I still love it! It's my 2nd one, had a 2015 before this one. Although one of my axles is starting to make some noise on sharp slow turns but I am around 90k miles in.

[@loklokoppa9255]

This vid brought back confidence for me in the Subies AWD system. Were you in X-mode 1 the whole time? Also, what happens if you were going up that trail without X-mode?

[@MarcsMotors]

I was blown away myself and I'm sure with some all terrains it'll be even better! And yes this was all with xmode 1. Maybe I'll have to make a video without xmode to see?

[@loklokoppa9255]

Ya, I was wondering since it is AWD, shouldn't it be on all the time?

[@beney2k]

Nice shots! The 360 cam looks cool (gives a back to the future vibe imo). Did you need to switch to xmode 2 at all?

[@MarcsMotors]

Thanks! I'm going to keep playing with different angles on the 360 cam to see what looks best but glad you liked it! And xmode 1 all the way actually did the job

[@tommymas1]

Pine Barrens NJ. I thought I was going deaf but your audio sucks. Also, you should give auto specs. What year is Forester?

[@armandocardona6975]

after owning a jeep doing these sort of obstacles would not cut it for me… pretty cool stuff from an suv

[@MarcsMotors]

Yes I get it for sure. I'd love to have something even more built for off roading but with my limited options of places to go in New Jersey and needing a family hauler at the same time, this is proving to be sufficient for me. Thanks for stopping by!

[@SubieandFriends]

Amazing video and bad ass Subaru you have there mate!!! I would love to go off-roading with you!!!

[@krzysztofkosmowski940]

hello are you happy with the tires, what mileage should i do on these tires?

[@mariod9290]

I ❤ MY SUBARU 🏆🏆🏆🏆

[@smellybearc7411]

The answer is yes

[@F14Defense]

All this kinda stuff is a bit silly because 99% of drivers don’t want to drive on muddy dirt roads in the middle of nowhere.

[@n26bike]

Is this 2.5l or 2.0l engine?

[@MarcsMotors]

It's a 2.5l engine

[@cathyling2015]

Which series of the forester is this?

[@MarcsMotors]

This is the Forester Sport 😁

[@BusterKitten]

I've got a '22 Foerster Touring and I'll be driving on terrain similar to what you show, what tires are you using in this video?

[@MarcsMotors]

Awesome! Hope you have fun with it! I have Michelin cross climates

[@BusterKitten]

@@MarcsMotors thanks!

[@chrisgulbranson5867]

Can you tell me your thoughts on the CVT? Seems like the folks that don't like it don't actually own one. I'm wanting to buy an outback Wilderness but I'm a little hesitant. I need something that will do well in snow and still drive like a car. Close to pulling the trigger on one.

[@ThinkFreely2012]

I have a '23 Forester Wilderness and I never had a CVT before this one. It isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. There's no rubber banding effect some folks have talked about. The Wilderness trim comes with an extra CVT cooler which is one reason it has higher towing capacity. If you put it in manual mode and use the paddle shifters, then it does a good job of holding the ratios and feels like a normal transmission. Subaru has done a great job of refining the CVT. BUT, you need to do regular service intervals. Do not go by the lifetime fluid nonsense.

[@ThinkFreely2012]

Oh, the wilderness also has lower gear ratios in the axles and the CVT.

[@ThinkFreely2012]

The biggest weakness I think the CVT has is if you are on a very steep climb, even if all 4 tires have traction, the car still can't make it up. The engine management computer reduces power from the engine to protect the CVT. You can witness this in some Subaru offloading videos.

[@chrisgulbranson5867]

@@ThinkFreely2012 That's good to know. I appreciate you getting back to me.

[@ThinkFreely2012]

Reading your comment again, and I notice you commented about an Outback not a Forester. The Outback actually has a different (bigger and stronger) CVT and CV shafts than the Forester due to having the turbo 2.4l. The Forester only comes with the NA 2.5l. I don't know where you plan to travel, but the turbo really helps at high altitudes. I saw a video of a non turbo Outback going up Imogene Pass in Colorado, and it was really lacking power at the top of the trail. So much so, that it did not have the power to make it up the last climb and had to be pulled up the last 100 feet or so of elevation. Had that car had the turbo, I believe it could have made it.

[@powertools2375]

I have a new forester and I’m worried about off roading with the cvt.

[@MarcsMotors]

I've never had any issues on or off road with the CVT in mine.

[@sansin6250]

You need a WIlderness.

[@MarcsMotors]

Yeah I wish they had them when I was in the market. It might be in the running my next time around but these days there is so much competition!

[@samuelfox8126]

I'm guessing you know by now but thr audio is useless.

[@MarcsMotors]

Sorry for the delay, just saw this. What audio are you referring to? Thanks for stopping by!

[@michaelzo5428]

底盘那根红线恶心。 这个sport最球莫名堂

[@jellojoe00]

Yer driving like a Toyota owner. Push the throttle