Here's What We Love & Hate about the Outback Wilderness after 5,000 Miles

[@johnstonis7977]

As a 35 year ASE master tech and one that has worked for both Toyota and Subaru, I’ve found Subaru drivetrains as reliable if not more than Toyota. As for the safety tech. It’s only annoying until it saves you from an accident or saves your life. I’ve seen this too in action. I own a ‘23 Wilderness. Love this vehicle!

[@RR-wd9wf]

Good to hear you chose the Outback Wilderness with your background. Currently narrowing down the choices with our car shopping with this one on the top of the list!

[@Johnny-nd4lu]

Dude you’re absolutely right about the safety tech being annoying until it saves your life. The start stop feature in my Crosstrek I loathe with a passion but dammit if it didn’t save my ass from being T-Boned by a car who ran a red light that he definitely had time to brake for. Another time the automatic breaking saved me from a car that came barreling out of nowhere in a Nugget Parking lot while I was backing out. Love my Subaru.

[@broinsocali]

Love mine. No issues 2 road trips so far.

[@RichYoung]

Auto start/stop is regulated by the federal government. Every car in the US has to have it active by default. You buy aftermarket devices to deactivate it or just don’t press so hard on the brake while at stop lights.

[@leannbl9701]

I use the manual shift almost daily on my slow So Cal drive to work. It helps keep me off the brakes constantly. Using the cruise control with lane centering works great on long road trips and even in super windy conditions. I am loving my ‘22 Crosstrek Limited with all of the safety features. Wanted a Wilderness model but was having to buy during the worst time for dealer added markups and couldn’t justify the expense. Your car looks great.

[@ianbudgetrc2574]

This wagon is just perfect. For me, it's 10/10. But yes. Same here. Not a fan of those lane assist, cruise stuff, or whatever. It makes you less skillful on the road and it makes you lazy. And also, you don't need to be really perfectly driving in the middle of a lane. One has to know how to sense their surroundings and develop their spatial awareness. The gist is that these modern technology assists just make you lazy. I like the eye sensors in the windshield tho, it helps a lot with safety but you should never rely on it. It's still your full responsibility as a driver to drive safe and anticipate hazards on the road..

[@johnstonis7977]

Facts! I work for a Subaru dealer collision center. You’d swear, with all the safety tech we’d never see a wreaked car. Not the case. We are moving closer to the movie Wally.😂

[@TCobb47]

Took possession of my ‘23 OBW in November and so far, I love it. I swapped out the tweeters which made a decent improvement to the sound. I also purchased the cubby and rally armor mud flaps. Put 10,000 miles on it and very happy.

[@MarksTech]

Hey, just wanted to let you know - it seems the more you use lane centering/auto steer the better it gets. when I first got my subaru, it was really bad - it kept swerving from left to right in the lane. but the more I used it, the better it got somehow. im not sure if the on-board computer has some sort of algorithm or what, but you should see it get better and better the more miles you put on.

[@kenrobertson4569]

it's training you....

[@sansin6250]

The lane centering and active steering works fine, you just got to trust the system. The only problem is the transition from machine control to driver control is not seamless like in lexus or super cruise systems. Instead, the machine relinquishes steering control only if you hit the brakes or the turn indicator. So just activate your turn indicator, take back control of steering, make your little adjustment, be it to move to one side of the lane, or to avoid the pothole, then cancel your turn indicator and let the machine take back control. So don't fight the system, use the turn signal to quickly take back control.

[@johnkkkj]

Thank god for your complaints, I got a 24 OBW in Geyser blue, with the HK upgraded stereo that is sweet and the heated steering wheel. Subaru listened! To be totally honest I would not have complained about these things considering the capabilities of this vehicle, however now that I have the stereo I can't believe how good it is. It is summer now so I can't say much about the heated steering wheel yet, however on those cold camping days when you are done after a week of camping and entering civilization again I bet they come in handy. Or the typical North East winter I'm sure it will be a blessing. The touch screen has also improved, so as fresh buyer coming into this I am just blown away. I really have no complaints what so ever in fact this is the best ride, it's just everything I wanted from Subaru. This is my 3rd one, and it is the best one hands down. Last thing, that Auto Start Stop, so frustrating! That is one area Subaru went def on! Something that everyone hates including myself!

[@Monkeyseemonkey79]

What have they improved about the touchscreen? I thought it's still the same tech/interface on the current models. Hopefully I'm wrong as the slow infotainment is the main reason I am hesitating about buying an Outback.

[@johnkkkj]

@@Monkeyseemonkey79 A lot of worry about nothing, things blown out of proportion. Yeah the screen has lagged a bit only on startup a few time here and there nothing to fuss about. I mean if you have to wait for a second or two when it happens when you first start the car up is a major issue for you ? For god sake we make huge issues out of nothing. The car is completely operable you just can't change to radio station for a second longer, or take off the auto start stop again for a second or two.

[@hmaines5169]

I've had mine for three weeks - I love it. What I don't love is the seatbelt alert!! turns off your sound system and progressively gets louder the longer you go without putting your belt on. Super annoying if you are just taking a quick trip to the mailbox or whatever.

[@Cooldude180]

There’s a video on KZbin that will show you how to disable the seatbelt chime. It involves clicking and unclicking the seat belt 20+ times in a row (seriously) did it on my 2020 Outback. Perfect for instances where wearing a seat belt simply doesn’t make sense.

[@vaporosity]

I’ve done that trick to all of my Subarus!!

[@calsurflance5598]

Thanks for this excellent review. This vehicle is on my radar to replace my aging Pathfinder. I don’t know if I would mind the CVT, but I absolutely hate touch screen displays. I recently test drove a Land Rover Discovery and the salesman spent a half hour explaining the touch screen, but neglected to tell us the engine was supercharged. In both cases I feel you spend too much time fiddling with touch screen and not driving the vehicle. I guess that’s why they have to put in an auto pilot. Lol

[@kylekazmir5184]

I have a 22 OBW, the thing is a beast in the snow. I changed my speakers less than a week after taking delivery and it improved slightly, wish they would have included the Harmon Kardon system considering the vehicle is north of $40k here in Canada. The touch screen controls are quite annoying too in the cold, lots of lag, the heated seat controls on the 22 are awful particularly if you're trying to change them on the move, you almost always have to take your eyes off the road to do it.

[@pinky882]

Look into an aftermarket amp. I love JL audio. They also make integration units to integrate the amp with the factory infotainment and also corrects the stock frequency curve which has bass roll-off. I did this in my crosstrek and it sounds incredible. We have an Outback Wilderness that is supposed to arrive in a few weeks and I'll do the same to that car.

[@luminaire7085]

Hi Kyle, got a 23 Outback Touring Canadien edition and the 6 speaker sound system just sucks. Rented a Kia Rio 2022 as Enterprise didn’t have any more SUVs in stock that day and that Kia Rio sound system is 100 times better than my $40K subie. If you’re a passenger in the back you hardly hear the music, very bad acoustic design. Infotainment lag; it’s like they chose the slowest processor in the market.

[@pawelkolo9678]

there is a new update available for touch screen software,you can do it yourself thru the settings on your screen,and heated steering wheel is available for this trim in Canada which i can't understand....

[@lolalee7214]

Even they have a newest firmware update which is still lagging. I think the RAM of the head unit is so low (it can be 2gb to 4gb RAM as I guess), so It doesn’t matter more new firmware then It will still lagging.

[@bzs331]

I totally agree about the lane centering!

[@aaronh305]

I hear you on the shift points. It seems some segment of drivers must really want them. Honda even built fake shift points in the 23 CR-V Hybrid which has no transmission

[@Monkeyseemonkey79]

As of 2024 they fixed two of his gripes: the Wilderness now comes standard with a heated steering wheel + premium HK audio.

[@mikezou9929]

we have our infant carseat behind the driver, so the passaging seat can go all the way forward and the wife sits in the back with a huge space and has a big storage unit tight to the back of the passaging seat, our dog sits in the front lol

[@johnstonis7977]

Love this. Speaks Subbie family for sure. Dog friendly!

[@jerrypk1188]

You can fix the lane assist by changing it from right to left in the settings.

[@Doc1855]

I looked at the Forester Wilderness before buying my Touring. I simply couldn’t get past the 1990 Gloomy Grey or Boring Black interior colors offered in all models except for the Touring. I’ve gotten several complements on my Saddle Brown interior. My wife’s Outback has the Ivory interior and she too has gotten a lot of complements on her interior colors as well. Our Subie’s handle the back country off pavement roads very well. In 25 the Forester will be redesigned with the Rav hybrid system, so I’ll be selling my Forester and buying the new hybrid. If the hybrid system does well, we’ll sell our Outback and buy a hybrid Outback.

[@jackjstrange]

Why?

[@Doc1855]

@@jackjstrange Actually we’ve decided that we’ll sell our Forester and buy the new Toyota Stout pickup AWD Hybrid. We’re sick and tired of paying for Socialist Biden’s fuel prices.

[@Romulan112]

I bought a '25 Outback, Premium. Got it at the price of a base model for it was mismarked. . I wish I had bought the RAV4 instead.

[@KenCheng]

We picked up a 2023 OBW last month and we're loving it so far... I have to agree.. the speakers would be my biggest gripe... but at least they can be upgraded... And yeah... I don't understand why in the States, of all trims... Subaru didn't include a heated steering wheel... we get it up here in Canada though. I don't mind the CVT... time will tell how it holds up

[@TrailPass]

Thanks for commenting. It's a great vehicle but with as expensive as the extra option packages are on top of the Wilderness trim, it would be nice to have speakers and steering wheel.

[@mattheviewer]

Part of the reason CVT's get a bad rap is auto enthusiasts despise and continually shriek about them. My Outback XT CVT, once it went through its internal adaptation calibration, works well, letting engine respond to the moment and become very drive able. Dead accurate here wrt the 6th gen Infotainment, which despite numerous software upgrades has changed little since its introduction. FYI for 2024 Subaru woke up and added heating steering wheel to the Wilderness Outback.

[@KeenVanguard]

It’s funny cause I’m currently in a lease so it will be 1.5yrs before I can buy one. But imma need them to wake up again and add vented seats for upcoming model years 😂

[@rcgrant9310]

Greatly appreciate your posting the videos regarding the Wilderness. Which brand of mud flaps did you install and did you have to drill holes in the body to install the mud flaps?

[@TrailPass]

These are Rokblokz mud flaps. They come with all the hardware you need in the factory locations and require no extra drilling.

[@jesusdecarlo]

Have you done the software update yet? If yes, could you do a video on that…

[@gregoverley5349]

Great video, Jonathan!

[@TrailPass]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@yesman3709]

I realize Regular Unleaded gasoline is recommended. What's your opinion of using Premium gasoline? In my area, most of the Regular Unleaded is polluted with alcohol. I'd prefer that my 2024 Wilderness not become an alcoholic.

[@flyguy2021]

I’m curious why so many people are buying the Wilderness who would be just as well served by the Onyx XT, since they don’t really go off road. The additional clearance is less than an inch. AT tires can be swapped and a skid plate added if needed. Losing 2-3 mpg for the lifetime of the car is a lot of money.

[@inMotionOutdoors]

My gripes: No Harmon kardon stereo upgrade, no ventilated seats, annoying CVT, no manual transmission option, no physical controls for hvac and heated seats, lane keep and laggy infotainment screen

[@almostkinda]

If they had the vented seats, upgrade sound and the brown leather. Would have sold even more of them

[@billjones1201]

We Got 3000mi on are2023 OB ,only Complaints are the seats are uncomfortable , Not Sure How I'm going to Fix That

[@traveller924]

Wondering if line assist can be turned off, like in all normal cars? Tnks

[@TrailPass]

It sure can. When it is off it does have a warning light on the dash though

[@traveller924]

Appreciate much. Strongly considering this as a daily driver. Need something basic and go to CO frequently.

[@TrailPass]

@@traveller924 it's a great all weather vehicle and road trip vehicle. Not the most extreme offroader but more capable than a base model

[@zeroregrets5901]

Love mine absolutely best vehicle ever.

[@gahvno]

No heated steering wheel?!?? How will we ever survive...🤣

[@JT-bt9hg]

Does anyone if the Wilderness is capable of going down roads designated as 4x4 only?

[@xorg123]

What is tieh all the hate in North America for auto start-stop technologies... It does not change a single thing on driving habits (on an automatic car)!

[@damham5689]

I liked your review but Im sorry I just have to wonder "Off Roady" ? 😂

[@wilsoncroft-malcolm5235]

Screen dwlay is shit, lane cemtering real shit...ill buy elsewhere...designers stuffed up big time...also the thermostat garbage is a total turnnoff ...2k to rwpair is a dumb brainer...once again designers where not good at all....going towards Toyota...no issues and great dwsign

[@Chris-fg7bx]

Plz dont call it a mom car😭