2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness First Drive Review: Putting Wants Over Needs

• The Outback Wilderness is the toughened-up, more off-road-ready version of Subaru's longstanding wagon.
• If you add in all the options, it ends up being the most expensive Outback you can buy — over $50,000.
• I drove the Wilderness in Northern California to see if it's a worthwhile upgrade over the standard Outback.

What makes a Wilderness?

More ground clearance than the standard Outback (9.5 inches vs. 8.7 inches) gives the Wilderness better approach, breakover and departure angles — very important for scaling obstacles off-road. New dampers with custom tuning are standard and are supposed to give the Wilderness a more supple, comfy ride on the road, with more support when you need it off-road. You also get a shed-load more black plastic cladding on the Outback's exterior, a skid plate to protect the engine's underside, and some gold-ish accents to make sure the world knows you aren't in some ho-hum street-bound Outback.

In the Wilderness, the Outback's turbocharged engine is standard and makes a healthy 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. In our testing, it was enough to scoot an Outback Limited XT from 0 to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds, which is impressively quick for this type of car. In the Wilderness, this engine is still paired to a continuously variable automatic transmission and, as you'd expect with an off-roader, all-wheel drive is standard.

However, there are a few things you don't get when you go for the Wilderness. Subaru's eyes-on, hands-free driver assistance tech — which was released to the public in early January — is still only offered on the Outback Touring. The Wilderness also locks many of its nicest kit behind a $4,090 option pack that includes a 360-degree camera system, full leather interior, ventilated seats and moonroof. Fully loaded, the Wilderness ends up being the most expensive Outback, topping out at $50,535 including destination, or around $1,000 more than a loaded-up Touring XT.

The best thing about the Wilderness is that it doesn't ditch the things that make the standard Outback so great. Physical buttons for all the climate controls? Check. Big new screens for the gauges and central display that are quick to respond and easy to read? Double check. Tons of legroom for backseat riders, carpeted door bins to keep your Hydro Flask from rattling, and great overall visibility? Yeah, you get the idea.

Subaru's wild side?

The last Outback Wilderness always felt like a pool noodle on the road. I'm happy to report that's no longer the case; in the new Wilderness, body roll is nicely kept in check. The new car's steering is far more accurate than its predecessor, and both the brakes and throttle are super easy to get the hang of. This is a car that feels familiar from the first time you get behind the wheel. 

The biggest difference between the standard Outback and the Wilderness is how it rides. The basic Outback is supple, with plenty of compliance for everyday ruts and bumps. The Wilderness firms things up ever so slightly, just enough that you'll notice a little extra roughness on any pavement that isn't glass smooth. The suspension's new shocks might be great for off-roading, but they don't actually help with on-road comfort. 

While my first taste of the standard Outback included several hours of off-roading, my trip to drive the Wilderness actually featured less unpaved exposure. My time in the dirt was limited to a few trips around a boggy vineyard that had been plagued by heavy rains.

As a result, my time behind the wheel of the Wilderness wasn't enough to suss out this model's extra potential. What I did learn is that the Wilderness is just as good as the standard Outback in mud, dirt and slippery grass, as well as on jittery dirt trails and gravelly tracks. I'd sooner trust a base Outback for off-roading than I would a Woodland-badged Toyota or a TrailSport-badged Honda. 

Its own worst enemy

Without being able to really push the Wilderness beyond the limits of a standard Outback, it's tough to really see the point in choosing this off-road-focused model — unless, of course, you just have to have the look. The Crosstrek and Forester both become meaningfully better off-road in Wilderness guise, but the Outback just … stays great. If you want a two-row SUV with oodles of room inside, plenty of cargo space, great power and more than enough in the way of off-road chops, there is no better choice than a regular old Outback.