(By Tom Lohnes) – After the surprising success of the Outback Wilderness, Subaru wants to recreate it, just in a more mild weight class. The Forester Wilderness is coming, and it looks like it carries on the Outback’s spirit just a without any major power to back it up.
Based off of the affordable Forester, the new Wilderness should get the same treatment as the Outback, which includes knobby-ish tires, a retuned CVT, and a small suspension lift. This new Forester should be a decently capable vehicle, just don’t try to take it up the Rubicon.
One question that needs to be answered here is that of the engine. As of right now, the Forester is only available with a 2.5-liter Flat-4 with a measly 182 horsepower. Maybe they’ll find a way to put the Outback’s 2.4L Turbo unit in, which made the Outback Wilderness tester we had last month a legitimately gutsy car.
It’s no Jeep, but Subaru is making a decent effort at making a capable-ish vehicle. Expect these in dealers this fall starting around $36,000.
