More Wilderness models coming from Subaru  

Subaru Australia has confirmed an expansion of its newly launched Wilderness sub-brand, with local boss Scott Lawrence hinting at harder-core variants for the entire SUV range. 

Australia has been waiting five long years for Subaru to bring its toughened-up Wilderness portfolio to local showrooms, and now we finally have access to the new Outback Wilderness. 

But an expansion of the new all-terrain sub-brand is coming and all but guaranteed to include the compact Crosstrek and mid-sized Forester.

“It is a constant discussion with Subaru Corporation about expanding Wilderness,” Lawrence told carsales earlier this month at the sixth-generation Outback launch. 

“We were deliberate in bringing it out [in Australia] with Outback.

“Exciting plans to share on Wilderness; won’t share any more on that, but we think it will have a wonderful reception across the SUV range for Australians.” 

Subaru’s core SUV range comprises the Crosstrek, Forester and just-launched sixth-generation Outback, all of which are offered in North America with taller and more capable Wilderness halos. 

All Wilderness models follow a similar recipe of increased ground clearance, revised bumpers, shorter gearing (final drive ratio), beefier underbody protection and a second ‘X-Mode’ off-road drive mode.  

Anodised copper accents and a few other garnishes add some extra cosmetic flare to the otherwise fully functional suite of upgrades. 

Lawrence wouldn’t be drawn on a timeline for the smaller models, but his choice of words in the above comments paint a reasonable picture of what’s to come. 

All Wilderness products thus far have been internal combustion-only – the Australian Outback Wilderness now the only turbocharged Outback available here – which is probably for the best given the standard Forester Hybrid was defeated off-road by the equivalent Hyundai Tucson.

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