Subaru Outback vs Subaru Forester

What's the difference?

If you’re a Subaru fan chances are the Wilderness will float your boat. It’s an appealing mix of on-road refinement and more than satisfactory capability on bush tracks.

The Wilderness engine-and-CVT combination helps to make this Subaru well refined and highly responsive on-road and it benefits from punchier low-rev output in off-road scenarios.

Subaru has made a habit of producing practical vehicles and this new addition to the upgraded Outback line-up doesn’t disappoint.

Does anyone need a Wilderness version of the Outback? Probably not. Will anyone want a Wilderness edition Outback? I reckon a lot of Outback fans would fall over themselves to get their hands on one of these.

The MY26 Subaru Forester packs plenty of punch in terms of standard features, a roomy and functional interior and overall driveability. Sure, it’s not the most exciting vehicle to drive on- or off-road but to get stuck on that is to miss the point entirely. This is a decent all-rounder with a solid background and an AWD system that long ago set the gold standard for vehicles of this type.

In a tough mid-size SUV market segment aimed more at those intent on driving through car parks rather than adventuring through national parks, the Forester offers greater versatility than most and should not be ignored.

The most obvious design tweaks include a glare-reducing bonnet decal, the new grille and bumper, substantial durable plastic cladding on each side, and some tailgate trim and lighting variations away from standard Outbacks.

There’s gold edging here and there around the Wilderness exterior (fog lights etc) and it’s eye-catching, but this vehicle attracts some bemused looks.

While it’s based on the mid-spec Outback AWD Premium, the Wilderness stands apart because of its taller stance (with an extra 20mm ground clearance over standard Outbacks) and chunkier overall look.

For numbers nerds, the Wilderness is 4880mm long (with a 2745mm wheelbase), 1880mm wide, 1735mm high and has a listed kerb weight of 1781kg.

Its wheel tracks (1575mm front / 1600mm rear) are 10mm narrower in both cases than those of standard Outbacks.

Inside, the Wilderness has water-repellent upholstery with embossed Wilderness logos on the headrests, Wilderness tags on the seats, orange stitching throughout and all-weather floor mats.

All in all, it looks stylish, inside and out, but it’s also ready to play in the dirt.

This Forester is 4655mm long (with a 2670mm wheelbase), 1830mm wide and 1730mm high.

The new generation retains more than enough of the previous Forester – blocky profile included – to remain clearly recognisable.

Traditionalists may chafe at the slicker, more citified appearance of this Forester over previous generations but the overall package is inoffensive enough to not elicit any howls of outrage from passers-by on the street.

The Forester’s interior maintains a similar cabin look and feel as before but with a 11.6-inch portrait-oriented multimedia touchscreen dominating up front, a mix of physical and on-screen buttons, as well as soft-touch surfaces and durable plastics.

In terms of practicality the Wilderness doesn’t disappoint. The cabin has a neat and familiar layout with enough soft-touch surfaces, storage space, cupholders and charge points to satisfy most drivers and passengers.

The 12.1-inch horizontal multi-media touchscreen is easy enough to operate, with many cabin functions able to be controlled via on-screen buttons, but some functions (including air-conditioning and auto vehicle hold) can also be adjusted via physical off-screen controls, which is handy.

The seats offer improved lumbar and pelvic support relative to previous Outbacks, there’s more headroom for the driver and passengers and Subaru reckons the rear cargo area opening is more than 50mm higher than standard for easier loading and unloading of gear into the rear.

According to Subaru the Wilderness upholstery is “hydrophobic synthetic leather with an anti-slip embossed finish” which looks good and seems durable enough for a lifetime of weekend road trips with some dirt inadvertently tracked inside for good measure.

Cargo volume is a listed 530 litres (with the rear seat up and in use), and that expands to 1211 litres when the 60/40 split-folding rear seat is down.

You can conceal whatever is in the rear cargo area with the new foldable fabric cargo cover which can be used as a tonneau-style cover, cargo partition, or even to protect the rear load lip. Its rear-most fixing points attach to the inner walls with magnets.

The cargo area has a 12-volt outlet, two shopping bag hooks on each wall, four tie-down points on the floor and a full-size spare wheel stored under that floor.

The Wilderness has new high-strength roof rails which are claimed to offer a static load capacity of 363kg (increased from 318kg).

Subaru has made a habit of producing practical vehicles and this new Outback doesn’t disappoint.

The Forester is quite roomy for a mid-size SUV and this is the top-spec variant so there’s leather everywhere.

The interior layout is neat and tidy and lands firmly on the correct side of being practical and familiar, with all controls easy to locate and operate.

The touchscreen offers mostly simple intuitive functionality with infrequent need to cycle through numerous menus and sub-menus to access what you want.

The aforementioned mix of physical and on-screen buttons, as well as soft-touch surfaces and durable plastic are welcome here because, you know... real life.

The front seats offer ample support and the driver is able to dial-in their preferred position via power controls on the eight-way power-adjustable seat (with dual memory). The front passenger has an eight-way power-adjustable seat. Both seats are heated and ventilated.

The 60/40 split folding second-row seats aren’t too shabby either, in terms of comfort and amenities, with a fold-down arm-rest with cupholders and directional air vents etc.

Cargo volume is 496 litres (with rear seat in use) and 1174 litres (with the rear seat down, 1667 litres to ceiling.

The tailgate is powered and hands-free with a kick sensor (apparently). But I never tried that, instead opting for the tailgate-mounted button to open and close it.

The Forester AWD Touring (petrol) is priced at $50,990 MLP while its hybrid sibling is $55,990.

Standard features include an 11.6-inch multimedia touchscreen (with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay), 18-inch alloy wheels, auto LED headlights, dual-zone climate, heated front seats and electric folding rear seats as well as a wireless phone charger.

Top-grade additions include a sunroof, low-profile roof rails, a digital driver display, leather-accented seats, a leather auto-shifter, ventilated front seats and a 10-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.

It also has power-adjustable front seats, sat-nav, auto-dipping and folding door mirrors and a hands-free tailgate.

Exterior paint choices include 'Crystal White Pearl', 'Ice Silver Metallic', 'Magnetite Grey Metallic', 'Crystal Black Silica', 'Crimson Red Pearl', 'Brilliant Bronze Metallic', 'Daybreak Blue Pearl', 'Sapphire Blue Pearl', 'Cashmere Gold Opal', 'Autumn Green Metallic' and 'River Rock Pearl'.

There are two direct-injection Boxer engines on offer in the Outback line-up: standard Outbacks get a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated engine (137kW at 5800rpm and 254Nm at 3700rpm), while the Wilderness and Wilderness Apex get a 2.4-litre turbo-petrol boxer engine, producing 194kW at 5600rpm and 382Nm at 2000-3600rpm.

Both engines are matched to a continuously variable auto transmission (CVT) with eight-speed 'manual' mode. No Outback in the new line-up has a manual gearbox.

The Wilderness’s engine-and-CVT combination helps to make this Subaru well refined and highly responsive on-road and it benefits from punchier low-rev output in off-road scenarios.

The Forester has the line-up’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated boxer engine (producing 136kW at 5800rpm and 247Nm at 3700rpm) matched to a constantly variable transmission (CVT), which some people detest, and some people couldn’t give a rat’s whether it’s there or not.

Also onboard is Subaru’s all-wheel drive system, driving modes (including 'Normal', 'Deep snow/Mud', and 'Snow/Dirt') and 'X-Mode' “that constantly monitors the traction available to each wheel and centralises the control of key components including the engine, transmission, drivetrain and brakes to help manage slippery conditions”, according to Subaru.

Official fuel consumption for the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 9.7L/100km.

Fuel consumption on test was 10.8L/100km (combined) and while a lot of this test was spent on sealed surfaces, we did do unsealed road and rough-track driving.

The Outback has a 63-litre fuel tank so going by our on-test fuel consumption figure, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 583km from a full tank of premium unleaded petrol.

Official fuel consumption on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle for the Forester is 7.9L/100km and it uses 91RON 'standard' unleaded petrol at a minimum.

On this test, I recorded 8.1L/100km. But fuel consumption was as low as a dash-indicated 1.7L/100km while driving the Forester with adaptive cruise control engaged.

The Forester has a 63-litre fuel tank, so, going by our on-test fuel-use figures you could reasonably expect a driving range of almost 780km from a full tank. However, as with any vehicle, once you’ve loaded the Forester with any real-world burdens (e.g kids, dogs, camping gear, etc) you’ll soon see the fuel consumption increase.

From the start, this is an enjoyable car to drive. The driver’s seat is eight-way power-adjustable so it’s easy to dial-in your preferred driving position. There’s ample visibility for a vehicle that feels so snug around you and this is a nimble mid-sized SUV with a 11.0m turning circle.

On-road, it is quiet and smooth, and its ride and handling are well controlled, with new dual-pinion electric power steering adding more precision.

The tweaked Wilderness suspension set-up – MacPherson struts at the front and double wishbones at the rear (both with newly tuned electronically-controlled dampers) – yields a comfortable driving experience.

As mentioned, the engine/CVT combination is generally impressive, but if driving based on the CVT’s behaviour is not entirely your cup of tea, you can always use the paddle shifters on the back of the steering wheel to have your fun.

The Outback has always been a solid all-rounder and well suited to light- to medium-duty off-roading and over the years its driver-assist systems have been tweaked and finessed to improve those attributes.

Worth noting, we define light- to medium-duty off-roading as driving on well-maintained gravel tracks or dirt roads in dry weather, or coping with minor corrugations, or muddy potholes on dirt or gravel tracks in wet weather.

This SUV's AWD system is intended to keep you safe on less-than-ideal terrain, such as rain-splattered wet blacktop, loosely gravelled bush tracks or slightly muddy dirt roads, rather than transform the Outback into a rock-crawling beast.

Afterall, this is not a 4WD with low-range gearing, ample ground clearance and aggressive all-terrain tyres.

However, with a skilled, experienced driver at the helm, the Outback is even able to tackle off-roading so difficult it would otherwise seem out of an all-wheel drive’s realm of capability.

The Wilderness edition simply builds on that reputation.

For starters, it has greater ground clearance (240mm) than other Outbacks and so its off-road angles are an improvement, with its 20-degree approach, 21.2-degree ramp-over angle and 23.6-degree departure angle besting its lower-spec stablemates.

Subaru’s X Mode system, with snow/dirt and deep snow/mud modes, adds another level to the Outback’s capability. These modes tweak acceleration, off-road traction-control activity and front and rear axle limited-slip function, among other things, to suit the terrain. Working in conjunction with driver-assist tech such as Hill Descent Control, the Outback handles light- to medium-duty off-roading with no strife whatsoever.

Ride and handling remain fine on unsealed country roads, and the suspension mostly soaks up the more dramatic bush track lumps and bumps.

If you’re looking for a vehicle to tow a 2500kg-plus caravan, boat or horse float then look elsewhere because the Wilderness has 750kg (unbraked trailer) and 2100kg (braked) towing capacities.

In terms of all-around driveability, this Outback has a lot going for it and can stand its ground against the likes of the Toyota RAV4, and even the Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X.

The Forester feels comfortable and composed on sealed surfaces and offers some degree of dynamism to the driving experience – so in line with previous generations.

It feels more refined, sharper to steer and more responsive than before. There’s ample visibility to the front but a substantial B pillar obscures the driver’s vision back over their right shoulder.

The Boxer engine and CVT work well together, power and torque outputs are more than adequate in this package, and that much-maligned transmission is not intrusive if the Forester is driven with care and common sense.

However, acceleration from a full stop is sluggish.

The suspension set-up – MacPherson struts up front and double wishbones at the rear – yields a firm but not jarring sense of ride and handling.

The 1662kg Forester proved nimble to manoeuvre around the Big Smoke, the suburbs and in the bush (more about that soon) with a neat 10.8m turning circle.

All-wheel drive vehicles are capable of tackling off-road adventures in their own right but, for safety’s sake, AWD drivers should avoid anything beyond well-maintained dirt tracks in dry weather. AWD cars are designed for use on bitumen roads with some dirt or light-duty off-road use.

And so it was with our test of this Forester. On-test off-road terrain equalled firm-packed sand and gravel/dirt bush tracks in dry weather, although we did drive through one shin-deep mudhole with no trouble.

The Forester has a listed 220mm of ground clearance, the suspension held up well over a brief stint on mild corrugations and Subaru AWD proved more than up to the task when things became a little trickier, providing improved grip and traction in slippery conditions that demanded to be driven at very low speeds.

If push comes to shove, it’s capable of more than light off-roading, but the Forester’s ground clearance and off-road angles ultimately limit its off-road capabilities.

The Forester’s 'all season' tyres – Falken Ziex Z001A A/S (225/55 R18 98V) – are fine for light to moderate off-roading but anything more difficult than that and you’ll need to get a set of more aggressive all-terrain tyres. It does have a full-sized spare onboard.

It has maximum towing capacities of 750kg (unbraked trailer), 1800kg (braked) and a maximum towball download of 180kg. GVM is 2223kg; GCM is 4023kg.

Some niggles: The driver awareness system is annoyingly over-reactive.

The Forester has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in 2024.

It has nine airbags (dual front, dual front side, dual curtain, driver’s knee, far side and front passenger seat cushion), adaptive cruise control, emergency lane-keep and centring (with departure warnings), pre-collision braking, auto emergency steering, a 360-degree view monitor system, and a driver monitoring system which includes a ‘safe stop’ feature that – if the vehicle detects that the driver is non-responsive – will bring the vehicle to a gradual, you guessed it, safe stop.

The Wilderness is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty, five-year/75,000km capped price servicing, and comes with 12 months of roadside assistance.

Servicing is recommended at 12 month/15,000km intervals.

The upfront prepaid service plans are a three-year service plan ($1275.37) and a five-year service plan ($2347.31).

For comparison, the first five years' service for a comparable Toyota RAV4 will set you back $1625.

At time of writing, Subaru Australia has more than 114 authorised dealerships and more than 120 service centres around the country.

The MY26 Subaru range is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, five-year/75,000km capped price servicing, and 12 months roadside assistance.

A service is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs soonest. After your free “1 Month Health Check and Chat”, cost per service is $347.95 (at the 15,000km/12 month mark), $520.45 (30,000km or 24 months), $393.10 (45,000km or 36 months), $679.30 (60,000km or 48 months) and $358.20 (75,000km or 60 months). Average over the five years is $459.80.

Subaru Australia has more than 140 dealerships across the country with a decent spread over metro and regional areas. Foresters may be serviced at those dealers or by approved mechanics.