The 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness Is All the Off-Roader (Most) People Need: Review

Key Points in This Review

• The focus of the redesigned 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness isn’t much different than the last generation, but that’s completely fine.
• Physical controls make a welcome return in the cabin.
• The Wilderness trim level’s standard electronic adaptive shocks are excellent on- and off-road.

The 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness adopts the boxier styling that other redesigned Outbacks get, but in keeping with the automaker’s infamously iterative product evolution, it isn’t a huge step up from the prior-generation Outback Wilderness. Unless you’ve beat the absolute granola out of your model-year 2022-25 Wilderness, save your cash, and if you find your last-gen SUV lacking in the off-road capability department, the new version is unlikely to pick up the slack.

Related: 2026 Subaru Outback Review: Forget the Looks, Enjoy the Ride … and Value and Comfort

Me? Oh, I’d absolutely upgrade from a last-gen Wilderness. There are three standout improvements that in concert make the new Outback Wilderness one of the most compelling active-lifestyle SUVs available at any price. The first of which I’d consider the “free space” on this bingo card; check out that Deep Emerald Green Pearl paint, which is new for 2026. Lovely, right?

With that subjectivity out of my system, the Wilderness’ new electronic adaptive suspension makes for one of the smoothest-riding, off-road-capable SUVs I’ve ever driven.

Do the New Electronic Adaptive Shocks on the Outback Wilderness Make a Difference?

• Takeaway: It soaks up bumps and crags on- and off-road while effectively managing body roll.

More than smoothing out a trail’s tree roots and stream crossings, on-road body roll is admirably managed to where it might be worth the upgrade even if you have no need for the Wilderness’ additional capability (the Wilderness is the only 2026 Outback with adaptive shocks). Through the serpentine country roads weaving through Northern California’s Sonoma County, I hit cattle guards at speed, (accidentally) drove over a (traffic-free) roundabout median (oopsie!), and ramped through mid-road drainage ditches with neither a care in the world nor a shock to my rump. Credit a portion of this ride isolation to the Wilderness’ standard Bridgestone Dueler all-terrain tires, but the adaptive shocks effectively eliminate this tread’s squish.

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The Wilderness’ 9.5 inches of ground clearance is up 0.8 inch over the standard Outback and zilch over the last gen; that’s a common theme when comparing old to new. There’s not much capability gained in the latest iteration, which also has the same shortened 4.44:1 final drive ratio, dual-mode X-Mode terrain profiles, and angles of approach, breakover and departure.

Is the 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness Good Off-Road?

• Takeaway: It depends on your definition of “good.” For what its owners likely need, it’s fantastic for forest trails and snowy passes.

Expect the new Wilderness to match the last one in its triumphs and travails when the way turns mucky — well, at least apart from ride composure and bump absorption, as that adaptive suspension I’ve yapped about significantly smooths out dirt roads and trail transitions, too. Our venue for splattering mud and gunk onto this latest Outback was Cooley Ranch, a sprawling agricultural wonderland in Sonoma County, Calif., where ranch roads, two-track trails, dusty lots and grassy clearings weave through some 19,000 acres of primo wine country. (Per Cars.com’s Ethics Policy, we pay for all travel and lodging at such manufacturer-sponsored events.)

Subaru puts a tremendous amount of trust in its products on media drive programs like this one and will often huck base, non-Wilderness SUVs through the rocky wringer. So, naturally, the planned route for this freshie Outback Wilderness was appropriately cragged, but a bout of rain transformed modestly challenging terrain into impassable slime. A few remapped portions and diversions saw me wheeling the new Wilderness through environs refreshingly in step with the limit of what I imagine most owners would attempt.

It is my experience that Wilderness buyers — Crosstrek, Forester and this Outback — hit the trails not as entertainment but as necessity en route to a trailhead or campground. Are there folks who run their Subaru through the Black Bear Pass? Surely, but that’s not what it’s necessarily designed for. This is for the kayaker, hiker or mountain biker who finds their Honda Civic too low for fire roads and a truck or body-on-frame SUV too compromised for their daily needs. Subaru’s Wilderness lineup cuts this difference with aplomb; Sonoma’s straightforward forest trails were cake with 9.5 inches of ground clearance and all-terrain tires.

A few extended sections of slick mud were similarly no trouble, though the long front and rear overhangs of the Outback Wilderness remain its sorest weak point. I often found myself scraping and scrunching the front end in mud and off-kilter sections alike, though the lower front cladding seemed generally unaffected by this abuse. It was just some nasty, eye-squinching noise that inspired slow going in areas where a Toyota 4Runner would blast through at speed. No matter — not once did it even feel close to getting stuck or showed limits to its traction. For what most people need from an off-road SUV, both the old and this new Outback Wilderness are more than enough.

What’s New for the Interior of the 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness?

• Takeaway: Like the rest of the Outback lineup, the return of physical controls for climate and other functions is very, very welcome.

Remember earlier when I mentioned three distinct things that I love? First is the green, second is the suspension, and the third actually applies to the Outback lineup as a whole. Slide into any trim of this new mid-sizer, and you’ll find a magical, wondrous thing in the redesigned cockpit — there in the center console. Good golly gosh, it’s got physical buttons! Subaru knows its customer base better than perhaps any mainstream automaker, and it’s so refreshing to see a change driven by owner feedback rather than by supplier pressure and industry trends.

Physical controls for both the climate system and key functions like the engine stop-start system and auto brake hold make this a compelling upgrade for anyone, full stop. Furthermore, reducing the reliance on digitized controls doesn’t make the new Outback feel any less current-gen, as the Wilderness trim’s 12.1-inch center infotainment touchscreen and accompanying 12.3-inch digital driver display demonstrate technologic equilibrium. There’s a place in the industry for Mercedes-Benz’s 56-inch Hyperscreen as there is for Ferrari’s V-12, but the ease of use and established simplicity of physical controls wins over embedded digital functions every single time. For now, only the Outback features this analog reversal, but I’m nearly positive you’ll see it trickle down to next-gen redesigns of Subaru’s other crossovers, if not its entire lineup.

What Engine Does the 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness Have?

• Takeaway: It’s only offered with a turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four-cylinder that has more than enough power and performance for this application.

There are two other Wilderness benefits worth mentioning. First is that, as before, it comes with the 260-horsepower, turbocharged 2.4-liter flat-four engine that’s available for other trims. This makes hauling peeps, dogs and gear a cinch compared with the relatively wheezy 180-hp, naturally aspirated 2.5-liter flat-four found in lower trims and is especially beneficial if you live at elevation or venture there frequently; the turbo four-cylinder is hardly nuclear, but it’s beyond potent for urban on-ramps and pebbled hill climbs alike.

The second is you now have your choice of genuine Nappa leather upholstery if your sensibilities are more Aspen lodge than lake shack. I dig the standard water- and grime-resistant synthetic StarTex upholstery, but leather appointments broaden the Wilderness’ appeal.

What a great all-purpose, all-weather crossover this new 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness is. The biggest generational shift here is certainly skin-deep, but I can’t think of an area in which the new Outback and its Wilderness variant is lacking. Viva la evolucion!

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