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What Is It?
Earlier this year, Subaru introduced the latest version of its popular Crosstrek, which came to market with updated styling, a freshened interior and upgraded features. Now Crosstrek becomes the latest Subaru to join the lineup of Wilderness offerings, which includes the Outback Wilderness and Forester Wilderness. The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness is the first Crosstrek to receive the Wilderness treatment, setting up this small crossover for rugged adventuring.
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Design Updates
The Crosstrek received new styling for the 2024 model year, and the Wilderness version offers a more rugged look. Up front are sleek headlights, a unique bumper with a bolder grille, an anti-glare decal on the hood, unique hex-shaped fog lights, and a front skidplate. The Crosstrek Wilderness also gets off-road tires and a ground clearance raised to 9.3 inches.
© Perry Stern, Automotive Content Experience
Standout Styling
The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness is easily recognizable as something special, thanks to the added body cladding along the wheels and doors with CROSSTREK spelled across the doors in large copper letters, although the large label on the side seems a bit much. Copper accents are also found on the roof rails, as well as accents on the front and rear bumpers. Wilderness badges adorn the doors and rear hatch, and the rear bumper is embossed with SUBARU in big letters that leave no doubt about the vehicle’s maker.
© Perry Stern, Automotive Content Experience
Model Lineup
The Wilderness resides at the top of the Crosstrek lineup for the 2024 model year. With a base price of $31,995 (not including the $1,295 destination charge), the Wilderness is equipped similarly to the Crosstrek Limited but with StarTex seat material rather than the leather of the Limited.
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Inner Space
Inside the cabin, the Wilderness continues to set itself apart from the standard Crosstrek with seats trimmed in water-resistant Subaru StarTex, with the Wilderness logo embossed on the front head restraints. Wilderness copper accents appear throughout the cabin — in the stitching and shifter, gauge meter rings and steering wheel. The copper color works well with the Gunmetal Grey trim used on the dash, doors and shifter base.
© Perry Stern, Automotive Content Experience
High Tech
The standard Crosstrek receives a major interior upgrade for the 2024 model year, which carries over to the Wilderness. Updates includes a new 11.6-inch vertical touchscreen display — the largest ever offered in this compact crossover. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as is a wireless phone charger.
© Perry Stern, Automotive Content Experience
Eye Sight
The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness comes with Subaru’s EyeSight advanced driver-assist system. The system includes automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, blind-spot detection, lane change assist, and rear cross-traffic alert. Automatic emergency steering and reverse automatic braking are also standard on the Wilderness.
© Perry Stern, Automotive Content Experience
Rear Seat
It may be a small crossover, but the rear seat of the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness is surprisingly spacious with appreciable legroom and headroom, as well as doors that open wide for easy entry and exit. Trimmed in the same water-repellant Star Tex as up front, the back seats offer decent support; however, the middle seat is a bit stiff, and with limited legroom due to the hump in the floor, it is best reserved for someone who doesn’t need as much legroom. Multiple USB ports in the rear seating area keep devices charged.
© Perry Stern, Automotive Content Experience
Cargo Space
With a wide rear hatch and low liftover height, the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness is easy to load with gear. Cargo space is about 20 cubic feet with the rear seats in place. Rear seats offer the versatility of a 60/40 split, and when both are folded the space increases to almost 55 cubic feet. A special Wilderness cargo tray is also available.
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Accessories
Subaru offers a wide range of accessories for the Crosstrek Wilderness, including a Thule rooftop tent, Thule cargo carrier, a rear gate light, mud flaps, and a Pet Rear Door Protector that keeps the door from getting scratched from the paws of furry friends.
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Under the Hood
The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness is powered by a 2.5-liter Boxer 4-cylinder engine producing 182 horsepower and 176 lb-ft of torque. That power gets directed to all four wheels via a continuously variable transmission tuned specifically for the Wilderness. A revised differential gear ratio gives the Crosstrek better low-end torque for improved climbing ability. With the addition of a transmission oil cooler, the Crosstrek Wilderness can tow up to 3,500 pounds, although that seems like a lot for this small car.
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Fuel Economy
According to the U.S. EPA, the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness is rated at 25 mpg city / 29 mpg hwy / 27 mpg combined. The off-road tires and added weight adversely affect fuel economy. The standard Crosstrek with the same 2.5-liter engine achieves a slightly higher 26 / 33 / 29, respectively. During our drive (on pavement) through Utah, we averaged around 25 mpg, which jibes with what the EPA reports.
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Improved Capability
Like other Wilderness models, the new Crosstrek Wilderness has a raised ground clearance totaling 9.3 inches — more than a half-inch higher than the standard Crosstrek. Longer coil springs and shocks increase ground clearance and provide longer wheel travel to keep the tires connected to the ground in off-road conditions. This suspension update also helps make the ride smoother when the contact surface gets rough. Approach and departure angles are also increased over the standard Crosstrek, further adding to this new Subaru’s impressive capability.
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Wheels and Tires
Adding to its off-road ability, the Crosstrek Wilderness rides on Yokohama Geolandar raised-white-letter all-terrain tires fitted to unique 17-inch alloy wheels with a matte-black finish. Tires are designed to perform well in a variety of rough conditions, such as mud, gravel and snow. They provide a smooth and quiet ride on the freeway while still delivering impressive grip on gravel and dirt.
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Roof Rack
Standard on the Crosstrek Wilderness is a ladder-type roof rack that can hold up to 176 pounds when the vehicle is in motion. When this Crosstrek is parked, the rack can handle up to 700 pounds — more than enough support for a rooftop tent for overnight adventures.
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On the Road
Subaru invited us to Utah to experience the new Crosstrek Wilderness on and off the road. During our drive around Zion National Park in Springdale, we discovered that even though the Wilderness has a taller suspension and off-road tires, they do not have an adverse effect on the smooth ride associated with the standard Crosstrek. Handling is commendable, and excellent steering and a solid chassis make the Wilderness an enjoyable vehicle to drive on a daily basis. The Crosstrek’s small size also makes it ideal for maneuvering around town.
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More Power?
During our time in Utah we drove at higher altitudes that decreased the overall power of the Crosstrek Wilderness, but the difference to lower altitudes was negligible; this is not a quick car. In town the Crosstrek has enough oomph to get around without a problem, but accelerating to 60 mph from a stop takes a long time. Passing slower vehicles provides a similar experience — considerable space is needed to pass on a two-lane road when already moving at 55 mph. A bit more power would be welcome.
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Off-Road
Some SUVs are designed for specific, extreme off-road adventures, while the Crosstrek Wilderness possesses capabilities that allow it to reach remote destinations. It likely won’t be used for technical rock climbing or traversing mud bogs, but it will get owners to a remote campsite by a lake or to a picturesque lunch spot. We spent much of our day in the Crosstrek Wilderness on gravel roads, rutted and rocky trails, as well as an off-road course to showcase what this small crossover is capable of, and we came away impressed.
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X-MODE
Subaru equips the new Crosstrek Wilderness with the latest version of Dual-Function X-MODE, which maximizes traction in various terrain and surface conditions. The driver can select from Deep Snow/Mud or Snow/Dirt modes, with each optimizing the CVT, all-wheel-drive system, traction control and vehicle dynamics control for optimum traction. X-MODE automatically engages hill descent control, which keeps the Crosstrek at a set speed under 12 mph when descending on loose or slick surfaces. While X-MODE disengages at speeds above 22 mph, it re-engages automatically once the vehicle slows below this speed. Active torque vectoring adds to the Crosstrek Wilderness’s overall capability.
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Stable Ride
With its grippy off-road tires, full-time all-wheel drive and additional suspension travel, the Crosstrek Wilderness is easy to drive with utmost confidence on loose surfaces. The small crossover tracks well, even while entering turns at relatively high speeds. On a few occasions during our drive, the rear of the car slid a bit, but the stability control system and active torque vectoring quickly brought it back in line, keeping us traveling in the desired direction.
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Very Capable
Heading farther off the beaten path, the Crosstrek Wilderness continued to impress. On steep climbs over slippery rock and dirt, the all-wheel-drive system and a predictable throttle made the drive easy while the ride remained relatively smooth. As the trail turned to softer sand, the Crosstrek Wilderness remained unphased and continued without drama. And when surfaces became like a washboard, the ride got a bit rough, but that’s to be expected from just about any vehicle tackling such conditions.
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Off-Road Course
While the rough trails and dirt roads are more likely the types of surfaces a Subaru owner might tackle in the Crosstrek Wilderness, an off-road course proved we had barely scratched the surface of what this small crossover can do. Putting the X-MODE into the Deep Snow/Mud setting, we traversed steep climbs in loose dirt, a muddy trek and tight turns — none of which proved to be a problem. The hill descent control also worked well on dramatic downhill trails that looked downright scary. With HDC on, the Crosstrek smoothly and slowly descended while we kept our feet off the brake and gas pedals.
© Perry Stern, Automotive Content Experience
Rating: 9.0
The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek is the third entry in the Wilderness lineup, joining the Outback and Forester. Although it is the smallest and least expensive of the three, it still deserves to wear the Wilderness badge. With its rugged styling and capability to match, the Crosstrek Wilderness has a lot to offer for a relatively low starting price. While we would have appreciated a bit more power, the Crosstrek delivers a comfortable cabin, spacious cargo area and the latest advanced driver-assist features, making the Crosstrek Wilderness an excellent choice for adventurous folks.
