by Justin Housman | Feb 11, 2022 | Opinion | 48 comments
Unless you’re a search and rescue team member stationed near the backcountry and you need to be ready to drive over hell and back to assist people stuck in the middle of the wilderness at the drop of a hat, your adventure vehicle is for one thing, and one thing only: fun.
That’s it. Pure enjoyment, plain and simple. This is not serious work we’re doing, having adventures in vehicles in the great outdoors. We take it seriously, of course, because many of are cosplaying as big-time expeditioners when we trundle out to barely hard to reach campsites, YETIs and Goal Zero batteries in tow, and because people tend to obsess over things they like doing, but let’s not kid ourselves. We drive around on dirt roads and OHV trails because it is a fun thing to do and because those roads and trails take us to fun places to have fun. There is no greater meaning or purpose here.
Wanna know why I didn’t buy a 4Runner, Tacoma, or Jeep? Because I don’t like them and I don’t want one.
There is, however, a tsk-tsking mindset out there that there in fact is a *right* way to approach having a vehicle meant for off-pavement adventures. Or, more accurately, that there is a wrong way. That way is anything other than a heavily-built 4WD truck or SUV with solid axles and locking differentials. A Big Truck®. Preferably, one that actually grunts.
If you only have a Subaru, you’ll probably die out there, the argument goes, or, at best, you will have to drive slightly slower over obstacles, or, even worse, approach them without 100% certainty that your vehicle can make it over.
Oh my god, the thinking goes, what if you get stuck? Can you even imagine? The horror.
This my way or the highway mindset (literally in this case) loves to pick on Subaru (or other AWD) drivers for having the gall to not only drive their vehicles off road, but to modify them in order to (possibly) improve that off-road driving functionality. Just get a Jeep, they say. A 4Runner will run circles around your Subaru, no matter what you do to it! they like to exclaim. You ruined your gas mileage trying to make your Subie do what it can’t! is popular.
Is it made for this? No. Can it handle it? Yes. And that right there, is moxie. Photo: Grant Wilson/Flickr
I know, because I read this kind of thing often. (Though rarely hear it in person, for some reason, hmmm). And my response is always the same: So what? It’s my car. I’ll do whatever the hell I want with it. Because it’s fun. It’s not like we accidentally end up buying Outbacks and Foresters. Wanna know why I didn’t buy a 4Runner, Tacoma, or Jeep? Because I don’t like them and I don’t want one.
You’re annoyed by seeing Subarus festooned with off-road equipment, as if it was even remotely your concern? Sounds like that’s your problem, truck guy, not ours.
Sure, TRD Pro Tacomas and 4Runners and Land Rovers and Wranglers and all the other 4x4s you can buy have transfer cases and may have locking differentials and low-range gearing. That’s all well and good, but you know what they don’t have? Moxie. A “to hell with what you think” terrier vibe that a Subaru, bounding its way over nasty forest service roads has. There is perhaps no greater joy for the driver of a not-serious adventure vehicle than to watch TRD 4Runner bros air down their tires at the entrance to gnarly trails or fire roads as you putter past them in your Subaru, giving them a doff of the cap and a wink.
The drivers of 4x4s, you know, proper 4x4s, love to point out how their rigs can easily make it up trails less capable vehicles can’t. That’s great. They’ll tell you that it’s much easier for a truck with 4-low to drag itself up and over a rutted out, rocky dirt road than it is for a Subaru. That a true 4×4 is the best, most efficient tool for the job, as opposed to an AWD car with a transmission that would prefer not to be crawling at low speeds with high revs.
True, but you know what’s even more efficient than a low-range transfer case and lockers? Hiking. A horse. Riding a mountain bike. If you’re really after the best possible way to get down this hypothetical boulder-strewn trail, why are you driving any kind of vehicle?
You’ll also often be told that it doesn’t matter what modifications you make, your little AWD pretend car won’t actually have any more capability, because it’s so limited by its fundamental design. Really? Huh. My Outback has a full underbody skid plate set up. Why? The first time I drove my favorite forest service road (which I won’t mention but which the internet will incorrectly tell you is COMPLETELY impossible in a Subaru) I scraped my oil pan on a boulder I couldn’t see in a stream crossing. So, when I got home, I ordered skid plates. The next time I drove that road, I discovered that even when I could see the boulder, my car didn’t quite have the ground clearance to comfortably clear it. So, when I got home that time, I ordered and installed a very modest 1.5″ lift kit.
Now driving on that road I don’t scrape anything and I clear all the boulders that gave me trouble before. Seems like more capability to me.
Will my CV joints fail earlier than they would otherwise because of the lift, another warning you’ll get from pearl-clutching 4×4 scolds? I don’t know. Maybe. Who cares? Stuff breaks. You fix it.
The first time I went deep into Baja, the late 1990s, the overland craze had yet to take hold. Nowadays, you’ll read plenty of articles about how you need a truck with über capable 4WD and air compressors and driving lights and brush guards and, and, and. Or you’ll die. We drove down in my buddy’s dad’s 2wd van. It ran mostly okay. We didn’t have GPS. We had a description of a sandy, rutted dirt road that would head somewhat westerly from the highway, for 3 or 4 hours. None of us gave a remote thought to needing 4WD. We did almost high center on a boulder on the way out, a weird accident that tore the sliding door from the van. We made it just fine. It was an adventure.
The second time, years later, I was in a friend’s 4Runner. We did some white-knuckled off-road exploring, looking for waves, always checking around the next bend in the barely there dirt tracks winding up the coast. We approached a steep river wash at one point that seemed a bit dicey, and with no cellphones to call for help (though who would we have called?) we agonized over proceeding. Then a Chevy Caprice sedan driven by a local fisherman came rattling along the road in the opposite direction, a lobster pot held to the roof with one hand, a cigarette between his lips, and a smile on his face as he crawled up the wash and passed us.
What does this Baja deal have to do with Subarus? Just drive your car. Whatever car you have right now — that can be your adventure vehicle. Maybe it will break. Maybe you’ll get stuck. Is that the worst thing in the world? Adventures have risks.
That it kicks ass in snow should be no surprise.
I’ve owned trucks, by the way. Had a jacked-up full-sized Bronco for years. I got stuck in it fairly often. I’ve been stuck zero times in my Outback.
If you wanna buy a Subaru, lift it, put beefy racks on it, steel brush guards, driving lights, and a spare tire mounted on the hatch? Hell yeah, go for it. It’s your car. This is just fun. Prefer a Landcruiser that can drive over the spine of the Sierra? Cool, you should get one of those. But if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be getting 26 mpgs in a car that’s as pleasant a daily driver as you could imagine, driving everywhere off-road I’ve ever wanted to go. I’ve written before that there is no such thing as the perfect adventure vehicle. I was wrong. I have it.
I’m running a basic setup that I would consider to be ideal to unlocking the full potential of the Subaru platform.
• Primitive Racing skidplates below the engine, transmission, and rear differential • 1.5″ lift kit from Anderson Design and Fabrication • Nokian Outpost APT tires • KC Flex Era 3 driving lights • Thule Wing Bar Evo racks • Yakima Load Warrior Cargo Basket • Thule Outland awning • Maxtrax Mini recovery boards
This gets you to roughly 10″ of ground clearance, and some good underbody protection. The tires, which I’ve reviewed before, have excellent road manners and do well off-road, especially in the snow. Driving lights aren’t exactly necessary, but they’re nice to have. The Subaru is spacious inside, but when camping with the family, a cargo basket is essential.
I would love to have a 70 Series Land Cruiser, but I also love my Subaru, and I love when others love their Subarus too.
It is FUN to go cruise around and see what you might find.
I have a rare triple locked ’96 80 series Land Cruiser, that’s rarely driven. My go to adventure vehicle is a lifted 2015 BMW 328d xDrive Wagon.
Like an Outback, plenty of interior space. I added a Yakima LoadWarrior, Yakima SlimShady, Falken Wild Peak A/T tires. The diesel engine not only offers 30/43 MPG it also has 280 pound-feet of torque at about 1700 RPM.
I have a 2014 328d Wagon that I would love to add a lift kit to. Can you give me a clue on what you used?
I’ve taken stock Subarus (Outback and pre-Outback models) into some wild places, and had some great times doing it. It was fun to figure a way through obstacles that a regular 4×4 would have cleaned with less effort. But, I’ve also had a string of Toyota trucks (mostly stock 4Runners, Tacomas, Tundras, LX) and gone on some great adventures in them. I do volunteer work in some remote desert areas and have laughed to myself when I run into a guy who wants me to admire his jacked Jeep or 4Runner and its ability to navigate the rough roads I have run in a stock Subaru. With that said, even after reading this article, I still don’t quite understand why people put money into a vehicle (Subaru, or other) with factory specs (transmission, etc.) that were not designed for the stresses that some of their mods and adventures inflict. (My personal preference is to not break a CV joint in the middle of nowhere…) Unless you are truly destined for extreme off-roading, you can find great adventure on roads and trails that conform to the OME specs of your vehicle. Better gas mileage does appeal to me as my Toyota 4x4s have always fallen short in this area, but saving money by not having to add mods to drive where I want to go does help off-set the pain at the pump. Your Mileage May Vary…
It’s as simple as I tried to make it in the piece: I don’t want a truck or SUV. I traded in a 2012 Tacoma to get the Outback. I mod it to do what I want, and because I like how it looks. Nothing wrong with that.
Ive owned many Land Cruisers and Subarus and love both. Currently drive a Land Cruiser 200, a 2015 Outback, and a 2010 Forester. Some things to think about – Land Cruisers have great payload and towing ability. They have lots of interior room. But they also have a lot of issues with fitting in typical residential and parking garages. They are inefficient and drink gas. But they are both durable and reliable. The Subarus are great, right sized for cities, fit in most garages even with a box on top. Easy to fix and great on gas. But a Subaru doesn’t have much payload or towing ability. So this is why i have both.
jeeezzzz…. I took my stock Mazda 3 2015 to the places where dudes on Jeeps and Raptors gave weird looks cuz I ruined their day ahahahaha 😀 Yeah, I was slow, very careful… but that type of driving is much more enjoyable than flying over obstacles. I have full suspension MTB for that 😀
They don’t look at you because you ruined their day, they look at you because you WILL ruin their day when you get stuck.
I happen to like flying over obstacles in my Raptor and leaving a mile long dust plume in my wake
The fun argument cuts both ways a bit more than described.
Subaru’s are dope. Trucks and SUVs are also dope. I could never afford all of the attachments, upgrades, and other gear you listed *and* buy a Subaru, too, new or used. So trading my Subaru out for a used 4×4 truck has been awesome.
There are some reasonable arguments on the downsides of lift kits, heavy tires, and other Subaru mods. Those same arguments generally apply to all of the modded out trucks and jeeps, too.
If it’s all good and all for fun, then Subaru’s need no defense 🙂
This is a good point. Mods do indeed cost money.
There’s a ton of downside on mods and aftermarket products. Take a stock Jeep, notably a Rubicon, right off the lot it will do almost anything you’ll need for adventure and to get you there. Also, stock with normal routine maintenance and it will go for 200k plus miles, probably more. People who say Jeeps are unreliable or Subarus this or that usually mod the hell out of them and that is what causes the unreliability. I mean yeah, I am sure a team of engineers employed by the manufacturer who designed the vehicle and has years of model experience isn’t as good as some yahoos who put out a mail order bolt on catalog.
Love this! I used to take an old 2WD 2Dr Civic places it definitely shouldn’t have gone. One time on a MTB trip to Utah we chose to take my civic up to Gooseberry Mesa over a friends WRX because I had more clearance. It was in the spring and had recently rained. Someone in a bigger vehicle had driven the route while muddy and when we arrived there were two deep ruts that would have left us hanging with our wheels spinning should be have fallen in. We committed. Went forth, and eventually came to a deep puddle with someone in a big truck poking it with a stick. With him there for the assist if necessary… we plowed through… no issues… and in the rear view saw the guy jump in his truck and follow. Was it smart… probably not. Was it fun and satisfying… definitely. Did we get to ride our bikes… YES!
More clearance and CIVIC in one sentence is a weird combination of words :D. But yeah if you are careful cars are pretty capable. All those rigs in Insta is pure marketing garbage
I was about to say the same thing! My 89 hatchback civic took me all over the Oregon Coast Range, crawling up and down logging roads it had “no business” being on. It wouldn’t do anything serious, but it’s what I had and it reliably got me out to the places I wanted to see.
I drove a ‘78 Civic in high school in the ‘80s and have a lot of fun driving it in interesting places!
super beetle on forest road 300, mogollon rim, arizona, driving snow road for the annual (Legal) christmas tree cutting……consistently reliable……..made it there and back…….
Blasphemy! You mix Yakima and Thule on one vehicle! You really are a contrarian, with the right attitude.
Loved this: “Preferably, one that actually grunts.” good for a hearty laugh.
I have a mostly stock 2011 Forester that’s got me a lot of places I probably shouldn’t have been with an AWD car, and got many a sideways glance when encountering big burly jeeps or trucks on those roads I probably shouldn’t have been on. No lift on mine, but I have the same primitive racing skidplate setup, and slightly beefier than stock tires (Yokohama Geolander A/Ts). Other than that, and stuff to carry gear (roof basket, hitch-mounted bike-rack), it’s equipped pretty much as it was when I drove it off the lot over a decade ago.
It was fine when it was just me, or just me and my wife, but with me, my wife, 2-kids in carseats and a dog it’s just too cramped to try to go anywhere with a full-complement of camping gear. We can bring bikes for everyone, or go camping for a few days, but there’s no way, even with the biggest roof basket I could fit on there, that we can carry enough stuff for a multi-day family camping/road trip with the dog and bikes for everyone. If we leave the dog behind we can just *barely* fit it all, but once our youngest is on a pedal-bike, as opposed to his strider that we can stuff inside somewhere, it’s just not gonna happen.
We need more room, and while I don’t necessarily *need* a burly 4×4 I also don’t want something less capable than the Subaru. There’s not a lot that fits the bill of “at least as capable off-road as a Subaru, but able to carry a lot more stuff” that isn’t a 4×4 truck or SUV, or insanely expensive EV that probably isn’t even shipping yet (Rivian et al.).
Yeah, I have two kids now and might be in same boat in the next year or so. The Outback has a smidge more room than the Forester, but not much. I just got a cargo basket thing for the hitch that will take a cooler, tents, a couple totes, etc, or some of that and a bike(!) which I’ll review this spring, and I’m hoping that will be enough room for our stuff, but if not, I guess I have to sell Outback to get something bigger. Or I get a small teardrop trailer like the Scout, that can go off-road. They ain’t cheap, but they are towable by Subies. I don’t know what we’d get, if we went to a larger vehicle. Maybe a hybrid Suburban? Gross. I don’t know. What did people do when cars were way smaller?
We’ve thought about abandoning the “at least mildly off-road capable” requirement, and going to an AWD mini-van. Cargo/passenger room would no longer be an issue, it would get us to the snow reliably in winter, and there are Hybrid AWD mini-vans on the market that get MPG in the 30s – low 40s. Waaaay, better than my relatively ancient, pre-CVT Forester.
Probably would want a second off-road capable car for adventures if we did that though. Currently we’re a single-car household.
Which AWD Hybrid Minivan gets north of 40 mpg? Best I know of is a Siena at 34 mpg…
You’re right. I misread the Edmunds review of the Sienna. They averaged 42.7 in their test of the ’22 Sienna, outperforming the EPA estimate, but that wasn’t the AWD model. Still, even if it gets 34 or 35 that’s still about twice what your average 4×4 is gonna get.
if you cannot fit things into vagon style/size car you too many things. Buy less stuff 😀
This seems like a really judgemental reply.
Do you have children? Do you do outdoor activities that require gear other than hiking boots? Do you enjoy engaging in said activities with your children? If so, then you’re gonna need room for a lot of gear.
Sure, nobody *needs* to mtn. bike, or climb, or kayak, or do any of the other stuff that many of us do, but you’re commenting on “Adventure Journal”. Kinda goes with the territory that a lot of “adventures”, be it a family camping trip, or an Everest Expedition require a fair amount of gear. Multiply that gear x 4 people over a multi-day camping trip, and a lot of average size passenger cars are going to be bursting at the seams.
I have both a 4th gen 4Runner and a 1st gen Subaru Forester (plus a 1998 Mazda MPV 4WD van). I’ve taken the Subaru many places it shouldn’t have gone, and I paid the price, but it never left me stranded (even with a hole in the oil pan). I keep everything stock except for tires, and for me it’s drive the Subaru to the ski hill, and go camping/exploring in the 4Runner. Other than bent control arms and the holed oil pan (because of lack of ground clearance), the worst disasters with the Subaru have been shredded tire sidewalls. Being able to fit beefy Falken AT3/W tires on the 4Runner raises the confidence level immensely.
I use to drive my Subaru Cross Trek up the Hurley road in winter. Crossing frozen creekbeds, dodging fully loaded logging trucks. Fully loaded with food for 15 and ski gear. I would park amongst the giant trucks at the trailhead. That car never slipped. We love our Subarus. We are on our third.
Little boys will always claim that their toy is the best..
Ain’t the wand, it’s the magician behind it.
Man this one hit some nerves both good and bad! The first time I drove the length of Baja was in an ‘88 4WD subir wagon, with a case of oil in the back, three dogs, 2 surfboards and a kayak on the roof, and then hauled my friend all the way north with his bike and trailer on the roof. Two months and never even got a flat tire! I’ve also driven it in an ‘04 VW TDI Wagon, and only got stuck once, but did rip the oil pan cover off up north around Coyote Cal’s. All that said, I’ve lived in Colorado for 9 years now, and before that southern Utah for 8 years. I have pulled over a dozen Subarus out of ditches/river beds/the snow with my 22 year old full size diesel pickup (that gets 24 mpg and can also tow a house). I absolutely love Subarus, but I don’t believe their place is on trails, as it more often than not ends in a recovery situation. Fuck “overlanding”, it’s all just driving anyway. But right tool for the job is what I’m getting at. All THAT said, who gives a shit, I’d rather be walking in the wilds anyway, the vehicle is just a means to the wild.
I’m endlessly tinkering with my 2018 Outback, and if you get a chance to add the Diode Dynamics fog floods (plug and play) you’ll be happy crawling along dirt roads looking for that perfect dispersed spot after sunset.
25mpg is what my camper van does fully loaded and you’re happy hitting that low in a car? Agree on the useless trucks, they just get stuck a few minutes later.
Why the deficit-framing language in this article? why not just write about why you like Subaraus instead of bring un-needed attention to the detractors of your choice of vehicle? this is stoking conflict, we’ve got enough of that in the world – just write a nice thing about your car and leave it at that
This is another list of good reasons to explain why I’ll be purchasing my 7th Subaru in the next year.
Brad Gobright lived in a Civic. Michael Kelsey did all those crazy canyons in southern Utah while driving a VW Rabbit, lol. Just get out there and have fun, and if you have to walk, walk:)
“True, but you know what’s even more efficient than a low-range transfer case and lockers? Hiking. A horse. Riding a mountain bike. If you’re really after the best possible way to get down this hypothetical boulder-strewn trail, why are you driving any kind of vehicle?”
We had a Suby, which we loved, but now have a Rav4. We learned to never ask a Jeep or Truck coming the other direction about road conditions, because even if it was a well-groomed fire road with no ruts the answer was always, “You’ll never make it in that!” Well, we did. Everytime.
I like subarus just fine, and I think they are plenty of capability for most folks, they’re comfy to drive and have good cargo space, can’t say I love their CVTs, but not that big of deal. I do think you get pretty limited return when you start modifying them, better tires and skid plates are good, but lifts on these are really not gaining you much capability, lots of used stock other vehicles would get you more and save you a lot of money
Mark, thanks for the reply, but the whole point is that it doesn’t matter if stock 4x4s are more capable – it’s fun to mod your car, regardless.
Yeah mods are fun, and I encourage people to learn about & work on their own cars, great skills to learn, with that in mind, I think there is a lot of misunderstanding on the risk/benefits of adding lifts to crossovers, in my experience folks will gain a lot more putting $ into better tires than 1.5 inch lift on a crossover
Perfectly said, Justin. It is always the driver, not the vehicle in 99.99999% of the cases (I hear you rubicons). The adventure always starts when the road ends.
Yessss! Loved this perspective. We all take ourselves so seriously (heavy emphasis on “I take myself so seriously”) Thanks Justin! Favorite line “one thing, and one thing only: fun.”
Would the new Subaru Outback Wilderness trim accomplish the same things you are doing in your present car? Namely, one-inch lifted suspension, Yokohama Geolander all-terrain tires, and a front skid plate–all from the factory?
I just want to get farther up fire roads and double-tracks to dispersed camping spots during MTB trips, farther than I can manage in our current mini-van. I’m not excited about off-road driving, but I am intrigued by the possibility of safer soft-road driving to get to better single-track mountain bike trails.
My debate is between buying a new Outback with all those features bundled into the car payment OR buying a used one and having them installed later. Note the *having them installed*–I wouldn’t be able to manage it myself.
Yeah, the Wilderness is basically the factory version of my car. Prob theoretically a little better, as the CVT is retuned, I think anyway, to handle off-roading a bit more. Having said that, my plan was mod what I needed when I discovered I needed it. The stock Outback is very capable with proper tires, like the Nokian Outpost APTs I reviewed, or Falken Wildpeaks, or Yokohama Geolandar ATs. You can get a CPO Outback for prob $15k less than a new Wilderness, then, if you discover you need more ground clearance, etc., add the lift I did (about $300 for parts, figure $1000 total if you pay to have installed), the skidplates (another $400 or so, easy to install yourself), and you’re good to go. Technically the Wilderness has more advanced off-roading software with dual X-mode, while I have plain-old X-mode, but I have no idea if that actually makes much of a difference.
Justin, I really appreciate the tone of your message. It’s philosophical poetry: Have fun with the world. They say never read the comments, and yours are no exception. Some think we are here to love, some think we are here to judge. So, why does having the “perfect tool for the job” seem to also harden a man’s heart?
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