Which Subaru is best off-road?

otis24

Observer
Just curious...OP, what do you mean by off road? This term has a lot of different meanings.

What are you currently driving and where do you find it lacking? What are you trying to accomplish with a Subie?
 

Joash

Adventurer
Just curious...OP, what do you mean by off road? This term has a lot of different meanings.

What are you currently driving and where do you find it lacking? What are you trying to accomplish with a Subie?

You're right. I've been using that term loosely. I really just mean unpaved backroads, exploring the Southern California desert. I drive a Toyota Sienna (2wd) at the moment.

What does it lack? 4wd & good fuel economy.


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Last edited:

freshlikesushi

Free Candy
anything can do that

id say go 2014/15 CRV EX-L for the same price as a mildly equipped outback

Optional on the Forester and standard on Outback, Subaru X Mode is a software program engineered to get you up and down vertiginous terrain.
•X-Mode uses lower gear ratios to generate extra power at the wheels that have grip;
•X-Mode deactivates the transmission's lock-up clutch to better direct power to slipping wheels;
•X-Mode makes the traction control system extra sensitive so that it intervenes earlier during wheel slippage;
•X-Mode employs "Hill Descent Control" so you don't need to apply brakes and risk locking them up when headed down steep slopes.




•X-Mode will reduce the sensitivity of the accelerator, which gives you more control to finesse your way through low traction situations without spinning the wheels. Torque comes on more gradually allowing for added control.
•Using an enhanced LSD control, if the wheels do spin X-Mode will almost instantly compensate by braking the slipping wheel and transferring power to wheels with better traction.

•The CVT is held in a lower gear ratio which helps to generate more power at lower speeds.

•The front/rear coupling force of the AWD system is enhanced, helping deliver power equally to all 4 wheels. This transfers more power to the rear wheels than there would be with X-Mode off in the same situation. This is achieved by increasing the multi plate transfer clutch operation strength by 25%.

X-mode is operational in all gears, forward and reverse. X-mode also disables functionality of the SI-drive buttons (S/S#) and disables adaptive cruise control (on EyeSight equipped models).
 
Last edited:

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
8

How many miles on your Jeep? Just saw a good friend last week his Patriot with 80k just got replaced due to the transmission dying no joke infront of the dealer. $5000 to fix he told the dealer to keep it. Pretty sure my Subaru will not only out last your jeep but cover 3x the miles and probably 2x the miles on dirt before we replace it. Jeep makes a great Jeep all their other stuff is just cheap chrysler junk.
It's possible. I only have 30,000 miles on my Jeep over the span of three years. I did pop for the lifetime warranty.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
I put 180k on my Legacy and took it through stuff that would stop a heavy Sienna in its tracks. OB is slightly more capable with the added ground clearance I tend to drive the OB like I did the Legacy off road any rough spots where rocky ledges were in play you need to check your entry and departur points to avoid tearing up plastic bits. But from a traction stand point nothing stops them other than getting hung up on some thing. The AT is better than the MT regarding steep climbs with the Subaru. The Torque Converter takes up a lot of slack were the MT clutch you have no option and slipping a clutch isnt how you drive a MT. My prior Legacy was the 5spd MT we towed trailers and did countless off pavent miles Zero issues except I knew my big limit was MT gearing vs hill climb ability. The CVT not my choice has turned out to be awesome sure changed my perception of the cvt. 60k on ours no complaints. 60k drain fill on the cvt at the dealer!! No its not life time fluid.
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
Funny someone is trying to claim the patriot is a super wheeler


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Uh...nice try, but that's stretching my words to support your hyperbolic reply. If you'll re-read what I said, I merely suggested that while I think the OB is a vastly superior car on a whole variety of metrics, there are a couple of attributes of the Jeep Patriot that might give it a moderate edge over the Outback in certain off-road settings. At no point did I assert it was a "super wheeler." This is why these discussions never bare fruit and become highly annoying.

Anyway, having driven both on the same roads for an accurate comparison, the Outback's dimensions more than its technical specs made it slightly less effective than the Patriot, on the roads I drove. The Patriot's approach angle is 29º. The Outback's is considerably less at 19.3º. The break over of the Jeep is 23.7 and the Outbacks is 20º. Departure angle on the Patriot is 33.9º whereas the Outback struggles with 20º and we really did notice that above all.

The Patriot specs listed above do not indicate the 19:1 crawl ratio included in the Freedom Drive II package. The Outback has 8.7-inches of clearance to the 9.1-inches of the Patriot.

Again, I do think the Patriot has a slight advantage off-road. Even the shorter wheelbase seems to add to the maneuverability advantage as does the overall smaller size. However, the Outback is simply a way better vehicle on almost every other metric. Better drive quality, better highway performance, better mpg, better build quality...I could go on and on.
 

toylandcruiser

Expedition Leader
Uh...nice try, but that's stretching my words to support your hyperbolic reply. If you'll re-read what I said, I merely suggested that while I think the OB is a vastly superior car on a whole variety of metrics, there are a couple of attributes of the Jeep Patriot that might give it a moderate edge over the Outback in certain off-road settings. At no point did I assert it was a "super wheeler." This is why these discussions never bare fruit and become highly annoying.

Anyway, having driven both on the same roads for an accurate comparison, the Outback's dimensions more than its technical specs made it slightly less effective than the Patriot, on the roads I drove. The Patriot's approach angle is 29º. The Outback's is considerably less at 19.3º. The break over of the Jeep is 23.7 and the Outbacks is 20º. Departure angle on the Patriot is 33.9º whereas the Outback struggles with 20º and we really did notice that above all.

The Patriot specs listed above do not indicate the 19:1 crawl ratio included in the Freedom Drive II package. The Outback has 8.7-inches of clearance to the 9.1-inches of the Patriot.

Again, I do think the Patriot has a slight advantage off-road. Even the shorter wheelbase seems to add to the maneuverability advantage as does the overall smaller size. However, the Outback is simply a way better vehicle on almost every other metric. Better drive quality, better highway performance, better mpg, better build quality...I could go on and on.

I didn't realize I was talking to you. :)


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Joash

Adventurer
anything can do that

id say go 2014/15 CRV EX-L for the same price as a mildly equipped outback

Optional on the Forester and standard on Outback, Subaru X Mode is a software program engineered to get you up and down vertiginous terrain.
•X-Mode uses lower gear ratios to generate extra power at the wheels that have grip;
•X-Mode deactivates the transmission's lock-up clutch to better direct power to slipping wheels;
•X-Mode makes the traction control system extra sensitive so that it intervenes earlier during wheel slippage;
•X-Mode employs "Hill Descent Control" so you don't need to apply brakes and risk locking them up when headed down steep slopes.




•X-Mode will reduce the sensitivity of the accelerator, which gives you more control to finesse your way through low traction situations without spinning the wheels. Torque comes on more gradually allowing for added control.
•Using an enhanced LSD control, if the wheels do spin X-Mode will almost instantly compensate by braking the slipping wheel and transferring power to wheels with better traction.

•The CVT is held in a lower gear ratio which helps to generate more power at lower speeds.

•The front/rear coupling force of the AWD system is enhanced, helping deliver power equally to all 4 wheels. This transfers more power to the rear wheels than there would be with X-Mode off in the same situation. This is achieved by increasing the multi plate transfer clutch operation strength by 25%.

X-mode is operational in all gears, forward and reverse. X-mode also disables functionality of the SI-drive buttons (S/S#) and disables adaptive cruise control (on EyeSight equipped models).

The CRV is not a bad option at all. I just thought a Subaru might take me to more places.
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
The CRV is not a bad option at all. I just thought a Subaru might take me to more places.

Oh it will the part time almost awd CRV is a maginally awd civic in all reality.

All subaru CVTs when set to manual mode 1st locks you into the lowest ratio. All Subarus today use brake vectoring to control wheel spin and push power across the open diff. Regardless of xmode. Xmode is very cool but its primary ability over non equiped new subarus is the advanced wheel spin and increased tollerance for vehicle skid ie keeping the wheels turning while sliding down a steep slick slope in decend mode etc. All the other aspects of power delivery and awd etc is just the standard subaru drive system doing its thing.
 

freshlikesushi

Free Candy
if you arent wanting actually like real offroad, and just going "off the pavement" id get a loaded crv over an outback (i have both)
 

freshlikesushi

Free Candy
Oh it will the part time almost awd CRV is a maginally awd civic in all reality.

All subaru CVTs when set to manual mode 1st locks you into the lowest ratio. All Subarus today use brake vectoring to control wheel spin and push power across the open diff. Regardless of xmode. Xmode is very cool but its primary ability over non equiped new subarus is the advanced wheel spin and increased tollerance for vehicle skid ie keeping the wheels turning while sliding down a steep slick slope in decend mode etc. All the other aspects of power delivery and awd etc is just the standard subaru drive system doing its thing.

actually, xmode also gets rid of the cross wheel spin issues that subaru has had before now, where if the back left and front wheels were spinning, you got almost zero movement. this
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
actually, xmode also gets rid of the cross wheel spin issues that subaru has had before now, where if the back left and front wheels were spinning, you got almost zero movement. this

That was removed with the braking logic offered even back in 2013 XV's cant recall if my 2010 OB has it havent tried to get stuck yet. Lol
 

Joash

Adventurer
if you arent wanting actually like real offroad, and just going "off the pavement" id get a loaded crv over an outback (i have both)

The more capable the vehicle, the more challenging routes I would choose.


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