Is Subaru’s 2024 Crosstrek Wilderness a Pocket-Sized Overlander?

The Subaru Crosstrek sets the bar high in off-roading capabilities in the compact crossover segment, and the 2024 Wilderness trim level takes that even higher. An increased ride height and better overlanding capabilities help make the Crosstrek even more potent when taken off the standard A and B roads, but does not compromise comfort for everyday use. 

Overland Expo Review

An off-roading blog from Overland Expo called The Compass recently put a 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness through its paces while asking if it’s good enough as a standard package for overlanding enthusiasts. Spoiler: It was quite good, and the author was impressed. Overland Expo is a company that helps adventurous travel enthusiasts have a safe and fun time with their off-road vehicles.

Subaru AWD Makes Life Better

When talking about the sheer brilliance of the Subaru Symmetrical all-wheel-drive system, the author took the time to note to drivers who aren’t used to such a sophisticated system, saying, “When you do point the Crosstrek Wilderness down a dirt, gravel, or snow-covered passage, the most important thing to remember is to… slow down a bit, for safety’s sake, and let the multitude of sensors and driveline smarts in Subaru’s AWD system essentially do the work for you across the vast majority of low-traction scenarios. That point-and-shoot simplicity is a big part of the appeal of a Subaru but also somewhat of a limitation.”

X-MODE and AWD Are The Perfect Match

The latest X-MODE available on 2024 Crosstrek models allows you to tell the vehicle what type of terrain you are driving on so that it can make the most of its traction and stability control systems. The Compass made good use of the X-MODE system driving on a California beach that allows vehicles: “Arriving at a public beach where vehicles were allowed to roam, I popped the drivetrain into Sand X-Mode and gave it some pedal. Down the hard sand, we shot past the signs advising drivers to leave the donuts at home. Fair enough, and slacking off the pedal and trying out some non-sliding turns again illustrated why people love these cars so much: it was easy. It was easy to get away from the crowds of minivans back at the beach entrance, easy to plow through some deeper sand that was giving some nearby pickups grief, and easy to enjoy thinking I was in the SoCal Beach Rally 500 (yards), gunning for the checkers. Laughter came from the passengers as the Crosstrek spit sand and revved. It was a highlight of the trip.”

Sit Back And Let The Crosstrek Do The Work

Unlike most SUVs and trucks, you don’t have to manually put the Crosstrek into an all-wheel or 4-wheel drive mode as it’s always on and ready to rock, which was highlighted as one of the best things about all Subaru vehicles: “Later, we headed into the hills near CalPoly San Luis Obispo and found some tight dirt passages heading up to higher elevations. Crossing water bars and blasting through the occasional mud puddle had us grinning again, and once at the top of the grade, I realized I had not used X-Mode at all, I just turned up the muddy road and watched for obstacles. The car did the rest. Coming back down, I activated Hill Descent assist, which spiked the tach a bit on steep sections but otherwise felt like normal driving. Not exactly rock crawling, but it did get us through some technical challenges that would have had drivers of some other crossovers looking for the AWD/4WD button, something Crosstrek drivers don’t need to remember.”

The Wilderness Can Take On Any Wilderness

The blog’s author said that, in the end, the Wilderness is just the right mixture of everyday SUV and usable off-road and overlanding tool, even in its completely stock configuration. It allows drivers and passengers to enjoy the trip while making it easier for them to have a good time. 

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