With standard all-wheel drive and a higher ground clearance the 2022 Subaru Forester is a great small SUV for veering off the path less traveled. Since its redesign in 2019, Subaru now adds another trim for the more adventurous, the Wilderness. With higher ground clearance than the other Forester models, all-terrain tires and some zhuzh, the Wilderness makes the Forester even more off-road friendly.
The Forester comes in six trim levels: base, Premium, Sport, Wilderness, and Limited. This review will focus on the Wilderness trim.
The most rugged of the trims, the Wilderness gets, 17-inch all-terrain tires with a full-sized spare, added towing capacity of 3000 pounds, LED foglights, higher ground clearance, water-resistant seating surfaces, roof rack, front skid plate and anti-glare, matte-black hood badge.
The Forester Wilderness gets around town with 182 horses and 176 lb-ft of torque from its four-cylinder engine. The engine is mated to a continuously variable transmission with a virtual 8-speed manual mode. Subaru’s ubiquitous all-wheel drive is, of course, included. The 2022 Forester also debuts an improved X-Mode that no longer shuts completely off if the driver momentarily exceeds its maximum speed of 25 mph. It now goes into a standby mode and will automatically reengage when the car slows to 22 mph. The hill-descent control features a related improvement that more quickly resumes the original speed if the driver temporarily accelerates and then eases off the pedal. Expect to get 25/city, 28/highway and 26/combined MPG.
With its car-like drive and comfortably bolstered seats, the Subaru is equally comfortable on daily commutes as it is on long-distance adventures. All the tech is user-friendly and clear and concise. Subaru’s EyeSight is one of the first adaptive cruise control systems I tested, I liked it then and I like it now. It’s easy to use and works well.
While driving the Forester Wilderness is not exactly thrilling, it will get you where you want to go with minimal fuss, and if that location is off-road it will do it with aplomb. The cabin is nice and quiet, with little road noise and steering has a good solid feel and a nice turning radius. The wheels hug the pavement making those winding roads easier to traverse.
Need a small SUV that drives well on the highway as well as more rugged roads? Give the 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness a test drive.
