Subaru’s Forester Wilderness: INTO THE WILD

Subaru’s Forester Wilderness:

INTO THE WILD

CANEY CREEK WILDERNESS, Ark. – Deep rocky ruts and slick river fords might challenge most small SUVs, but for the 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness it was just another day at the office.

Truth be told, it was more than that. The Forester’s exceptional off-road prowess motivated me to head into the Ouachita National Forest and guide Subaru’s compact SUV along a winding route along, up, and through the Saline River. 

The destination was the crest of the mountainous road, about a mile from Bard Springs, where sits the trailhead to the Tall Peak Fire Tower. This was a journey that taught me that the Forester is not so much a vehicle for people who aspire to be seen as independent and adventurous – though it certainly is. It is also a means to live in the here and now.

As I approached the first river ford, the road was slick and cratered. I reached down and put the X-MODE into sand and mud. Then I relaxed and enjoyed the scenery and solitude. With standard symmetrical all-wheel drive, 9.2 inches of ground clearance – similar to a Toyota Tacoma’s – and all-terrain Yokohama Geolandar® tires the Forester Wilderness is equipped with far more capability than I needed that day.

While I played one of my favorite playlists through an exceptional Harmon-Kardon® sound system, the X-MODE was doing a lot of work:

• Engine Throttle: The throttle doesn’t open too quickly. If the driver presses the accelerator further, the engine then delivers torque faster. X-Mode employs special settings that deliver torque gradually at first but then make it come on stronger.
• Transmission: X-Mode keeps the transmission in a lower gear so that engine power can be delivered more forcefully. This shifting pattern, while X-Mode is on, lets the driver make the most of the available power.
• All Wheel Drive: AWD control is improved by raising the front/rear coupling force when X-Mode is on, which delivers power more evenly between the four wheels. This maximizes tire traction.
• Vehicle Dynamics Control System: The VDC system, when X-Mode is on, includes a specially-tuned “Enhanced LSD Control.” For example, if the left and right wheels are behaving differently, the system applies brakes to wheels that are slipping. Compared to ordinary operation, the brakes are applied a lot earlier when X-Mode is on, resulting in LSD control activating much faster.
• Hill Descent Control: Under 12 mph, Hill Descent Control maintains vehicle speed. The car manages the throttle and braking, allowing the driver to concentrate on steering.

Starting at $33,945, the Wilderness sits 1.4 inches higher than the more mainstream Forester, has an upgraded drivetrain, beefier suspension, stronger roof rack, and more towing capacity. This is an almost $8,000 bump when compared to a base Forester, which starts at $26,320, delivery included.

Our tester came with just about every goody in the Subaru parts bin. Included in the Wilderness are the Premium trim features, affording you heated front seats, heated exterior mirrors, and a windshield wiper deicer. It also has a 10-way power driver’s seat with power lumbar support, 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, roof rails, dark tint privacy glass, and a panoramic power moonroof.

Add skid plates, LED fog lamps, an anti-glare hood, a forward-looking camera for those blind hill crests, and a ladder-type roof rack that is ready for a roof tent, and the Wilderness is a perfect companion for outdoor adventures.

I parked at the trailhead and began a 2.3-mile hike that increased in elevation by 1,500 feet en route to a stone tower built some 90 years ago by the Civilian Conservation Corps. At 3,200 feet above sea level, it is the highest point between eastern Arkansas and central Mexico. Spectacular views of the gateway to the Great Plains await the few willing to make the trek.

I saw one bear, a clutch of deer, and no people in the 90-minute trudge to the top. I learned that if I follow through on my plan to hike portions of the Appalachian Trail come spring, I will have to increase the strenuousness of my workouts. On this trail, the pattern was set early: come around a bend and see a steep hill to another bend in the road. Reach that bend and repeat.

Forced rests were blessings. Quiet in its majesty, the rock-strewn mountain, stripped barren in another century, is blanketed by hardwoods; a result, no doubt, of rapacious loggers who carelessly left behind a few poplars, oak, elm, dogwood. 

In midwinter, the hardwoods are barren, yet impressive. The skeleton of the tree is shaped by the energy of sunlight, the nurture of the rain, the substance of the soil. I halted my steps and calmed my breathing. In the quiet, I heard so much: birds, ground creatures, silent and crisp breezes sweep up the valley with only a sporadic encounter through an evergreen to give voice to their urgency. 

Red-tailed hawks glided silently on the thermals as the wind reached gentle crescendos that softly crashed like distant waterfalls. I calmed my mind and heard exponentially more. Like the multitudes of thoughts that continuously cascade across our consciousness, the sounds have a beginning, a middle, and an end. At this very moment, my soul sang, with this day’s daily bread.

The summit offered more reward than the effort it took to reach it. The observation tower is open to all. As I surveyed the vast distance before me, I made a vow to return with a backpack, hammock tent, and a good camera to capture what must be stunning sunsets. The low-angle rays from behind at sunrise might yield crisp shots of the wilderness.

The walk back down the mountain was, obviously, much easier and quicker. Still, the hike had consumed the better part of the afternoon. I decided to head back via an old state highway that wound through the foothills with many a sharp curve and narrow bridge.

Traffic was nonexistent so I picked up my pace. This led to another felicitous discovery. Longer coil springs and shock absorbers not only provide added road clearance but are also nicely tuned to give the Forester exceptional handling. For an SUV, it has great stick in tight turns. 

The CVT is designed to give the feel of eight gears, which are available via paddle shifters, making it easy to find optimal engine speed and torque during spirited driving. The 2.5-L Boxster engine might seem underpowered at 182 hp and 176  lb.-ft. of torque, but while the Wilderness may not be fast, it is quick in the right ways.

As I headed into the sunset, the thought occurred that this day came as close as any to perfection.