Buying the wife a new Subaru this weekend. She loves her 2017 OB and is handing it down to our daughter. Anyone have a strong opinion one or the other. Sacramento CA market if it makes a difference.
Have you checked the matrix on the Subaru website? I thought I wanted a Wilderness. Checked all the specs and just bought a new Touring to replace my 2018 Premium. It's sweet!
This. Onyx looks sharp too!
Road trips with minimal off-road and lots of creature comforts , onyx
Off-road capable and heavier payloads? Wilderness
Just realized the Onyx is no longer with the FA24?? Or a mistake on the specs page.
The 2020 Onyx XT and the wilderness shared a ton of stuff.
I believe you can get either option now with the onyx
I went with onyx since a dirt road is as hard as I go. That should clearly be the determinant since the XT has better fuel econ
Ended up with the onyx xt and we love it. For us, it’s the perfect balance for a very occasional off road life style. Andy occasional off road I am not doing anything a standard fwd probably wouldn’t be fine with in most cases. It was great in the snow for the one season we had it during snow.
I went with the Wilderness for the off-road capabilities. If you go offroad then go Wilderness - better clearance, lift, gearing setup etc. However, if it is more of a daily with some rougher rides to the Tahoe - go with the Onyx XT. Same engine, towing capacity, interior, roof weight etc. And you gain better mileage. Me? I have never been happier with a car because I absolutely love what it looks like. Thought I wanted a Touring XT until I saw the OBW and I was a done deal!
I bought a 21 Onyx XT six weeks ago. Love it!
The more I see wilderness’ the less I like them personally. Nothing about them do I prefer over the onyx xt I ended up actually buying.
Same!
Onyx, so I can feel more unique in my Wilderness
ummm the wilderness def is not unique, at least not in the NY/NJ/CT/MA/PA area - I see more of them then I do regular OBs
Unique in my heart
I was at the dealership fully intending to get one of the Outback versions. I was still undecided at that point. They gave me a deal on the Wilderness I couldn't pass up. It was end of the month and I think they needed to move some cars. You might want to check on both when you get to the dealership, you might find a deal on one over the other.
I have a 24' wilderness... it gets terrible gas mileage (16mpg) its jerky and lurches, the gearing is not good for daily driver, not a smooth ride at all, the turbo is laggy might also be an issue with the XT who knows.
just to note 24' OBW is my 8th and final Subaru
I have a 22 wilderness. I had no plans for using it in any rough terrain. I chose it for the lower gear ratio (better acceleration and pull) and for the non-low profile tires. If I had it to do again I would have gotten the Onyx. Better mileage, it would still have plenty of grunt and when it came time for new tires 18" rims are available. No regrets but an extra mile or 2 per gallon would be nice.
Do you need the extra roof weight capacity and don’t mind buying crossbars cause they don’t come with the Wilderness like other trims?
Need the low gearing, AT tires, or lift?
You can replace the pivoting crossbars on non-Wilderness models for about the same price you'll pay for your towers and crossbars on the Wilderness....and the system has almost the same load rating when you upgrade.
Also, most brands' OEM tires these days might last you 30k miles, so upgrading to actual AT tires on a non-Wilderness is usually less than two years away.
At the end of the day, the extra cost gets you 0.8" of lift, a plastic skid plate, a lower "geared" CVT, and some (hideous, in my opinion) orange/gold cladding and seat stitching.
Replacing just the integrated crossbars won’t work. You have to replace the rails which are rated for 176 lb dynamic and static for non-wilderness trims according to the “getting started” guidebook. Those are like $300 per rails
The rails are the crossbars on non-Wilderness Outbacks, they pivot between the two positions. If you upgrade the OEM pivoting crossbars to something like the Yakima SkyLine system (landing pads, towers, and crossbars), the static load rating goes way up.
The weak point is the crossbars/rails and how they attach, not the base of the rack that's bolted to the roof....and they obviously didn't reinforce the roof pillars on the Wilderness, it's the same Outback frame.
There are two different weights listed. You would need to replace the whole integrated roof rails and crossbars which is the base plastic pieces I’ve seen others do it with Wilderness rails. You cannot just place Yakima crossbars on top of the non-wilderness rails as they are only rated at 176 lb.
With the stock system, yes.
We can agree to disagree....cheers, man.
I absolutely LOVE my 24 Wilderness. Upgraded from a Gen5 (2015) 2.5 Premium and I couldn’t be happier. It is a beautiful daily driver with a smooth ride, the turbo is quick, and the off-road capability is great right off the lot.
I was in the same boat last week and ended up with the wilderness.
I live in MN and often have pretty deep snow to get through if I end up leaving before the plows get out. I'm coming from a ram 1500 4x4 with a hemi so we'll see how I feel after winter.
That being said, I also wanted the additional roof rack carrying capacity of the OBW. I know I don't need a roof tent, but I just kinda want one. That's really what had me decide between the two.
Other than that, I might swap out the stock tires for a quieter tire for my daily commute. Other than that, I love it.
I did buy the seat back protectors, added a subaru hitched and 4 pin, and plan on adding mudguard and the sidewall protectors too. Eventually, I'll probably get some sparco all terrains, but again that's because I think they look cool not because they're necessary.
I think a lot of people bought the OBW for the look rather than going off-road. I love the blue color of the OBW but for me, the Onyx XT overall looks great drives great. BTW, i got mine from Modesto Subaru. You can start with cargurus .com to locate the car you like and send messages to the dealers for quote.
Wilderness
Onyx.XT....have no plans to fug up a new car going over large rocks and thru thick brush. It will get enough battle scars without my help.
Neither. Get a 3.6.
Get the turbo!
Yeah…get the turbo! I need the demand for the turbo to be steady so when I buy in a few years - it’ll still be an option.
cries in 5th gen
I feel like my vehicle buying rotation is opposite of Subaru having fun turbo Outbacks....
- Wanted a Gen3 with a turbo
- Was in college and poor
- Graduated, made some money, ready to buy
- No turbo offered in Gen4 or Gen5
- Worked a few more years, paid off all my loans, finally have enough money for a 2nd vehicle!
- Wanted a dedicated off-roader
- Subaru releases the turbo Wilderness....and it's pretty disappointing
- Bought an old Japanese off-roader to play with instead (and I love it!)
Just my luck, by the time I need to ditch my Gen4 and get a new daily-driver/road-tripper, Subaru will have moved on from the turbo and only offer PHEVs! Ha!
Unless you need the enhanced off road ability of the Wilderness, I’d go for the XT.
The XT is a great daily driver.