Subaru is on to something with its Wilderness lineup. This would be the more off-road focused trim lines added to existing models. It started with the Outback, and now it’s arrived on the Forester. And it’s even better than the first time we tried it. Probably because we took this one deeper into the woods.

Here’s my video review for Autotrader:

The main points are that the refreshed Forester gets a Wilderness trim. That means you’ll find a fully retuned suspension system, 17″ wheels, and Yokohama Geolander tires at each corner. Additionally, Subaru adds a greater ratio spread to the CVT including a more aggressive final drive ratio, and this Forester gets the X-Mode system that has been adjusted to work at higher speeds.

And I have to say that the suspension work here is, quite frankly, excellent. The damping is wonderful and the ride off-pavement is far better than I would’ve expected. I blazed this Forester down moderately aggressive trails somewhere in the vicinity of Bend, Oregon. And I came away quite impressed.

If you need a refresher on the Outback Wilderness, my video review of that is linked above (a Hooniverse review). And I encourage you to watch my Autotrader review of the Forester Wilderness. It’s a very capable vehicle offered for under $36k to start. I’d love to see what it could do with a bit more tire. And I still daydream of a Crosstrek STI Wilderness mash-up. But until that happens, the Forester Wilderness is an excellent option in the daily-driver new-car off-road adventure machine.