2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness: Three Quick Takes

What Is The 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness?

The 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness is a rare bird. It’s a smallish crossover with a fair amount of off-road capability.

In a world of high-powered desert running trucks and beefy trail-conquering SUVs, this Crosstrek offers outdoor enthusiasts a chance to tackle trails, but it also fits in tight spaces and has decent fuel economy. Moderation in 2025? Subaru serves it up in the surprisingly satisfying Crosstrek Wilderness.

In short, Subaru took its entry-level ute and leveled it up with Wilderness parts to create a halo for the Crosstrek line. You get greater ground clearance (9.3 inches), upgraded suspensions, and knobbier tires. It also looks the part with prominent wheel arches and cladding, bigger bumpers, and Wilderness badges and decals.

My tester cost $36,580 when I took it on a golf trip in May, though Subaru has since raised its prices.

How Does The 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness Drive?

From a pure driving experience, it’s actually a little boring. You’re talking about a 2.5-liter boxer four rated at 182 hp and 178 lb-ft of torque teamed with a CVT. That gives you a listed 27 mpg combined, which is respectable for an all-wheel-drive crossover set up to navigate the forest.

I observed 26 mpg during a 300-mile leg of my journey, so the EPA’s figure tracks, if you’re wondering. It’s a little loud on the expressway, and I’m not a fan of Subaru’s Starlink multimedia system, which requires too many finger stabs to operate. The cargo hatch is respectable, swallowing clubs for the trip, cases of beer and Powerade, an overnight bag, and plenty of extra balls and sunscreen. Once I returned to civilization, it was equally adept at family duty for grocery getting, sports, and running errands.

The beauty of the Crosstrek in Wilderness trim is the attitude it delivers and vibe it casts. My fellow golfers—who drive a variety of things—were interested in the design and capability, and people are always curious about Subaru’s take on things, especially in Michigan, where Honda and Toyota dominate the mainstream market.

I took it briefly off-road (one of the courses was set far off the beaten path), tuning X-mode to Snow/Dirt for a little traction assist. The Crosstrek was more than capable.

Should I Buy A Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness?

This is a tough one. My initial thought is no. Spend your money on a Forester or Outback. When you start to move up the Crosstrek line, the prices get blurry compared to its larger siblings. Do you really want to spend nearly $37 grand on Subaru’s entry-level crossover?

But. The Wilderness trim delivers a lot of character, and it’s plenty capable off-road without the compromises of driving a Wrangler. And driving something smaller, especially in the woods, can be a good thing. So that’s both sides of the argument.

My verdict, charming as the Crosstrek Wilderness is: just spend your money on a Forester or Outback.

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