Subaru is America's third most off-roaded brand

[Dave]

According to this:

When you think of iconic off-road brands, where does Subaru fall on your radar? Somewhere in the middle? Perhaps near the bottom? Don't worry, you're not alone. Until recently spending some time in Bend, OR, where we drove the all-new 2015 Subaru Outback, we never really pegged the Japanese automaker to be a highly lauded brand among off-road enthusiasts, despite many of the company's products actually being quite capable when the going gets rough.

But the data says we're wrong. According to a 2013 J.D. Power study, Subaru vehicles have some of the highest use off road compared to other brands – of course "off road" here just means anything not on a paved road, so even gravel trails and tame two-tracks count in these statistics. Nearly 29.5 percent of its cars are used on trails and dirt roads,with only the Ram and Jeep brands besting that statistic, at 30.2 and 31.0 percent, respectively. Said another way, Subaru sold 424,683 vehicles in the US in 2013, meaning that some 125,281 saw off-road use. Mainstream brands like GMC, Ford and Chevrolet all trail Subaru, and even Land Rover comes in at less than 20 percent.

http://www.autoblog.com/2014/07/01/subaru-americas-third-most-off-roaded-brand/

Me, I really like the idea of adding a "soft roader" to my stable. High speed comfort and better fuel efficiency to a trailhead or almost any adventure destination that has a road going to it even if it's only a rough fire road. And let's be honest here, many of our destinations in North America have some kind of access. I have a truck for the rough stuff, I wouldn't mind a daily driver type vehicle that can cover down on the easier stuff and save some fuel costs and wear and tear on the truck.

 

[bob91yj]

You just have to want it bad enough, I've been out with Marc a few times. He's not afraid to try anything in his! He needed a little tug to get up the water fall on the loop road at Corral Canyon.

 

[Mitch]

Yup, seen Marc do crazy things in that Subie.

 

[Dave]

I most likely would not take one through anything that rough. That's just me. But for carrying bikes or kayaks to a "gravel road" trailhead I think the efficiency (MPG) is very appealing. 33 MPG highway and 8.7 inches of ground clearance sounds amazing.

 

[bob91yj]

We (I) had forgotten about the small water fall on the back side of that particular trail. Driving a Jeep, I also look at trails from a different perspective (which I am slowly adjusting). Quite frankly, since becoming more involved with the adventure travel niche of off highway travel, my eyes have been opened to quite a few vehicles that have decent off highway capabilities.

My daughter has a second generation KIA Sorento, my wife absolutely loves that car. There's a fair chance that an AWD Sorento is in our future. I'd put slightly agressive tires on it, skid plate what I could and call it a day. I'd use it just as you describe Dave.

Standing by for the flames from Mike (I think it was Mike, who had a bad experience with his). IMO the first generation KIA Sorento is overlooked. RWD, with 4wd available, a 3.5L V-6 that had plenty of power, and the later models had a 3.7L with even more power, and timing chains, rather than belts that the 3.5 had.

 

[Herbie]

My first "expo" vehicle was my 2002 WRX Wagon. I called it the "Trailhead Approach Vehicle", since that was it's primary duty. I put on a very mild lift, oversized tires, a roof basket, and a constantly evolving set of Yakima attachments. I even sewed a set of curtains and found a way to add a small platform so I could sleep in the back when the seats were down (it helps being 66" tall).

After I built my poptop van, I changed the tires back to something more street-friendly, but otherwise, that wagon is unchanged and it has been a FANTASTIC dual-purpose vehicle. I've been daily-driving it for 13+ years.

 

[Dave]

I think that the new Mazda CX-5 is another interesting choice in this segment, 8.5 inches of ground clearance and good reviews

 

[Dave]

If I were to buy one of these types of vehicles today, my vote would be the Subaru XV Crosstrek in Desert Khaki

8.7 inches of ground clearance

Getting decent MPG means distant adventure destinations can be reached on a budget, and the Subaru CVT gets good reviews for both efficiency and responsiveness.

Making an all-wheel drive vehicle get good fuel economy isn’t easy, but over the past few years, Subaru has been able to achieve that and a good chunk of the credit lies with the brands new CVT.

While the 2.0-liter and 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines used in the majority of Subaru vehicles are not particularly powerful (making just 148 hp and 170 hp respectively) the CVT makes them feel far more responsive. The best part is that the cars achieve better fuel economy than their old automatic equipped models, all while featuring an all-wheel drive train.

The excellent fuel economy and solid throttle feel helped the 170-hp Subaru Forester eke out a win in our compact crossover comparison last year, where it beat out more powerful rivals like the 2.5-liter MazdaCX-5 and the turbocharged Hyundai Santa Fe Sport.

 

[Haggis]

I think that the new Mazda CX-5 is another interesting choice in this segment, 8.5 inches of ground clearance and good reviews.

My parents have a '13 Mazda CX9. It has proven itself to be a great vehicle in foul weather (think NW Pennsylvania snow storms) and handles the dirt roads and forest roads around here quite confidently. It coverts from a five passenger hauler with a big cargo space to a comfortable 7 passenger run about very easily. It's a decent ride.

If I were to buy one of these types of vehicles today, my vote would be the Subaru XV Crosstrek in Desert Khaki

Adam (frankinjeep) just got one of these for his family's daily driver needs. He seemed to like it a lot. My wife Michelle took a liking to it also.

 

[Dave]

Well, I went and looked at the Subarus today. Scratch what I said about that Desert Khaki color, it's just odd in person.

The silver one with black accents now, well she was quite the little minx with heated leather seats and boxer engine and all...

 

[bob91yj]

I saw an orange Crosstek this morning. Not a very good looking color in person either.

 

[Al Swope]

I drove a cross tec and an outback last month. I really like the cross tec, but it was for my wife. She wanted more storage behind the back seats. We bought a 14 rav4. As far as the OP, they seem to have a big following of out door enthusiaists. Not hunters, or offroad people, but the hikers, bikers, kayakers really like them. I thought they were a prerequisite to my canoe club when I first joined them

 

[flyfishexpert]

I have owned four Subarus over the years, starting with my parents' old '87 GL Wagon when I first started driving. We recently picked up a 2008 Outback 2.5i for Krista, to replace her old 2000 Forester. I cannot beat the fuel economy and the AWD is a must here in Wyo. It won't be replacing our 4Runner for back country travel, but I wheeled the crap out of the GL and an old Legacy I had in college. They are great platforms and I have a lot of fond memories exploring in Subarus!

The only issues I had were with the early 2.5 engines - we went through head gaskets in the Forester like they were hard candy. Supposedly issue was fixed in the 2005+ 2.5s.