Passport Trailsport vs Subaru Outback Wilderness

[Dragoon]

We don't know much about the 2026 Passport Trailsport, but on the surface, the Subaru Outback Wilderness might be a vehicle that targets a similar demographic. Is Outback Wilderness on anyone else's radar?

 

[Nirvalica]

I know this is an older question but it was not on my radar mainly because of the cvt transmission. I also don't love the look of too much plastic cladding. I don't like the fender flare and bumper cladding on the Subaru - it seems too bulky and cheap looking to me. The Passport cladding is there, but it feels less intrusive and in your face to me.

 

[RKKass]

Subaru Outback and Forester were on our list until we experienced the infotainment/climate controls. No knobs was a hard no. I see for 2026 they are revisiting that in the Outback redesign.

Second hard no was the app-only remote start feature. I'm not paying $$$ for something a key fob can still accomplish.

We honestly felt the Passport was the perfect blend of function and finesse for our taste.

 

[CNYNERRO]

I have the outback wilderness and my wife has the trail sport. I have not taken the TS off road yet, but I’ve done main trails with the OBW and it is great. It’s much faster than the TS and lower to the ground so It drives more like a car but has higher ground clearance. It’s one of those cars that has amazing on-road manners as well as off roading. I like the camera on the TS more than the OBW though as well as the tires are much more aggressive on the TS.

 

[El Chorizo]

I know this is an older question but it was not on my radar mainly because of the cvt transmission. I also don't love the look of too much plastic cladding. I don't like the fender flare and bumper cladding on the Subaru - it seems too bulky and cheap looking to me. The Passport cladding is there, but it feels less intrusive and in your face to me.

The plastic cladding is always a bad thing to me. I've seen how it ages, always horribly. It fades... I think the first vehicles that used it are some of the worst looking cars on the road after a few years. I'm remembering the Chevy Avalanche and Pontiac Aztek....

It always does this:

 

[CNYNERRO]

The plastic cladding is always a bad thing to me. I've seen how it ages, always horribly. It fades... I think the first vehicles that used it are some of the worst looking cars on the road after a few years. I'm remembering the Chevy Avalanche and Pontiac Aztek....

It always does this:

Every spring I use 303 on the plastic and it makes it brand new again.

 

[El Chorizo]

Every spring I use 303 on the plastic and it makes it brand new again.

What year is your car?

 

[Melon]

I plan on coating the plastic with Cerakote and using 303 every wash to rejuvenate the UV protection.

 

[CNYNERRO]

I wouldn’t say it’s necessary every wash but at least once or twice a year. If you’re in a hotter climate, maybe more often but in Canada there’s no point putting it on every wash.

 

[Melon]

I wouldn’t say it’s necessary every wash but at least once or twice a year. If you’re in a hotter climate, maybe more often but in Canada there’s no point putting it on every wash.

I agree, I apply a spray ceramic protectant, so I usually need to wipe off the plastics anyway. Might as well add a little 303 to the towel.
This will be the first plastic clad vehicle I've had and, the first one I'm protecting from day one, so curious how well this holds up over time.

 

[Mr. Spock]

AWD is a term that is thrown around loosely in the automobile industry and AWD systems are not all the same, not by a long shot. Subaru has enjoyed a positive reputation when it comes to AWD systems because their symmetrical AWD system is a good one and has been around for a long time. They stress in their advertising that theirs is a FULL TIME AWD system, inferring that others are not. This is simply not true. The problem derives from how people are defining what constitutes full time and what constitutes part time.

The old original true 4WD systems were that were found on Blazers, Jeeps, Broncos and Pickup tucks, etc, were true part time systems. Meaning, you had to manually engage them either by physically getting out and locking the hubs on the front axle and then throwing a lever in the cabin, or by pushing a button. Either way, the system was NOT ON DEMAND or Self Actuating. The driver had to turn it on. Most Jeep vehicles, famous for their 4WD systems are Part time even today and are listed as such on the window sticker.

This was done because true 4WD drive systems could not be used on pavement or damage to the drive train could occur since the axles were locked and the front and rear axles might turn at different speeds especially when turning. Jeep calls this system "COMMAND TRACK" and uses it to this day with most Jeeps sold this way. Jeep DOES however, make a full time system which they call Selec Trac. It still has to be switched on, but it can be left on ALL THE TIME ( full time ) without fear of damage on drive pavement. It can be switched off to save fuel.

Nowadays, most of the true 4WD systems now offer a full time option. 4WD was always favored by off roaders who benefited by such a system and their available 4WH ( high range ) and 4W low, (low range ) for crawling slow and with power over difficult terrain.

The Auto industry was smart enough to realize that most people don't go off road, BUT would greatly benefit from some sort of 4 Wheel system. One that was simple to operate, didn't require an understanding of 4 Wheel High and 4 Wheel low and had no pavement limitations. So AWD was born. AWD systems today are ALL full time as they are on ALL THE TIME. One does not need to push a button or throw a switch to engage them. They function on demand. So why then does Subaru stress that theirs is full time and that others might not be.

The answer is, due to the way their symmetrical AWD operates some power is ALWAYS being sent to every wheel. Even when conditions don't warrant it, approximately 15% of the power is sent to the rear wheels. This isn't necessarily bad in and of itself, but it is fuel inefficient. For example when traveling on a highway in a straight line on a dry pavement, there is no benefit to having power sent to all 4 wheels. This situation does NOT require increased traction. All it does is consume excess fuel.

The more advanced AWD systems take this sort of situation into account and when traction is good, will typically restrict power to the front wheels ( most car based SUVs being front wheel biased rather than rear wheel ). Since all these systems are controlled by high speed computer chips, the instant a loss of traction is detected or impending, power can be sent to all wheels with traction then reduced to wheels that might spin, with NO INPUT FROM THE DRIVER. As such, these sytems are FULL TIME AWD SYSTEMS AS THEY ARE ALWAYS WORKING.

Again, there is nothing wrong with the subaru system sending some power to all 4 wheels all the time, but there is no benefit from doing this and it consumes more fuel.

Having said all this, the SHAWD system developed by Honda for it's Acura division a few years back , variations of which have found there way into the top of the line Honda vehicles ( Pilot, Ridgeline & Passport, all the others having a simpler AWD system that is less capable ) is perhaps the most sophisticated and most capable AWD system around. Even without the LOW range present in most 4WD systems, Honda's second-generation i-VTM4® (Intelligent Variable Torque Management) all-wheel-drive system is incredibly capable and will go places where other AWD systems cannot. It's ability to send 70% of the power to the rear wheels and 100% of THAT to one side if necessary, is something unexpected and rare on a front wheel drive biased vehicle. For this reason alone, the 2026 Passport is a superior vehicle to the Subaru Outback Wilderness. Sealing the deal is the fact that the Hondas equipped with this system ( Ridgeline, Pilot and Passport ) all have real, traditional hydromatic automatic transmissions, whereas the Subaru has a CVT transmission ( which Honda also uses, but only lower prices vehicles, not the ones equipped with second-generation i-VTM4® (Intelligent Variable Torque Management) all-wheel-drive system.

In my opinion a CVT transmission has no place on a vehicle that is going off road, and / or marketed for such purpose. I apologize for being a little wordy here, but AWD systems are an aspect of automobile technology that is most misunderstood by the buying public and misrepresented by salespeople, so I wanted to clarify it.