2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness vs Honda Passport Trailsport Offroad Shootout

Today we have an all-wheel drive shootout. It's the Subaru Outback Wilderness with symmetrical all-wheel drive versus the Honda Passport Trailsport with i-VTM4. Which system is best? Let's find out right now on Driving Sports TV. Of course we have full reviews of both the Subaru Outback Wilderness as well as the Honda Passport Trailsport. If you want to know all the details, check out those individual reviews. Today we're going to focus on the all-wheel drive systems. Now on one hand we have Subaru with its symmetrical all-wheel drive, which of course uses a Boxer 4 engine and a symmetrically laid out all-wheel drive system. It also has X-Mode for advanced off-road capabilities. On the other side we have the Honda Passport Trailsport. This is the most extreme version of the Passport, although it's mostly a sticker package for 2022. This has i-VTM4 with a proper torque vectoring all-wheel drive system. One thing to consider is that the Subaru comes with proper all-terrain tires, albeit fairly mild ones. The Honda has all-season radials that are kind of parading as all-terrains. They really aren't. So today it is a battle of the all-wheel drive systems. The Subaru has an advantage because of better tires, but this is how you buy them from the factory. Granted we could put the same tires on both, but car makers do not allow us to do that, so it's really not an option. Before we head out on the hill, let's look at all the details so you can see what we're working with. First, the Subaru Outback. As the flagship wilderness model, the Outback Wilderness comes very well equipped. Under the hood is a 2.4 liter turbocharged Boxer 4 that makes 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque. It's connected to a continuously variable transmission with trim-specific lower ratios, and it powers all four wheels with Subaru's active torque split symmetrical all-wheel drive. The Wilderness also has a special version of Subaru's X-Mode with off-road programs for both under and over 25 miles per hour. Additional off-road enhancements include factory skid plate, 9.5 inches of ground clearance, and a front-facing trail camera. Tires are Yokohama Geolander All-Terrains that are three-peak rated for snow in a 225-65R17 fitment. A matching spare tire and wheel with pressure sensor are also included in the trunk. EPA rates this setup at 22 miles to the gallon in the city and 26 on the highway. Prices you see it here, $38,120 including destination. Eager to chip away sales from Subaru, Honda introduced the new Trailsport trim in 2022 as a transition to a more extreme setup that should debut in 2023. But the good news here is that the Honda Passport was already a decent off-roader with a robust V6 engine that produces up to 280 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, and a 9-speed automatic transmission powering all four wheels with Honda's IVTM4 all-wheel drive system. This is a proper torque vectoring setup that can push up to 70% of available torque to the rear wheels and focus 100% of that torque side-to-side as necessary. It does not rely on wheel braking for the fundamental power shift. For this 2022 transition model, ground clearance is still average at 8.1 inches, but the stubby nose does make for a decent 21.1-degree approach angle. Tires are Firestone Destinations in a 245-60 R18 fitment wrapped around trim-specific alloy wheels. EPA rates this setup at 19 miles to the gallon in the city and 24 on the highway. Prices you see it here, you're looking at $44,090 including destination. Okay, I've had it with these bugs. I'm going to get in the car and hit the hill. First, we're going to use the Subaru because it has better all-terrain tires. If it can't get up, I can guarantee this one is not going to make it either. So it really is up to the Subaru to run point today. Ah, yeah, bugs, bug season. Symmetrical all-wheel drive versus iVTM4 and we're actually starting with an impossible issue right here. This has a 20-degree approach angle. The Honda actually has a slightly better approach angle at 21 and some change. I'm going to scrape. Thankfully, we do have the optional underbody protection on this vehicle. It comes standard with a plate and then you can also add an extra chunky plate as an option and this vehicle does have that. So what do we have for the course here today? We have mud. Mud in some very key locations. Now, right now, we're sitting in a little bit of a drainage hole. There's mud all around. These are not mud terrain tires and there's a huge difference. Mud terrains have a big gap between each lug, which allows for the mud to get removed from the tire as it's spinning very easily. These are kind of more of a trail tire, so the lugs are very close to each other. So I expect them to kind of chunk up a little bit, which is going to cause potential problems. And let's see, can we get through this? Oh yeah, no problem. But because of the mud on the course right now, I am actually going to take it very cautiously, as in I'm not going to stop mid-course and then accelerate. I do that very often to test systems, but today I'm actually just concerned about getting through because it's a little bit harder when you have mud on the course. So right here, I'm going to test the hill descent control system and I'm toggling through this menu. And it'd be nice if I just had a button down here, but I don't. Let's go to deep snow mud. It doesn't really matter. As long as you're in an X mode setting, then you have hill descent control. I'm going to turn on camera and it's going to actually show me the front view. It's a trail cam, which is a really nice feature in these wilderness models. So I'm just going to relieve my foot off the brake and gas, and it's going to ease me down. Now this isn't the slowest of hill descent control systems. It is about three miles per hour. If I brake mid-course and I let off a little bit slower, there now we're at about two miles per hour, which I think is as slow as it goes. But it's based on your approach speed. That's how Subaru does it. Okay, now right here we got a lot of mud on the inside corner, so I'm just going to kind of go as quickly as I think is safe without sticking my nose in. Oh, I think we're good. Okay, scrape a little, but not too bad, and throttle out. Okay, so what we have in front of us is a small crosscut and then some logs. What I'm going to do here is actually switch it into snow dirt because I don't want maximum wheel spin because that can shift logs and rocks. I just want to be controlled and keep momentum. So nothing else to do. It's a CVT, so I can't even control the gears. So we're just going to inch forward. So we're already... Now the wheel brakes are engaging to help push power around the system. This has an open differential in the front and the back, which means that power will escape through the spinning wheel. What they do with X-Mode is they apply brakes, which then transmits power back to the wheel with grip. We're going to need that on this next bit. Actually, we're going to need it right now. Slip around the logs here. I don't want to get that back jammed into the wall. That would not be good. Back up a little. Put it down, and now let's go left. Okay, I think we're going to try this line again. That line's not working, and I'm trying not to scrape the vehicle on the inside. Okay, let's go far left now. I'll put both tires up on the log. That 9.5 inches of clearance doing its job of getting us up and over without actually dinging anything. Okay, on to the next test. Oh man, this is going to be tough. So for this next section, I'm going to take advantage of a high speed mode that this vehicle has, and that's in deep snow and mud. So even when the wheels are spinning greater than 25 miles per hour, it'll still use individual wheel braking to help get me up the course. It is exclusive to the Outback Wilderness, and it's a secret feature. I'm actually not even kidding. That is actually quite true. Put the seat in the position. Okay, this is going to be tough. Let's do this without destroying the car. Yeah. Oh, interesting point. If I put the brake on and I release the brake, it has a hill holder. It lasts for about five seconds. Neat feature. Let's see if this can do it. Now, normally we only take more extreme vehicles up this course, but I think the Subaru can do it. Come on, come on, come on. Can we, can we? Yes, almost there, almost there. It did it. Actually pretty easy too. Nice. Now the question is, do we take the Honda up that? Because it doesn't have all-terrain tires. I think we should, but we're not done yet. The last leg of this hill is actually really difficult because it is so steep, but then it also is very loose. So I'm going to try to avoid the mud on the left, stay on the right, and controlled wheel spin up the course. And I, uh, yeah, let's see how this does. Up we go. Come on, you got this. And yes, did it. Now we're in the Honda and the Honda is very different. This has an all-wheel drive system called IVTM4. It's a variation on Acura's SH all-wheel drive system, but it's been optimized for more off-road conditions. Now this has a very complicated, but very effective torque vectoring system. That is, it doesn't rely on wheel braking to transmit power. It can push power proactively to either wheel in the back as necessary. It's not quite as effective as a locking differential in off-road conditions, but in some ways it can be better than the brake vectoring systems. But is it better than the Subaru Outback Wilderness and X-MODE? That's what we're going to find out. Okay, getting through the mud here is pretty good. Now this does have a hill descent control system like the Subaru, but it has no trail camera. So I'm having to look over the hood as much as possible. So this system, basically I just turn on the trail mode and we'll go to mud. I release the brake. Oh, and I just roll. Where is hill descent control on this? Oh, that's right. It doesn't have hill descent control. That's one of the weird missing features. Hopefully they add that for next year, because next year they have already promised that they're going to make an even more capable off-road version of this vehicle. So it's going to be interesting. Like, is this vehicle capable enough as it is? This will be an interesting baseline test today. Down we go. The suspension definitely feels softer compared to the Subaru. I'm a little concerned about the nose. This actually has a slightly better approach angle, but is it enough to not dig our nose into the mud? Come on, let's get... Oh, come on. Throttle, throttle. You got this. Ooh, these tires are not liking this surface. Okay, now let's see how it does in the logs. Now with the Subaru, we had an issue because I put a wheel on the right in the mud and I did not keep it centered on the logs. This time I'm going to stay to the left so that it's a more even up and over. Let's keep it into mud mode and let's try to keep a little momentum. We got a little crosscut here. You'll see power shifting. So it's using that torque vectoring in combination with brake vectoring to create a more capable off-road system. Can it get us over the logs easily? Can we do it without grinding? Because this only has 8.1 inches of ground clearance. Just waiting for a dink. Can it shift that power to the back? Yes, and we just grazed the log. Okay, that's pretty good. Okay, now we're going to go up the hardest part of the sidewinder. This is a fairly deeply trenched, soft dirt zigzag. It climbs and there's a hump, so we have a couple things to be concerned about. First off, grip. Because these are all seasons, I am going to put this vehicle into sand mode because that'll spin the wheels as much as possible, which should help clear up those lugs a little bit. But then clearance is going to be an issue too. This only has 8.1 inches of ground clearance and that's not a lot. Also, there's no special underbody protection on this thing. They say it'll be available next year, but we'll see. Already we're kind of working our way up slowly. I'm going to have to maintain momentum because otherwise there's no way we're going to make this. Whoa, oh, oh, oh, it kind of was having its way with me. Ah, grip, come on. I need more momentum. Let's try that again. Not much dirt I'm scooping up here. Let's see. Ooh, yeah, that's a lot of dirt. I'm going to have to hit the trench. Let's just do it. It's soft dirt, right? I hope. And away we go. Come on, come on. Oh, yeah. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay. Both of them made it, but I think the Subaru did better. Also, it's telling me that my all-wheel drive system is too hot. I've overheated the system. So we're going to let this sit for a few minutes to kind of cool down before we start the next climb. Oh, hey, look at that. It's already cooled down. Okay. One final run. Make sure we're still in sand mode. We are. And here we go with momentum. Climb up, climb up. Oh, there we go. Yeah. Okay. I didn't really expect it would work so well simply because of these tires. Also, without underbody protection, I really, let's just say it's not as safe to approach with gusto. So I really have to, you know, kind of take it easy. But, you know, I did it in the Subaru first. That kind of set the line. This vehicle was able to follow in most conditions. The overheat message, a little concerning, but if you're keeping your all-wheel drive, like your extreme all-wheel drive activities to a limit, clearly iBTM4 is up to the task, but we're not done yet. We have one more test. We're going to put both of these on the Rattler. First, I'm going to drive the Subaru. Now the Rattler is actually easier than the Sidewinder, but it tests one critical thing, ground clearance on a forest road. You see, the Rattler is designed after basically the worst case scenario roads that you'll find in the Cascade Mountains. It is using the same kind of surface. It's called a four by eight rock. It's a little rough. It's a little pointy and it's just kind of thrown down and it helps with drainage where we put them. But where we didn't put them, there is a little bit of mud. So we also have to contend with a little mud before we get into the course. Now we have laid down some rocks to kind of help with traction in this muddy bit here. Kind of get over there. Okay. Oh, are we going to poke our nose in there? No, we got this. Okay. So now I have to take this very slowly. And the reason is simply because the wheels are going to be slightly trenched on the sides and the rocks are going to be rough in the middle. And they are very pokey. Now this vehicle has underbody protection, both under the engine, as well as under the rear differential. The Honda does not. That means that if we hit anything with this vehicle, which has nine and a half inches of ground clearance, then we are not going to take the Honda on this course. And that is simply because the Honda has 8.1 inches of ground clearance and has no body protection. So it is guaranteed to hit. So let's see if the Subaru can get through first. And yes, we have taken the Subaru on this course before, but that was several months ago. And we have moved the rocks around a little bit to make it a little more challenging. So let's see how this does. Oh, I forgot. This vehicle is probably still in deep snow mud. I actually want to be in snow and dirt. So here we go up and over. Oh, trail cam. Let's turn that on so I can help see my line slowly, very slowly. So recently we took the Toyota TRD Pro up here, and of course we just blasted through, but that thing has a little more ground clearance and it definitely has a more durable underside. Still, this is plated. So that is a good thing. The most challenging part of this jaunt is actually the soft stuff after the rocks. If we clear the rocks, then we have that other challenge to contend with. Okay, so now that we've gotten through the rocks slowly, I am going to turn this into deep snow mud setting. And we're just going to keep momentum all the way up. Come on and boom. So the underside did not scrape. That means that we're going to try it with the Honda now, and I hope bad things don't happen. I'm a little concerned about the clearance and also the fact that we don't have a get out of jail free card in the way of a bash plate. The Honda Passport has a lot of potential. Between the iVTM4 all-wheel drive, the fact that it uses a traditional automatic transmission, and just the overall package, it just needs more ground clearance and underbody protection. And this could be a very potent off-road machine. Ooh, drug on that. Okay. So for this, we'll do snow because that should slow down throttle and also reduce slippage. Oh yeah, I really have to put the throttle on heavy here. Oh boy. Now we got to go really quiet and carefully over this. The first ding and I'm done. You got this. You got this. Oh yeah. It's not hitting yet. Still have a little bit more back and forth to do though. Oh, that was a rock. It's a little nerve wracking. Oh, that's another rock. Okay. And here we go. The final jam. I am. Ooh, that was a bigger rock. I'm going to switch it to sand mode because here I want wheel spin as I'm going up this slippery climb. So the three rocks, we got hit by three rocks. That's three negative ones on this one. And here we go. Oh, oh. Okay. I think that was four and five as we were exiting. And here we go. Come on. Okay. It made it. So between the Honda and the Subaru, the Subaru did better. And the reason were multiple. First off the extra ground clearance, the underbody protection, all of that comes with the vehicle. The Subaru we had did have an extra optional plate on both the differential and the front, but it does come with at least some basic metal protection, even in base wilderness trims. This one does not have any of that. So less ground clearance, the all wheel drive system did overheat. Even though it was just for an instant, it still complained. The Subaru did not complain at all. And I feel like we actually pushed it a little bit harder and that's because on the log section, I took a harder line where I had two wheels hung off of the logs in the mud. So that was working it a lot harder before I did that zigzag climb up the sidewinder and it never complained. So I think it's pretty close. This is a very capable machine. If you need this kind of space and capacity and you want a comfortable car, the Passport Trailsport is a great choice. I'm absolutely looking forward to next year's model because they've already said that it's going to be more extreme than this one. And of course, at that point, we're going to have to do a rematch. For Driving Sports TV, I'm Ryan Douthit. Thanks for watching. Be sure to like, subscribe, share our videos. We make them for you, and I hope you enjoy.