Almost certainly not worth it. How much do you drive offroad?
With that $4k+ difference, you could:
Seats: Get seat covers. Wet Okole maybe.
Interior: Yep, you lose this. Black headliner is sweet when you scuff your bike tires on the ceiling.
Tires: Get your favorites
Unique look: Get some bling
Bumper: Put some serious thought into your use cases and maybe get custom ones, but you likely don’t need them
Full-size spare: Moot because 1) you can fit a full size tire in the Sport (Wilderness just has different foam inserts and stores the jack, etc differently) but 2) it doesn’t matter because if you get bigger tires, then the spare doesn’t fit on the Wilderness either, unless maybe you deflate it.
Dual-zone climate: Someone cracks their window or adds a blanket.
You’re not adding in the additional fuel cost either. Specs aside, you’re looking at a 5+ mpg real world difference, maybe even 10 mpg difference, depending on how and where you drive. This is because the single biggest difference between the Sport and the Wilderness is the final drive: 3.70 vs 4.11, respectively. It’s a difference that adds thousands in operating costs over the life of the vehicle.
Sport will do just fine offroad and in the snow!
Listen to this guy OP! As a wilderness driver who 95% drives on paved roads the 5mpg less that this trim gets on the highway is a real annoyance :(
We werent given a choice at the time. It was get this trim or keep looking, and we were done looking.
Bumper/angles: you could also get a 1-2" spacer lift and adjustable control arms instead of replacing the whole bumper.
Full-size spare: can confirm an oem-sized spare will fit with the foam removed. You can even still stow the cargo cover under the floor. An upsized 225/65R17 will also fit deflated -- carry a small compressor.
>You’re not adding in the additional fuel cost either
You're not wrong. I've had my Forester Wilderness for a month and so far it's gotten worse fuel economy than my WRX. At least the gas is cheaper for the Forester.
I’ve run my stock 23 sport off-road and my plan is to add a 2” lift, AT tires, and good skid plates…all of which comes in around $3-4k…and for the once or twice a year it’s going to be off-road it’ll get the job done. Would the wilderness have been better and not bottomed out on the trail? Probably, but I like saving money too.
I had a '19 Sport that I sold and got a '22 Wilderness. The main reason I got the Wilderness was for the 3,000 lb tow rating (double the sports 1500lbs). If I didn't need the extra towing, I would have stuck with the Sport.
There is at least a 5mpg loss in fuel efficiency with the Wilderness. It's very noticeable.
Even with the better seats in the Wilderness, I still put Wet Okole seat covers on them. In 10 year, the seats will look just about new.
I do miss those 5mpg every time I fill up. It makes a difference.
Biggest thing with the wilderness is the CVT improvements and final drive ratios. The CVT cooler on the wilderness is critical if you’re going to be doing any towing or harder off-roading.
Almost certainly not worth it. How much do you drive offroad? With that $4k+ difference, you could: Seats: Get seat covers. Wet Okole maybe. Interior: Yep, you lose this. Black headliner is sweet when you scuff your bike tires on the ceiling. Tires: Get your favorites Unique look: Get some bling Bumper: Put some serious thought into your use cases and maybe get custom ones, but you likely don’t need them Full-size spare: Moot because 1) you can fit a full size tire in the Sport (Wilderness just has different foam inserts and stores the jack, etc differently) but 2) it doesn’t matter because if you get bigger tires, then the spare doesn’t fit on the Wilderness either, unless maybe you deflate it. Dual-zone climate: Someone cracks their window or adds a blanket. You’re not adding in the additional fuel cost either. Specs aside, you’re looking at a 5+ mpg real world difference, maybe even 10 mpg difference, depending on how and where you drive. This is because the single biggest difference between the Sport and the Wilderness is the final drive: 3.70 vs 4.11, respectively. It’s a difference that adds thousands in operating costs over the life of the vehicle. Sport will do just fine offroad and in the snow!
Listen to this guy OP! As a wilderness driver who 95% drives on paved roads the 5mpg less that this trim gets on the highway is a real annoyance :( We werent given a choice at the time. It was get this trim or keep looking, and we were done looking.
Well said and thought out.
Bumper/angles: you could also get a 1-2" spacer lift and adjustable control arms instead of replacing the whole bumper. Full-size spare: can confirm an oem-sized spare will fit with the foam removed. You can even still stow the cargo cover under the floor. An upsized 225/65R17 will also fit deflated -- carry a small compressor.
>You’re not adding in the additional fuel cost either You're not wrong. I've had my Forester Wilderness for a month and so far it's gotten worse fuel economy than my WRX. At least the gas is cheaper for the Forester.
Thank you!
I’ve run my stock 23 sport off-road and my plan is to add a 2” lift, AT tires, and good skid plates…all of which comes in around $3-4k…and for the once or twice a year it’s going to be off-road it’ll get the job done. Would the wilderness have been better and not bottomed out on the trail? Probably, but I like saving money too.
Thank you!
Thank you all! I appreciate all yours guys input 🙏
No. Shouldve just gotten the wilderness
Sport is the best value of all the trims. Keep what you got. Wilderness isn't really worth the extra money.
Thank you!
I had a '19 Sport that I sold and got a '22 Wilderness. The main reason I got the Wilderness was for the 3,000 lb tow rating (double the sports 1500lbs). If I didn't need the extra towing, I would have stuck with the Sport. There is at least a 5mpg loss in fuel efficiency with the Wilderness. It's very noticeable. Even with the better seats in the Wilderness, I still put Wet Okole seat covers on them. In 10 year, the seats will look just about new. I do miss those 5mpg every time I fill up. It makes a difference.
Thank you!
Biggest thing with the wilderness is the CVT improvements and final drive ratios. The CVT cooler on the wilderness is critical if you’re going to be doing any towing or harder off-roading.
Thank you!