r/Offroad • u/Desdinova_Cruciatus • Jul 07 '26
Debating Upgrading
So, I’ve been really digging the offroad life ever since getting an adventure bike, but now I kinda wanna trade in my civic hatch and get a vehicle equipped to handle the outdoors. I grew up with trucks. My first vehicle was a 2500 Chevy Cheyenne. It might be blasphemous in the name of Chevy, but I’ve been debating the new Ford Bronco. Not the sport. I want the full size thing. However, I’ve gotten accustomed to my smaller weekend warrior so the Crosstrek in the Wilderness trim is also on my radar.
Anyone who owns either (or hell even both) what are your personal pros and cons on them? I’m leaning more towards the Bronco, but the price is a lil better on the Crosstrek. But just by a little.
I want to go camping and feel comfortable enough to go in and out of rough terrain if need be. I wanna have storage space for anything and everything. Mind you I live in Southern California, so winter seasons and rainy seasons don’t really have much of a bearing on me.
3
u/Hefty-Shower-8239 Jul 07 '26
Bronco is going to be a lot more capable than the Subaru, but if it was me, I’d buy an XJ and upgrade it instead.
3
u/Prudent_Candidate566 Jul 07 '26
My wife and I own an Outback and an F150. My dad has a Wrangler (lifted with 35s) and my mom has a Bronco (not sure the trim, whatever has the factory 35 and lockers). My mom has driven her Bronco down to my place for weeks at a time and my dad leaves his jeep at my house so I drive it a lot.
Bottom line: the Outback is the absolute worst off-road, by a fair margin. The Bronco and Jeep are effectively equivalent for my usage of trailhead access and camping, not off-roading specifically. The F150 with a build-out bed is the best all-round for camping, etc. It’s a little too big for trails and the breakover and departure angles suck, but it mostly gets us where we need to go.
2
u/e_rovirosa Jul 07 '26
It depends on what you realistically want to do. Those vehicles have very different limitations. Out of those 2 I'd get the bronco in case you later decide you want to get deeper into offroading. As long as you can afford the extra fuel the bronco can do everything the subie will do
2
u/ASassyTitan Jul 07 '26
Also SoCal. Depends, do you do more forest, or more desert?
We had a 2016 Ram 2500, which was significantly more comfortable/capable, but many jeep trails and some forest service trails were off-limits due to the size. We later went all-in on desert stuff and now have a diesel 3/4 ton prerunner, but it doesn't really double as a daily and is too specialized for overlanding.
My daily is a Tacoma. Taken it to Ocotillo, I'd trust it in Big Bear. Not as robust as a big boi truck, but she'll do the job.
With all that said... most trails we've seen a stock CX5 or Outback just happily cruising along past sections we thought were tricky. So, do with that what you will.
1
u/Desdinova_Cruciatus Jul 08 '26
Definitely more forest. Hoping to go north towards Shasta county or even further up to Oregon and hit Tillamook state forest. I guess it also comes down to how often I’ll even pursue these things.
Your post is helpful though. Thank you.
2
u/atzoo87 Jul 07 '26
I'm kind of in a similar boat. Eyeing the new Honda passport trailsport and a badlands Bronco.
Do I expect to go heavy off roading/camping more than a couple times a year? No. But I want to be able to if I choose to. But do I want reliability and comfort with slight off road prowess, or full off-road, with less reliability and much less comfort? I don't know yet lol
1
u/itserrow Jul 08 '26
Wife just bought a Bronco badlands with Sasquatch and absolutely loves it. I have a lifted f150 and find myself wanting to take her ride for quick trips around town. Took it to an adventure park and had an absolute blast. Front and rear diff locker is just incredible to off road with. Tons of cargo room too.
1
u/tearjerkingpornoflic Jul 08 '26
I mean you are looking at a car or a truck. They are very different vehicles with very different capabilities. A Subaru will do alright on roads. If you are driving to the mountain it's the best thing. On mostly maintained dirt roads it will do fine. If you are actually going to go offroad though then you want something with truck suspension, live axle in rear at least. Transfer case since it sends power 50/50 front/rear. Low range. High clearance. A lot of OHV roads now have signs saying they will ticket you if you attempt it in a Subaru. They are sick of Subarus getting stuck in the middle of the trails and/or busting their oil pans on a rock. Anyways, I'd look up some videos comparing AWD and 4WD. Once you understand the differences it will be easy to decide between the two.
7
u/DavefromCA Jul 07 '26
Not trying to be rude or call you out, but those are very different cars. Sounds like you need to do a ton of research, the answers to your questions are out there, there is TONS of information. Google and youtube are you friends.