Watch Subaru Outback get driven hard like a WRX STI rally car

The 2016 Subaru Outback is a great city car for families, but what about serious recreation? Watch it get driven like an STI rally car.

It’s always a cool thing when stunt driver Ben Collins test drives a new vehicle because he puts them through some difficult paces both on-and-off road. That’s what he does to the new 2016 Subaru Outback that the average tester doesn’t do. Collins says the Outback is the perfect crossover to take up high into the mountains. While most Outback owners never do, they can and should know what its capabilities are. Here are 4 things you probably didn’t know the crossover could do.

In the video below, Collins takes the new Subaru Outback deep into the high country of the UK. He puts it through some serious off-road use and shows just how recreation-purposed this vehicle from Subaru really is. He also drives it hard like a WRX STI rally car. What can the Outback do that would leave other brand’s vehicles stranded? Here’s four things that sets it apart from the rest.

Wading depth

The wading depth is twice as high as any other car. Yes, you can take an Outback and forge a deep river and not have an issue with the engine getting wet and stalling out. Most other vehicles would have a big problem and leave their owner stranded and in trouble. Will you ever need to do this? Have you ever been driving a low-lying street and been in a torrential downpour? The water depth can rise quickly and leave you no option. It could happen in the city.

X Mode

Outback also comes standard with another new feature for serious off-road use. All 2016 Outback models now come equipped with the X-Mode system, which debuted on the 2014 Forester. It can be engaged by simply flipping a switch on the console. How does it work? X-Mode optimizes engine output and CVT ratio position, increases Active All-Wheel Drive engagement and uses enhanced control logic for the Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) system to reduce individual wheel spin. In layman’s terms, It will get you wherever you need to go.

Hill Decent mode

Outback owners will be able to enhance vehicle control by engaging X-Mode which also activates the new Hill Descent Control, which uses engine braking to help maintain a constant vehicle speed when the Outback is traveling down a steep mountain trail. New Incline Start Assist helps to momentarily minimize forward or backward vehicle rolling on inclines, and the electronic Hill Holder System holds the vehicle in place until the driver presses the accelerator pedal on a steep mountain trail.

Rally-bred heritage

Collins takes the new 2016 Subaru Outback and drives it like it’s a Subaru WRX STI on the rally stages. How can he do this? Because Subaru developed the suspension from decades of rally racing. Rallying is a brutal motorsport and cars are pushed to their extreme limits. The WRC race courses feature uncompromising terrain, wildly fluctuating conditions, and constant demands on the cars. Subaru used similar technology on the Outback. Collins says with a grin, “That was a lot of fun! Short of owning a sea plane, it’s probably the best way to get pretty much anywhere.”

Check out the Ben Collins 2016 Subaru Outback video.

Source: The Telegraph