Image via Subaru
There’s a certain level of delusion among some Subaru drivers, as well as other owners of all-wheel-drive crossovers, that their ride is a bonafide off-road rig. This is a topic we’ve covered before, especially with the newer Wilderness models from Subaru, and the marketing which makes them look like rugged trail machines.
Which of these off-roaders would you buy?
That explains why a Subaru Crosstrek owner was humiliated by the National Park Service last summer after he was caught taking his symmetrical all-wheel-drive wagon on a trail designated for four-wheel-drive, high-clearance vehicles.
The guy took to Reddit to share a letter he received after visiting Canyonlands National Park in Utah. He drove down one of the trails where it’s posted that “high clearance four-wheel drive is required on motor vehicles” that use it. Not understanding what that means, he thought his Subaru qualified.
We’ve encountered this attitude many times in real life, and even more on the internet, so we knew immediately the Subaru owner would be mystified, mortified, and a little outraged by the whole thing. After all, there’s a certain camp of them and other all-wheel-drive vehicle owners that really believe they own something equivalent to a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
In stock form, the Crosstrek has 8.7 inches of ground clearance. To someone who used to driving a Honda Civic, that probably seems like plenty. But consider this: stock Wranglers have about 12.9 inches of ground clearance.
But there’s more: an all-wheel-drive vehicle has only one set of gears. There isn’t a four-low set for when the going gets really tough, allowing them to power through tough spots. Plus, Subarus have an open differential with no lockers, unlike a Jeep and other true off-road vehicles.
Ther are more factors, plus we can get into how Jeeps and other off-road rigs aren’t truly great trail machines unless they’ve been built, but the point is still the same: this refusal to understand that Subarus and other all-wheel-drive vehicles aren’t true off-roaders comes with consequences.
We know it’s a point of pride, but the National Park Service is tired of rescuing prideful Subaru owners stuck in the backcountry where they should have never ventured. That’s why this guy was threatened with a $5,000 fine, possible prison time, collateral forfeiture, and possibly other penalties if he took his Subie on a trail marked for four-wheel-drive vehicles again.
Lead image via Subaru
