Honda CR-V TrailSport vs. Toyota RAV4 Woodland vs. Subaru Forester Wilderness: Off-Road Comparison

"Just cloth seats" — Having lived in the Sunbelt for nearly half a century, I will take cloth over the burn-inducing plastic crap any day.

The back of the rav 4 looks like a rogue

I hate things being in the infotainment screen. I recently had my screen die. You cannot access a lot through the dash when your screen goes down.

As a Subaru owner for more than 15 years, I would say it excels both on and off road with 4x4 traction. I don't think I will go to regular (!) brands again...

Your testing really left a lot to be desired.

Which of these do you think has the most actual off-road cred? Would you buy any of them? Let us know which down below!

I love how he goes the same speed as the Honda CRV and the Subaru in the Toyota while climbing a hill he says “oh we failed”. Then he says I prefer the Toyota because of the cameras and the descent control so he’s gotta take two tries to climb the hill. He thinks it’s the better off-road vehicle! wow.

I have a 2009 CRV I bought new, and am going up in size for my ‘26 retirement (which is a great model, btw). I’m choosing between a Honda Passport TrailSport Elite and a Subaru Outback Wilderness, either of which I know I’ll be happy with. Honda really stepped up its off road game in the Passport TrailSport Elite, with the notable exception of ground clearance (8.3”, compared to 9.5” in the OB Wilderness). The ‘26 Outback has a better infotainment system and physical climate controls (which is a main reason I wouldn’t want the old one). The Honda has a lot more room for camping gear and tows 5000 lbs vs the Outback’s 3500 lbs capacity. I’ll be towing a teardrop trailer, so 3500 lbs would be plenty, but it would be comforting having more, I suppose. To bring it back to this comparison, the Passport also has several modes (like trail), a much improved AWD system, a much improved camera system, and a softer suspension, all of which are pluses for light off reading. I agree, the CRV TrailSport doesn’t look like it’s built for any off roading at all, and what are you going to tow that’s less than 100 lbs? Of these three, I’d go with the Subaru Forester Wilderness; however, I would save my money and go with the new Outback Wilderness, as it improves a lot on the Forester, imo, based solely on watching a lot of videos. Cheers!

Great roundup!

Great review!