I'm looking at buying one of these two vehicles for light wheeling and I'd like opinions on the pros and cons of each one. I do expect to lift the vehicle and use bigger tires.

 

For instance I know that the Sport will not have a DR available unless it comes from overseas.

 

What else do I need to know to decide?

It all depends on what kind of wheeling you plan to do.

 

The Outback (OB) is a bit taller to begin with. It has more inch or so more ground clearance than the Outback Sport (OBS)

 

I have an OBS so here is my biased point of view.

 

OB is a longer car so will not be a nimble as the OBS. But it has more cargo room and it can tow more b/c of the longer wheelbase.

 

OBS is based on the impreza so most of the parts that people upgrade on the WRX like sway-bars, brakes are a direct swap. Easier to find aftermarket rally stuff also.

 

I think that both will do ok in forest/fire road situations, desert trail driving.

I have driving a friend's OB on the road is it handles average for a car. Great for a wagon. I have yet to wheel it so I can't compare it to my OBS off-road.

 

OBS offroad is great. You have to know your limits. No rock crawling. you have to be really aware of your line and how you drive b/c you can really scrape up stuff b/c of the low ground clearance. Sand, gravel and dirt roads it rocks. The IFS soaks up the bumps and the AWD is asking to be hammered.

 

Either one will test your ingenuity as a tinkerer b/c or the lack of aftermarket support. I find that stuff made of the Jeep Cherokees are the closest to these vehicles.

 

BW

Personally I would go with the Outback Sport. because it has a shorter wheelbase, and shorter front and rear overhangs than the outback. The Outback does have an inch more ground clearence. But that won't matter if your lifting it. Once you lift the Outback sport you will be able to go more places than even a lifted outback. You can even put in a 5-speed dual range from one of the older Loyales. Mudrat can make adapter kits to make the dual-range fit. He is working on putting a dual-range in my Forester as we speak. Mudrat is also planning on getting an Outback sport for himself and giving it a substantial lift. When your ready to lift it. Talk to Mudrat. He can Make you a Lift kit so you can lift as much as you want.

Thank you both. This is the kind of information I was looking for. Anyone else?

The Outback has a larger engine and more hp/tq than the OBS, but CAN BUT NOT ALWAYS have headgasket problems depending on the year.

personaly, id never take an ej offroad. too spensive to fix stuff you break, and you;ll never go where an ea would go.

Here is some info on a legacy that has been heavily modded

http://offroadsubaru.blogspot.com/

It's similar to size to an OB

 

Follow Zapar's posts about his OBS.

 

This should give you some more comparative info.

 

BW