Off-road questions!

I posted here about a year or so ago about the BRZ vs the 86 and, thanks to a lot of what was said here, [I got my baby last October brand new](https://i.imgur.com/ixd9w3w.jpg). Thank you to those who helped me with making that decision.

...but now I have the itch to start offroading with my brothers (instead of always sitting shotgun) and I'm looking for a used second car around $8-10k. My brothers and uncle tell me to get an old Xterra 4x4 or a 4runner 4x4 since we do kinda crazy stuff (not really rock crawling but there are pretty deep/steep stuff we traverse). I've been looking at Foresters and Outbacks anywhere from years 2007-2012. I'm aware of the whole CVT thing with generations around those years and really hope to find a manual trans car, but I'll take what I can get.

When I tell them about Subaru, they say the Xterra has way more offroad capability than any Subaru "which is more meant as a road/family car". My biggest questions are probably:

Would a Subaru be able to match what an Xterra can do in moderate/rough trails? And if not, has anyone modded theirs for pretty rugged terrain?

If you've pushed yours hard I'd love to see what you've done and know what it's limits are before buying. I've found an Xterra that I like and would be okay with buying, but if possible I kinda want to stay Subaru. I've found a few that I like as well and am prepared to mod it as necessary.

I've found [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/subaru/comments/1fp0ex/for_those_of_you_who_take_your_subies_off_the/) while searching on here; I've also came across [this article](https://gizmodo.com/how-i-turned-my-subaru-outback-into-a-real-adventuremob-1716068985) and [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq6FPFpDkWE) after searching through google. They are helpful but I'd love to hear more direct from the community.Thanks in advance!