If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – or at least that’s the tack Subaru of America seems to be taking with their popular Crosstrek. Forging ahead for the 2023 model year, the little tall wagon crossover sees a microscopic bump in price and the addition of different paint options. There’s also a new trim level for those of you who play ridiculously detailed games of Car Bingo.
That new trim is called – wait for it – the Special Edition. How inventive. That’s the model shown in the hero image at the top of this post, donning a new Desert Khaki shade of paint and some unique exterior details such as wheels in a dark grey finish plus door handles, badges, and a front grille bar dipped in a pot of inky black paint. You may want to lie down after digesting that big news. We know it’s a lot to take in all at once.
Also staying the course? Crosstrek’s powertrain options, which start with a 2.0-liter four-banger good for 152 horsepower which can be hooked to a six-speed manual or continuously variable transmission in Base and Premium trims. The SE gets this engine as well, albeit with only the CVT. Sport and Limited trims get a larger 2.5L mill with 182 ponies and, yep, a CVT. Keeping one eye on Johnny Polar Bear is a hybrid option that pairs a 2.0L four-cylinder engine with two electric motors which permit the car to travel approximately 17 miles solely on electricity. Its battery capacity, for all you stats nerds (*raises hand*), is 8.8kWh. And we can’t talk about Subaru without mentioning all-wheel drive.
There isn’t much change inside the Crosstrek, either. The so-called Special Edition does earn snazzy black and red cloth upholstery with zooty stitching, plus a leather-wrapped steering wheel and assorted trim pieces finished in a low luster black. Hey, at least it sounds better than the puzzlingly popular piano black trim which attracts dust and fingerprints like magnets to a refrigerator door.
Starting price for the Crosstrek is $23,645, just a few simoleons north of last year’s car, while the Crosstrek Hybrid stickers at $36,845 and may qualify for financial largesse from daddy government, depending on where you live.
[Image: Subaru]
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Around here, these things are phenomenally popular and somehow have developed a cool factor way beyond anything intrinsic about them. They are selling to all age groups; the younger buyers are often modifying them “safari” style, but the older buyers love them too. I can’t imagine why Subie would want to change a thing.
How deeply they’ve become embedded in the local culture is illustrated by my neighbor. A drunk extreme speeder totaled his 2016 Audi A3 while it was parked in front of his house. I figured he’d look for a similarly premium replacement, but, no, he went straight to the Subie dealer and will chatter on to anyone who listens about how he just bought a Crosstrek and how cool it is.
Real popular here in the Sierra foothills. Maybe even more popular than their bigger, more truck like SUVs. I always figured it’s because they are probably the least costly AWDs along with some of the Jeep models. We also have a dealer in town.
I got stuck behind an old Subaru today and missed a traffic light. Subaru is the brand for people who hate cars and would rather be doing anything other than driving. (I bet their psyche gets a lift every time they turn the engine off.)
You mean Toyota owners?
Jealous of those with far better judgement than yours, Crowe?
You could take Subaru out of your post and put Buick or Mercury in there and it would be even more applicable.
Riiiiggghht … my other car (in addition to the Outback) is a ‘73 911. [insert “duh” emoji]
Jealous of those with far better judgement than yours, Crowe?
My daughter’s home for the weekend and her ’16 Crosstrek Limited is in the driveway. A more appliance like vehicle probably cannot be built. It’s dull, boring, slow, fairly noisy and kind of cramped inside. She loves it however and in 7 years it’s cost us less than a $1000 in maintenance, including 4 new tires and 6 or 7 oil changes at the Subie dealer. On the other hand, my son’s ’16 Focus ST with even more miles on it has also cost us nothing during ownership, although the tires for the ST are way more than the Subaru’s. She likes all the safety nannies, the AWD and it’s compact size, all of which give her confidence behind the wheel. I’m glad Subaru hasn’t changed much as it will keep her resale value pretty high and removes the temptation to trade up for the latest model, although the 2.5L engine would be nice. A damn good car for anyone who doesn’t give a damn about cars.
I like the concept of an entry-level Subaru … but I wish it wasn’t this car. I was a big fan of the Impreza for the first 3 generations. But generations 4 and 5 (current) bore me to death. And the CrossTrek is like the uglier cousin of the current Impreza.
Subaru says its current “Subaru Global Platform” is the best thing ever, twice as stiff as the previous platform, etc… but it’s unclear where the dynamic improvement promised by those numbers has gone. The styling is worse than ever. And electronic nannies abound .. which can be good … but seem very annoying in implementation.
Not the car for me. But I am glad that some people like it.
I’ve been a hard-core gearhead my entire life, and have owned well over 100 cars. Even now at 60-something, I currently drive a slightly modified S550 Mustang GT, Subaru BRZ (both with manual transmissions), and as a concession to the realities of aging and creeping arthritis, a Kia Stinger recently replaced a Subaru WRX as my ‘practical’ daily driver.
My wife’s car is a Subaru Crosstrek, and I absolutely love it. Not every car on the road has to be able to rip off sub-4 second 0-60 runs or set lap records on the Nurburgring.
The Crosstrek is a brilliant car because it appeals to both my wife who couldn’t care less about cars, but also to me as a passionate car guy. It’s not ‘fast’. But so what? It’s plenty fast enough to keep up with traffic. Going from the Stinger or Mustang GT into the Crosstrek, I never feel that it’s deficient in merging onto a highway from an on-ramp.
It’s sensible, right-sized, practical, and has great ergonomics. More importantly, it has a bit of what most cars on the road today completely lack: some character and a sense of fun, just a tiny touch of quirkiness. The styling is more playful and fun than most 2-box CUV designs, and the color choices (like orange, with a 2-tone interior with orange piping) also more entertaining.
It’s realistically sized for most people and most applications. It won’t carry a family of 6 plus all their household belongings on vacation, but neither does that happen most of the time. It’s plenty roomy for 4 people, and with the back seat folded down, carries all the yard supplies we ever need to transport. Bicycles fit inside.
It’s not ‘luxurious’ by any stretch of the imagination, but plenty comfortable. I’m fine after 15 hour days behind the wheel, even with creeping arthritis. Some of my favorite cars have been various Saabs. They had ergonomics and simply a ‘feel’ that’s tough to distill down to discrete, quantifiable elements. The Crosstrek (and Subarus in general) remind both myself and my wife of those long gone and sorely missed Saabs.
The Crosstrek isn’t the car for ‘running the canyons’ or a first (or any) choice for an autocross. So what? It wasn’t designed for that, and shouldn’t be judged by those standards. It was designed for the real world, but with added elements of personality and fun that most competitors lack. My wife looked at every comparable CUV on the market. Any of them would have ‘worked’. But when she drove the Crosstrek it put an ear-to-ear smile on her face. She instantly said ‘this is the one!’
It simply works, for the real world, with good economy, and is enjoyable to drive. What more could you ask of a car for less than $30k?
Obviously YMMV, and maybe there is some “je ne sais quoi” to the Subaru brand that only translates to some people but I thought the Crosstrek 2.0L was one of the worst new vehicles I’ve driven in the last 5 years (only the Jaguar XE was worse).
Comparing the Crosstrek to a Mustang GT is a red herring. Compare it to a Civic hatch or a Mazda CX-30 or really anything that isn’t the Trax/EcoSport and the experience in the Crosstrek isn’t matching them. The only thing it brings to the table is standard AWD and that’s available in the lower price Impreza hatch (which also has the same interior and cargo volume).
We shopped all of the available AWD small SUV’s when we pensioned off the wife’s CX-5 to the oldest daughter last August. Wifey wanted something smaller, and our 1st stop was the Mazda dealer to drive the CX-3 and CX-30. They rode ridiculously harsh and the interior fit and finish of these Mexican models was far below what we were used to in the Hiroshima CX-5. We then visited the Nissan dealer next door, but the Kicks and Qashqai were noisy and also rode very harshly. We also went by a Honda dealer, but a quick look at the HR-V in the showroom left us cold. It is just not competitive in this segment.
We stopped at a local Subie dealer on our way home, mostly on a lark, as I had never seriously considered the Crosstrek before. The styling struck me as strange and I really wasn’t sure that the vehicle was intended for. One brief drive was all it took to convince the principal driver that this was her car. In comparison to the youth-oriented other brands, the Crosstrek rides much, much better and is significantly brighter inside with the lower beltline and superior rear quarter visibility. The interior fit and finish is typically Japanese, and is visibly better than my Indiana Outback.
We managed to locate a Limited with the 2.5 in a nearby city and quickly made a deal. After 10 months we have no regrets. The 2.5 is amusingly torquey in this small vehicle and the CVT is indistinguishable from a geared box.
The article doesn’t reveal significant changes to the infotainment system, which is a great relief, as to my mind they have the combination of screens and buttons just right – far easier to live with than my turbo Outback.
Subaru, if they don’t screw it up, have a car in the Crosstrek that appeals to the young wannabe adventurers as well as to middle-aged women that value a comfortable ride and better visibility in their SUV. Before you say well, just buy a car; at 53 degrees latitude and idiots in city governance we need AWD and pothole-rated ground clearance.
Edmonton?
I have a friend who rejected my CX-5 recommendation because of what she found to be a harsh ride. She ended up with a CR-V, but a Forester was also in the mix until pretty late.
My 2014(2015 model) Subaru Forester XT, my first Subaru and awd, is about to turn 8yrs old in July. I’ve never kept any car this long, nor have I enjoyed any car as much, nor has any turbo vehicle been this cheap to run. The interior is dead boring, but can be operated by feel. Due to the glass area I can see everything, it has a massive glass moon-roof, I can put a full-size bike in the back, and it’ll tow(never tried). It’s quite fast, gets relatively good mileage(32mpg), and the awd system is amazing. You just point the nose, and go up or around anything you want to. Given that, however, this will be my last Subaru. Seems their electric offerings are huge, and they don’t put turbos in anything non-huge(my car is already too big). The crosstrek would benefit from a 1.5L turbo(like in Japan), the same 2.5L turbo you see in others, or just any. It’s nice to have options, and I’m glad people are enjoying their experience.
Frankly, I’ve heard nothing but positive things about the Crosstek and it’s hard to beat that level of capability for basically $25k.
It’s the sort of car I wouldn’t mind even paying MSRP, it’s that reasonable of a value.