We drove a $38,000 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid for a week and discovered its best features
1. Hybrid drive system: Most Crosstreks are powered by a 152 horsepower, 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine. The Crosstrek Hybrid gets a detuned version of the engine with 137 horsepower that mated with two electric motors and an 8.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The total system output of the hybrid is 148 horsepower.
The hybrid drive system features two electric motors. One is used as a starter motor and as a generator to recharge batteries. The other helps power the car itself while providing charge for the battery pack during regenerative braking.
The 8.8 kWh battery pack can be fully charged in two hours using a 240V plug or five hours using a 120V plug. According to Subaru, the Hybrid can drive 17 miles using only electricity and up to 480 miles in hybrid mode.
The battery pack is stored under the rear cargo floor.
2. Standard safety tech: All Crosstreks come standard with Subaru's EyeSight suites of driver's assistance technology that includes adaptive cruise control, automatic pre-collision braking, lane departure warning, and sway warning with lane keep assist. The system, which uses a pair of cameras located on either side of the rear-view mirror, worked really well and is a major selling point for Subaru.
Our test car also came with blind spot detection with lane change assist along with rear cross traffic alert.
3. Good looks: The Subaru Crosstrek is based on the company's attractive Impreza hatchback.
The Crosstrek's styling is punctuated by increased ride height, a pronounced front overhang, and aggressive body cladding.
4. Standard all-wheel-drive: All Crosstreks come standard with Subaru's superb Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system.
5. Interior ergonomics: The Crosstrek's interior is virtually identical to the Impreza hatchback on which it is based. In fact, it will instantly feel familiar to anyone who's been in a Subaru. Fortunately, the cabin is well-designed with intuitively placed switchgear.
6. Quality interior: Much like the other Subaru's we've tested recently, the material quality is impressive. The leathers and plastics used may not have been the softest or the most refined, but they all gave you feeling that it was built to survive the rigors of life.
7. Strong infotainment system: Our tester came with an eight-inch touchscreen running Subaru's Starlink infotainment system. Lower trim levels come standard with a 6.5-inch unit. Starlink has become one of our favorite mass market infotainment systems. Its simple, no-nonsense design and high feature content really impressed us.
The system features a built-in navigation system, a slew of media sources, satellite radio, as well as Pandora and Aha app integration.
8. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration.
9. Secondary infotainment screen: The Crosstrek's smaller secondary screen is located atop the primary screen and is controlled using the "Info" button on the left side of the steering wheel, is just as useful.
It offers readouts of the vehicles trip computer, radio, the status of its various advanced safety systems...
... secondary gauges, ...
... navigation,...
...weather information, and...
... hybrid drive system status.
10. Back up camera.
11. Optional moonroof: An optional moonroof helps bring added light into the cabin, but we do wish the Crosstrek could be had with the Forester's panoramic glass roof.
12. Ground clearance: The Crosstrek delivers a stout 8.7 inches of ground clearance, the same as the larger Forester SUV.
13. Easy-use-use driver controls and gauges: In front of the driver is a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel with controls for everything from the audio system to the drive mode selector. The buttons are clearly labeled and thoughtfully placed.
The Crosstrek Hybrid features a simple but useful gauge cluster with a 4.2-inch digital information screen flanked by a pair of analog gauges.
14. The Crosstrek Hybrid also comes with these funky 18-inches wheels.
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