Subaru has long been a bit of an off-beat carmaker. Peer into its past, and you’ll find all sorts of wacky, think-outside-the-box vehicles: the Brat, the Baja, the SVX, the B9 Tribeca. For the last few decades, though, here in America, it’s been largely defined by what might be called the Stereotypical Subaru: an all-wheel-drive, body-cladded and lifted car designed to offer much of what people like in a sport-utility vehicle (off-road /all-weather capability, specifically) without all the annoying parts (truck-like handling, poor fuel economy.)
The Outback, of course, was the first to lead this charge; then came the Forester, a half-size smaller but a bit quirkier; and then, finally, the Crosstrek, the smallest size of the Stereotypical Subaru. First introduced in 2012 as a high-riding fraternal twin of the fourth-generation Impreza, it’s now on its third generation — but still twinned with the latest Impreza. The changes have hardly been revolutionary, but then again, they don’t need to be; the Crosstrek has racked up best-in-class sales and accolades from consumers and independent experts alike over the years. Why mess with success was largely the mantra for the new 2024 model … but that didn’t stop Subaru from fiddling around at the edges.
2024 Subaru Crosstrek: What We Think
The Crosstrek has long excelled at offering what buyers want in an affordable package, and the third-generation model that’s hitting the streets for the 2024 model year only builds on that success, maintaining the charm and character that defines the brand’s best products. Thanks to an arsenal of well-thought-out evolutionary changes — everything from smoothing out the design to improving the steering to adding subtle features meant to enhance its utility, like fold-flat seats and wide opening doors with fatter sills for standing on — the Crosstrek gives Subaru’s loyal customers all the more reason to re-up when the time comes for a new car, while also serving as a more tempting alternative than ever for everyone else in the market for an affordable, adventurous family vehicle.
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The Crosstrek blends SUV and car to near-perfection
Will Sabel CourtneyCrossovers, as they were originally defined, were meant to be a cross between SUVs and cars: an intermediate point in the market, offering a mix of the qualities of both. Yet to look at most of them nowadays, you might suspect that the SUV side had the dominant genes when it came to looks. Tall, boxy flanks, slab-sided windows and elevated beltlines are all too common, even on vehicles whose skeletons are closely related to the likes of Civics and the like.
The Crosstrek, however, looks much more like what it is: a car that’s aspiring to take on some SUV traits. It sits at the same sort of height and offers a similar view of the road as other compact crossovers, but it comes across as more of the elevated hatchback it is than, say, a baby Bronco. Subaru’s design language has long operates this way — the Outback, Ascent and even Forester are much the same — and it is, at least to my eyes, refreshingly unpretentious in an era where carmakers are masquerading almost everything as an SUV of sorts.
