Subaru knows its audience. Its customers like putting things on roof racks. They enjoy hiking, biking, canoeing, and other outdoor activities. They carry many water bottles. They love their dogs. Subaru representatives shared these details about its customers and many more during a recent test drive of the 2024 Crosstrek in Palm Springs, California.
Subaru shared these details to show how the automaker designs its vehicles with its customers in mind. Paying attention to demand is an essential activity for any automaker. Acknowledging this, Subaru tied survey data directly to some of its enhancements to the new Crosstrek small SUV.
According to Subaru, 80 percent of Crosstrek shoppers want a vehicle that can withstand rugged use. Applying that knowledge, Subaru strengthened the new Crosstrek's structural rigidity by 10 percent. Further, almost a quarter of its customers want to be able to drive the car off-road, so the automaker gave the new Crosstrek an improved X-Mode all-wheel-drive (AWD) system. Subaru says that during a vehicle's early design process, its engineers create renderings showing roof-top boxes on the new model to ensure it will look "right" when it eventually makes it to customer driveways. And so on.
Thanks to the ongoing conversation between customers and engineers, Subaru has over a decade of experience selling the popular Crosstrek. It was the company's best-selling model in the United States in 2022, with over 155,000 units sold. That puts it ahead of the Outback and the Forester, even though both models outsold the Crosstrek in 2021. The comfortable Crosstrek competes with other outdoorsy crossover SUVs like the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, and Jeep Compass.
The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek introduces the model's third generation with minor styling changes that sharpen the design and notable upgrades to its EyeSight suite of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). The result is a Crosstrek that can effortlessly maneuver through the city while being almost as much at home on the trail, thanks to Subaru's tradition of making its symmetrical AWD standard on all models.
The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek starts at $26,290, including the $1,295 destination charge. That's the same as the starting price of the 2023 model equipped with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Given that Subaru did away with the manual transmission for the refreshed 2024 model, the new Crosstrek has the same starting price as the equivalent 2023 model.
Four trim levels are available for the 2024 Crosstrek: Base, Premium, Sport, and Limited. Except for the base model, at least one equipment package is available for each trim. For $2,245, buyers can get a Crosstrek Premium (base price of $27,440) with a package that includes blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic warning, a power driver's seat, a moonroof, and all-weather equipment. The Sport trim ($30,290) has an optional package for $1,920 that's the same as the one for the Premium without the all-weather floor mats. The Limited ($32,190) offers two packages. The first costs $1,795 and comes with a power moonroof and a Harman Kardon amplifier and speakers. The second costs $2,445 and adds a navigation system to the features in the first. As expected with Subaru, an almost endless amount of official aftermarket components is available.
For my test of the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek, I drove the Premium trim with the option package. The vehicle's total price was $29,685, including destination.
The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek goes on sale in the spring of 2023. According to Subaru, the first deliveries of the 2.0-liter models should happen in April, with the first 2.5-liter vehicles arriving sometime in the summer. Subaru builds the 2024 Crosstrek at two factories. The automaker has begun production of vehicles equipped with the 2.0-liter engine in Gunma, Japan, while it will produce 2.5-liter models at its factory in Lafayette, Indiana.
Photo: Sebastian Blanco
The new model represents the first of the Crosstrek's third generation. Still, Subaru didn't introduce significant changes for the 2024 model year. The most apparent design tweaks are to the front fascia, with its thinner lights and frameless grille. Subaru should have stopped before adding so much overwrought plastic cladding to the front end, but at least the car maintains the company's quirky design language moving forward.
Inside, the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek continues the previous model's spacious and convenient feel. Nice-looking (but not extravagant) fabric and matte plastic components dominate the cabin. While some areas (the bottom of the infotainment screen, for example) are too visually busy, the overall sense you get when first sitting in the car is that things feel right. Short or tall, other test drivers mentioned that the seats feel comfortable and provide good outward visibility. Also, the buttons are, for the most part, easy to understand and reach.
I've already mentioned the many water bottle holders, but that's only some of what the 2024 Crosstrek is good at carrying. The cargo area has 54.7 cubic feet of space with the rear seatbacks folded down. All but the base model also come with standard roof rails.
Physical buttons clamor for space on the steering wheel, but the overall layout makes sense. Some take a moment to figure out, like the lane-keeping assistance (LKA) button that will only turn on LKA if you also activate the Crosstrek's cruise control.
Photo: Sebastian Blanco
The new 2024 Crosstrek has standard, dual 7.0-inch touchscreens for the infotainment, climate, and vehicle settings. A vertically oriented 11.6-inch touchscreen comprises most of the center stack on higher trims. The touchscreen houses controls for the Starlink multimedia system, which includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Subaru tried to split the difference between physical buttons for things like temperature, audio volume, and defrost and put other, less-frequently used features in menus on the touchscreen. It's a fair compromise.
One notable upgrade for the 2024 Crosstrek is that EyeSight is now standard across the lineup. Previously, you couldn't get EyeSight on Crosstreks with a manual transmission because the collection of ADAS relies on the automatic transmission for some of its features. Since a manual-shift option is no longer available, Subaru now installs EyeSight into every 2024 Crosstrek. Unfortunately, blind-spot warning is not a standard EyeSight feature and requires the purchase of an option package or the Limited trim.
All 2024 Crosstreks use an updated EyeSight system that includes adaptive cruise control, lane-centering assistance, and automatic emergency steering. According to Subaru, EyeSight can also identify bicycles and pedestrians sooner. EyeSight also includes pre-collision throttle management that reduces acceleration to minimize or avoid an anticipated frontal impact.
Despite these capabilities, EyeSight isn't overly annoying to drivers under normal circumstances. For example, the system will emit three short beeps if you start to drift out of your lane (or, unfortunately, when road markings change and the system thinks you are drifting). When engaged, LKA will guide you back into the lane without wildly cranking the steering wheel.
EyeSight now also offers a new automatic emergency steering technology that allows the SUV to veer out of the way of something on the side of the road without having the vehicle leave the lane. I couldn't test this feature for safety reasons, but I expect it works well based on how the system worked in non-emergency instances. Automatic emergency steering requires purchasing the blind-spot warning option.
Other features on the 2024 Crosstrek that were unavailable on previous models include reverse automatic braking and pre-collision braking, which kicks in if the system calculates that there isn't enough room to move out of the way. Subaru backs up the 2024 Crosstrek's safety features with Starlink connected services, which can notify first responders if it detects an accident. Starlink can also provide non-safety concierge services, like making restaurant reservations or setting a navigation destination.
Photo: Sebastian Blanco
There are two engines available in the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. The base and Premium trims use a direct-injection, 2.0-liter 4-cylinder boxer engine that produces up to 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. The Sport and Limited trims, unavailable to drive in Palm Springs, use a more powerful 2.5-liter boxer engine that produces 182 hp and 178 pound-feet of torque. As mentioned, all trims and engine options come with a CVT. Subaru says all versions of the 2024 Crosstrek get 28 mpg combined.
The 2.0-liter engine could be peppier, and you can hear it struggling during low-speed acceleration up to around 35-40 mph. Between 40 mph and highway speeds, however, the Crosstrek can easily pass other vehicles. Except during low-speed acceleration, the cabin is surprisingly quiet.
Around corners, the 2024 Crosstrek is agile, thanks partly to a short wheelbase that helps it maneuver easily in and out of parking spots. Standard active torque vectoring and a modified version of the WRX's dual-pinion electronic power steering rack improve the Crosstrek's steering responsiveness compared to the outgoing model.
The car's ability to handle moderate off-road adventuring is its hidden weapon, again highlighting how Subaru designs its vehicles with customers in mind. Unless we're talking about Wilderness-edition customers, off-roading is not the point for most Subaru drivers. Crosstreks aren't for spending the day racing over sand dunes or fording rivers. There's no full-body skid plate, for example. Instead, Subaru knows its buyers want to drive their vehicles to places where they will hike, kayak, or do some other outdoor activity. The 2024 Crosstrek delivers off-road goods for just those types of adventures, starting at just over $26,000.
Photo: Sebastian Blanco
Part of the test drive took us on a short off-road loop with mildly steep inclines and drops to test X-Mode. For those without much off-road driving experience, X-Mode's hill-descent control (which engages any time the AWD system is on) can take over braking and speed decisions as you drive down a mountain, keeping the Crosstrek from rolling out of control. Once engaged via a touchscreen button, hill-descent control makes short work of what could otherwise be difficult moments.
Two versions of X-Mode are available on the 2024 Crosstrek. I tested the standard system, which sends power from slipping wheels to those with traction under wet conditions. A dual-function version with specific settings for muddy and snowy conditions is available in the Limited and Sport trims.
Crosstrek buyers who are more eager than usual to take their SUV off-roading should note that height matters when it comes to ADAS. Any additional lift you might add to the vehicle to improve ground clearance may require recalibrating the EyeSight sensors to keep them accurate.
After a decade of generally strong sales, Subaru was never going to change the new Crosstrek dramatically. That's not how the company works. For the model's third generation, Subaru improved the Crosstrek in small but meaningful ways. The main downside is the 2.0-liter engine's sluggishness in some scenarios. Choosing between the 2023 and 2024 models is a no-brainer because the newer model offers an expanded roster of features with the same or similar price tag. The choice could become more difficult once the 2024 Crosstrek with the 2.5-liter engine becomes available.
Sebastian Blanco has covered the auto industry for over 15 years. His reviews and articles have appeared in Car and Driver, The New York Times, Automotive News, Reuters, Autoblog, InsideEVs, Trucks.com, Car Talk, and other outlets.
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