2024 Subaru Crosstrek

You could look at the Crosstrek as Subaru’s tough little do-it-all crossover, or simple as a beefed up Impreza hatchback. Regardless, the Crosstrek has been wildly successful. Well, an all-new Subaru Impreza has just hit the streets so it looks like it’s time for us to get jacked up with an equally new Crosstrek!

The Subaru Crosstrek is a relatively newcomer to the notoriously conservative brand, but it wasted no time in making an impact, quickly becoming one of their best-selling models. 2024 begins a 3rd generation of this Impreza-based hatchback, and it mostly delivers the same things it always has, just a little more of them, and in a cleaner and more tech-savvy package.

It’s hard to miss the big multimedia touchscreen which grows from 8.0 to 11.6-inches. It’s standard in all but base Crosstreks.

The interior feels a little more open, looks a lot less bland, and Subaru claims it’s also both quieter and more comfortable. We’ll definitely agree on more comfortable, as the front seats are much improved.

Materials are upgraded but look and feel just as durable as always. Gauges are mostly old-school analog, just the way we like them, with only a small 4.2-inch LCD display for extra info.

Rear seats feel comfier as well, and Subaru has integrated a small step into the area to give you someplace to stand when you’re loading all those adventure necessities on the roof rack.

Premium trim, which is just one step up from base, gets ladder-type roof rails capable of holding 700-lbs. along with 17-inch wheels and LED fog lights.

Exterior dimensions are almost identical to last year, and it doesn’t look drastically different either, still appearing plenty adventure ready with 8.7-inches of ground clearance. But there are a few relevant changes like the frameless grille, slimmer headlights, slightly more exaggerated fenders, subtle aerodynamic upgrades, and additional lower body cladding.

There’s room for 19.9 cubic-ft. of cargo in back, expanding to 54.7 cubic-ft. with the rear seatbacks folded, and as before, the space looks ready to take some abuse.

Plus, there’s a holder back here for your giant water bottle. The mountain stream motif provides an anti-slip surface to keep things in place.

Benefitting from the Impreza’s recently stiffened chassis and dual-pinion steering setup from the latest WRX, the Crosstrek feels plenty solid on the street for a small utility.

Though we did battle with some understeer during handling exercises at our Mason Dixon test track. A little more steering feel would also be nice. Still it was plenty stable and did whatever we asked of it without getting upset or putting up any resistance.

Standard engine in base and Premium Crosstreks is the same 2.0-liter boxer-4 with the same 152-horsepower and 145 lb-ft. of torque Sport and above get a 2.5-liter with 182-horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque.

All-wheel-drive and CVT come with all of course, and paddle shifters on the steering wheel allow you to select from one of eight pre-set ratios.

At the test track, our 2.0-liter equipped Premium behaved like most Subarus; there was a fairly strong initial jolt of power to get you off the line, but things settle down quickly once you get rolling, and it’s a very leisurely stroll to 60 miles-per-hour of 10.5-seconds. On the plus side, the CVT has gotten smoother and engine noise is noticeably more subdued compared to last gen. That makes the ¼-mile experience a little more pleasant, but it was still a long slow trip of 17.9-seconds, finishing at 81 miles-per-hour.
In panic braking, we did experience a little bit of fade after multiple passes, but stops remained smooth and stable, with a decent average stopping distance of 125-feet from 60.

The latest Subaru EyeSight Driver Assist Technology is standard. But Lane Keep Assist and Automatic Emergency Steering can be added.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings for the 2.0-liter are 27-City, 34-Highway, and 29-Combined. We averaged a good 31.0 miles-per-gallon of Regular.

That’s a slightly better than average Energy Impact Score, with annual use of 10.3-barrels of oil and CO2 emissions of 5.0-tons.

Pricing remains more than reasonable with a base Crosstrek starting at $26,290, Premium just $1,150 more at $27,440, topping out with Wilderness at $33,290.

Nothing groundbreaking or earth shattering here, just a better 2024 Subaru Crosstrek that’s slightly more civilized, and packs some additional features and better tech along for the journey. And as we’ve learned, that’s exactly the way Subaru buyers want it. Don’t mess…too much…with success.