Is the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek a Good SUV? 5 Pros and 2 Cons
The Subaru Crosstrek has long been a practical and appealing choice among subcompact SUVs thanks to its spacious cabin, standard all-wheel drive and solid all-around value. Redesigned for 2024, the Crosstrek thankfully keeps all of that and gains additional appeal; it also remains a roomy and versatile choice that’s ready for outdoor adventures and affordably priced.
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The new Crosstrek looks a lot like the outgoing model, but it rides on an updated and stronger platform, with a revised suspension for improved ride and handling. The updated powertrain gets a big dose of added refinement, as well, while the SUV also gets a completely redone interior and added safety features.
Cars.com’s Aaron Bragman recently had a chance to get thoroughly acquainted with the new Crosstrek and returned with a largely positive review, which is available in full by tapping the link above. Not all is perfect, however: Read on to learn five things we like about the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek and two things we don’t.
Things We Like
1. Ready for Adventure
A big part of the Crosstrek’s appeal is that it has always been more than a basic commuter car. Its high ground clearance and standard AWD make it an appealing choice for outdoor adventurers, and that continues with the redesigned model. Other backcountry attributes include a roof rack designed to support up to 700 pounds when parked, enough to support a tent and a couple of occupants, or 175 pounds of gear while underway.
2. Renewed Refinement
The few demerits of the previous Crosstrek included a serious lack of powertrain refinement, which has been thoroughly addressed with the new version. The base 152-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine remains, but Subaru engineers have done wonders to reduce levels of noise and vibration; the result is a much quieter cabin and a smoother powertrain.
3. Comfortable Cruiser
The suspension gets softer springs than before, resulting in vastly improved ride quality. Equipped with 17-inch wheels and all-season tires, our Premium-trim test car easily soaked up bumps and road imperfections, while road noise was minimal on smooth pavement. Handling feel is similarly relaxed, but the Crosstrek can still hold its own on twisty pavement and has controlled body motions and minimal fuss.
4. Improved Safety Systems
Subaru’s EyeSight suite of safety systems has been updated to be less aggressive, making its useful features like forward collision alert and lane departure warning less likely to constantly beep and flash warnings in normal driving. We see this as a good thing, and it will likely make drivers less willing to turn it off to avoid the nuisance. In addition, the Crosstrek gets an additional available feature that will automatically steer the car around an obstacle in its path.
5. Commendable Controls
A newly available 11.6-inch vertically oriented touchscreen packs a lot of functionality. It’s big, bright and easy to use, with multimedia controls on top and climate controls below. Better still, functions that are frequently reached for still use physical knobs and switches, including the audio volume and climate controls.
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Things We Don’t Like
1. Poky Pony
Reduced vibration has gone a long way toward making the base 152-hp engine a more enjoyable traveling companion — but unfortunately, it’s done nothing to make it any quicker. Acceleration remains lethargic, and it’s likely to be slower still when the Crosstrek’s roomy cabin and cargo hold are loaded up. A 182-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine is available, but only in upper trims.
2. Cabin Compromises
Although the Crosstrek’s cabin is nicely finished and more spacious than many competitors, front passenger headroom is somewhat lacking with the optional moonroof, and there’s no adjustment for the passenger seat height in our tested Premium trim. Additionally, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are a nice addition to avoid cable clutter, but we found phone pairing to be tricky.
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