I have a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek XV (
not the hybrid!). The Crosstrek is basically nothing but an Impreza wagon with a somewhat beefed up suspension and more ground clearance.
It's an okay little car. Mine has a manual transmission...hard to find these days. Things in the car's favor are its AWD system and great fuel economy. The car's easy to get in and out of. Seat material is cheap. With almost nine inches of ground clearance, I haven't gotten stuck yet. The rear cargo area is roomy with the rear seats folded down. It has the Boxer engine. Note that the only other auto company using a Boxer is Porsche. It's a very dependable motor, but it does take a while for it to warm up in cold weather.
Unfortunately, the Crosstrek is horribly underpowered, weighing in at only 148 horsepower (in 2015). I can't imagine this lack of power hooked up to a CVT. At least with the manual transmission, I can wind it out to get the most out of its power. It'd be a great car if it had 200 horsepower like some of the Hondas.
Interior accoutrements are cheap and cheap looking. That's the only way to put it. It's glittery and shiny, but it still cheap looking...like some women I've known.
Oh, and you can't get an electric sunroof with a manual transmission! Go figure.
The factory floor mats are useless, totally useless, even the rubber ones. Take them out soon as you can and get some Weathertech ones or Husky Liners. The interior carpet is cheap, and if you get ground in dirt in it, you'll have to work to get it out. And it'll never look like new again.
If you opt for any sound system other than Subaru's "premium" system, resign yourself to feeling like you're back in your 1972 Chevy Nova with speakers you bought from K-Mart. For a 6-speaker system, the non-premium system is simply horrible. The on-screen menus are confusing until you get used to them. And I hear the 2018 Subaru's sound systems are really quirky...something about the radio stays on all the time.
Subaru touts itself as being "dog friendly". Well, that's true, I guess, as my two dogs love riding in it. Unfortunately (there's that word again) Subaru's seatback protectors and cargo mat are like toys or something. Made out of some really thin composite material. This material will not hold up under three years of two Rottweilers jumping into the car and moving around on them during trips. I'll soon replace the seatback protectors with new ones, and a Weathertech cargo mat will replace the factory one. Regular "cargo" and smaller dogs are fine, but big dogs? No, it won't hold up.
Subaru's a quirky little car company that hasn't reached as much of the American market as their advertising would have you believe.
Never one to leave well enough alone, I replaced the boring factory wheels with Enkei wheels about two weeks after I bought it. I also had a factory custom grill and a pair of Hella Supertone Horns laying around here for three years, ever since I bought the car. Finally got those installed a couple of weeks ago, after disassembling the grill and removing the Subaru badge from the center of it. The difference in appearance is significant, and the Hella horns are amazingly loud...no more of that roadrunner-beep-beep garbage.
As I said, the car is quirky. Things you take for granted on other small SUVs in this price range are absent on the Subaru. Then again, it has a few things the others don't.
A good and dependable little car, yes. Would I buy another one. Probably not.
