Yahoo Autos Tested: 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Quiets Down and Softens Up
08/15/23 UPDATE: This review has been updated with test results for a Crosstrek Premium model.
The Subaru Crosstrek looks like it knows no boundaries. Chunky black hexagons spill out of the center of its grille, and matte plastic clads all the sharp body lines on the tiny SUV. Inside, the five-seater easily becomes a two-seater, with the rear seatbacks flipping down to welcome most of the popular adventure props. All your canoes and tents that don't fit in the back can go up top. If it could speak, the Crosstrek would say, "Go forth boldly, fear no bears or rock chips!" Its confidence is charming, if ambitious.
For 2024, the Crosstrek hasn't gone for radical changes so much as small but needed improvements. For the first time, it offers wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The newest version of EyeSight's driver-assist safety suite has a wider field of view, to sooner warn of bicyclists or cross traffic. The respectable fuel economy (an EPA-rated 29 mpg combined/26–27 mpg city/33–34 highway) remains, and the $26,290 starting point is unchanged. The Premium version we tested, with a power sunroof, power driver's seat, blind-spot detection, and the All-Weather package still came in under $30,000, which is a lot of good vibes for the money.
Subaru has been perfecting its car-dressed-up-as-a-rugged-SUV ever since it first put two-tone paint on the Impreza in 1996. The 2024 Crosstrek drapes new sheetmetal over a stiffened chassis, adds some padding to its seats, and quiets down the cabin so you can better hear the REI podcast on your way to work. The manual transmission has been dropped, but there are otherwise no major powertrain changes, as the Crosstrek's base and Premium trims come with the same 2.0-liter flat-four as before, while the Sport and Limited get a 2.5-liter version with an extra 30 horsepower. Our first drive sat us behind the wheel of a Crosstrek Premium in Offshore Blue Metallic—picture the navy-tinted gray of a lake under an overcast sky—and sent us on a day-long meander through California's Joshua Tree National Park and out onto some nearby backcountry OHV trails.
On the road, the Crosstrek rolls into the corners and takes a second to power out of them. The 2.0-liter has never been a performance star, and with no change in horsepower and a slight bump in weight, the new Crosstrek is slightly slower than the 2018 model, making the run to 60 mph in 9.5 seconds and taking a leisurely 17.4 seconds to clear the quarter-mile at our test track.
The new Crosstrek will, however, make its relaxed approach with much less cacophony than before. We've previously lamented the drone of the Crosstrek's CVT and the howl of the overworked boxer engine. The improvement for 2024 is noticeable. The faux shifts of the CVT are softer, both physically and aurally, and while the engine still uses all of its 152 horses and 145 pound-feet of torque to reach freeway speed, it's now possible to have a conversation inside while this is happening. Joshua Tree is notoriously windy—we once saw a raven suspended midair, wings a-flapping with no forward motion—but none of the desert maelstrom made its way into the cabin. And the broken, gravelly pavement was more apparent through the windshield than through the seats.
