General CommentsLove this car! I've had my XV Crosstrek Limited for 9 months and still can't wait to drive it every morning. The size is perfect for our family of four. Small and agile enough to navigate the tight spots downtown, but large enough for our weekend adventures. Great size for small kids getting in and out of, with plenty of room in the back seat. I come from a long line of manual transmission 4 cylinders, and the Crosstrek beats them all. It's peppy, quiet and smooth. The CVT was new for me, but I had no problems adjusting. The CVT sounds different, but it is not louder than any other 4 cylinder. I like the simple layout of the interior. They didn't over complicate the dash. The Bluetooth works well, however I have no basis for comparison as it is my first car with it. The speakers are weak initially, but after fading the speakers to the front and adjusting bass, treble they sound much better. Heated leather seats are my favorite feature. The symmetrical AWD feels very secure on snow and ice. I am getting .5 less MPG than the EPA estimate, so I'm very pleased considering how spirited of a driver I am. All in all, I would buy this car all over again. Other similar sized cars with the same features and options were priced $5,000-$8,000 more and still didn't have AWD! The Crosstrek was definitely the best car for our money.
Crosstrek meets or exceeds most of my criteria list
PostedJuly 12, 2013
by SnowHater
Overall rating
4/ 5
Yes, I recommend this vehicle.
General CommentsI had a 6 cyl 1998 Camry for over 12 years and did alot of research the past two years, and during that period the Crosstrek hadn't been released. Narrowing down my "must have list," the Kia Sportage was up against the Xtrek, here are my findings: big problem with the Kia was a huge blind spot on each side, however the ride was quieter and the horsepower higher but the mpg city/hwy took a bad hit. On a recent trip, I got 430 miles on one tank of gas!!! I drive a lot in the city and load up my scuba gear to dive in cold water so I have a lot of gear to put in the cargo area. The cargo area is much smaller than the Kia and my Camry which means major adjustments in packing my gear. The rear seats do drop down nicely with one finger. On my recent road trip I got over 430 miles on a tank of gas. The xtrek isn't as quiet as the Kia, but I can crank the volume of the beautiful stereo and deal with that issue! The hands free phone sound is horrible despite having a microphone by your knee and overhead, it's horrible whether I'm parked or driving, consider it useless. The sync to phone or ipod is automatic and seamless. The Nav system is super easy to use and the environment system much more user friendly than Kia. Xtrek, we could use another USB port in the rear passenger compartment too. I needed snow clearance and the Xtrek delivered it over the Kia. I'm hate driving in the snow totally, so I'm looking for great AWD experience this winter. The tires are rated high, but not my usual choice so we shall see how they do in the winter. The front windshield wipers have a defrost on them so that might be nice when I'm starting up the car when it has a layer of snow on it and the wipers are stuck to the windshield. I have nice visual 360 degrees, a very nice SUV which I hope will hold its blue book value as nice as my Camry XLE but deliver better handling in the snow. Kia, work on your blind spot...it's terrible! Xtrek, add a few more inches to your rear cargo space and fix the useless hands free sound system for the phone. Otherwise, keep up the beautiful Xtrek line!
General CommentsLooking for a 4 wheel drive that wasn't a gasguzzler, was fun to drive, and had the added height, since we summer in Maine and travel washed out dirt roads from time to time. Only regret is that they haven't designed a dog guard to separate the truck from the seats. Was able to retrofit with a non-Subaru item. Drove through the Nemo blizzard without any difficulty. Very pleased.
