Last year we bemoaned the Subaru Forester’s lack of presence outside the Japanese brand’s loyalists. It sadly doesn’t get any better for its smaller Subaru Crosstrek crossover Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) sibling.

The Citizen reports that like with the Forester, the Crosstrek, offers practical comfort, exceptional built quality and proven reliability. But its price, which starts at R609 000, is a huge turn-off in a market turned upside down by the Chinese revolution.

Also not helping is the Crosstrek’s initial identity crisis. What started life as the Impreza XV and later became the XV, settled on the Crosstrek in 2023. With Subaru’s local footprint as small as it is, don’t feel too bad if you weren’t even aware that it’s not the XV anymore.

Here the Forester can at least rely on its bulletproof heritage spanning almost three decades. While it also has a tough time luring buyers away from the product from the people’s republic, it has at least earned a name that resonates with its brand loyalists.

Subaru Crosstrek’s clever tech

The Citizen Motoring recently sampled the Subaru Crosstrek in top-of-the-range 2.0i S guise which will set you back R699 000. As the name suggests, the crossover SUV is powered by a 2.0l four-cylinder engine which produces 115kW of power and 196Nm of torque. The free-breathing mill is mated to continuous variable transmission (CVT) which sends the twist to all four wheels via the Subaru symmetrical all-wheel drive system.

Subaru says that the always-on all-wheel drive system has been improved to offer faster response times to enhance agility and control. Active torque vectoring and SI-drive driving mode management adds more stability to the drive along with the X-Mode off-road management system. The latter offers selectable pre-configured modes in form of snow/dirt, deep snow and mud.

All this advanced hardware along with the award-winning EyeSight driver assist technology means that the Subaru Crosstrek is one of the safest cars on our roads.

The car’s turbo-lag free punch from its free-breathing boxer mill is more than enough, even in the Highveld’s thinner air. The CVT does tend to drone when you push too hard, but it is acceptable for the odd overtake. A slightly more relaxed approach to daily traffic downplays the CVT so much that you won’t even notice it.

Old school interior

Our fuel consumption worked out to just under 10l per 100km. As we only drove it for around 300km in city traffic, it will only go down with open roads added to a combined cycle.

The cabin is as solid as you’d expect from a Subaru, albeit its design comes across as a bit dated. But maybe that is the plan after all, offering an old school car-like experience compared to soulless screen-heavy modern layouts. You simply can’t get more vintage in this day and age than the little coin holder next the parking brake. Yes coins. Remember those?

Materials in the cabin range from black leather seats and soft-touch areas to faux carbon and piano inserts and aluminium-clad pedals. Leg and headroom in the rear is decent along with the 320l boot.

This rugged persona is also evident on the outside where generous rubber cladding featuring around the wheel arches, doors and front and rear bumpers. This design is complemented by two-tone 18-inch alloy rims.

Rugged touches all-round

The 11.6-inch tablet style infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto features physical switchgear on either side, while analog dials also lend some maturity to the instrument cluster. Hard-wearing rubber mats adds to the Subaru Crosstrek’s readiness to hit the trails.

We really liked the Subaru Crosstrek, but its struggles are real. Even before the Chinese revolution, Subaru was always seen as more of a left-field choice compared to other heritage brands. Something which explains its small footprint and limited sales.

These days it is unlikely to attract new buyers to the brand purely from a price point. And even brand loyalists will no doubt also find it tough to justify the R699 000 price tag. Sadly, it’s another victory for quality over quantity.

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