Once upon a time, there was a modest little Subaru called the Outback Sport. A derivative of the first-generation “just like punk, ’cept it’s cars” Impreza, the Sport existed until 2011, when Fuji’s heavies sent the not-the-same-as-a-real-Outback name off to Paul Hogan’s big backyard in Australia. Its replacement, the XV Crosstrek, hit our shores for the 2013 model year, offering rad wheels and interesting colors. Name games aside, it was the same thing, a pseudo-crossover Impreza offering a boxer engine, a continuously variable automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive.
People who like bicycles and dogs bought them. Presumably aiming to court people who really like bicycles and dogs, Subie built a fairly pointless hybrid version that is most memorable for having been launched, and heavily photographed, in Iceland. It lasted three model years. Now, hot on the heels of the latest Impreza sedan and hatch, comes the new Crosstrek. Except that it’s an XV. Because more name games.
During the last XV Crosstrek’s run, the Pleiades-badge people decided that Americans didn’t need the first part of the name, and they sensibly truncated it to Crosstrek. In the Old World, however, the car is sold without Crosstrek badging, and what we have here on the show floor in Geneva is a Europe-spec model, so it’s pitched merely as an XV. Technically, our Crosstrek is scheduled to bow at the New York auto show later this year. Glaringly obvious spoiler alert: The new XV and Crosstrek could star in a Doublemint ad.
In European trim, at least, the FB-series 2.0-liter flat-four makes the same 145 lb-ft of torque as the U.S.-spec Impreza engine but adds two horsepower for a total of 154. It’s backed only by Subaru’s Lineartronic CVT; unlike the Impreza, there’s no manual option, but the pulley box does offer seven ratio steps to mimic a normal automatic’s gears. The new Crosstrek also offers “X mode,” which optimizes torque delivery to the 18-inch wheels during suboptimal driving conditions. Wannabe Colin McRaes, however, will lament the loss of a mechanical parking brake.
We’ve praised the new Impreza’s dynamic qualities, and if the specifications are any indication, the XV should continue that trend. The company claims that the body’s torsional stiffness is up at least 70 percent. More readily quantifiable is the difference in steering quickness. The old car’s tiller featured a 14.0:1 ratio, while the new model features a 13.0:1 rack. Cornering is further enhanced by Subaru’s brake-based Active Torque Vectoring system, and the company claims body roll is down by 50 percent thanks to a revised mounting scheme for its rear anti-roll bar. And, although it offers 8.7 inches of ground clearance, Subaru says the Crosstrek’s center of gravity has been lowered by 0.2 inch versus the outgoing model.
On the European XV, Subaru’s EyeSight driver-assistance system is standard. On 2017 U.S. Imprezas—as well as the outgoing Crosstrek—one must opt for the midlevel Premium trim with CVT to enlist the system’s adaptive cruise control, automated emergency braking, and lane-departure-warning features. Headlights that point where you turn and automatic high-beams are also part of the XV package.
Interior upgrades are similar to those seen in the Impreza line, finally rescuing it from the bargain-basement aesthetic that has doggedly plagued small Subarus for years. There’s an 8.0-inch touchscreen to handle infotainment duty, and the orange stitching is sure to enhance any trip to REI. Just make sure that new Patagonia jacket doesn’t clash.
Outside, the new Crosstrek follows the previous model’s butchifying tactics but goes a bit more ape with the plastic cladding, distorting the shape of the fenders and exaggerating the new Impreza’s dark fog-lamp surrounds. Otherwise, we didn’t expect a radical reinvention, and we didn’t get one. The Crosstrek faithful, no doubt, will be pleased.
