Though it narrowly bettered Subaru’s personal standing-start acceleration declare (0-60mph in 10.4sec as examined versus 0-62mph in 10.8sec), the Crosstrek wouldn’t idiot anybody into believing it was any form of energetic performer.
Except for being round 20-30% slower than what we’d consult with because the £35k hatchback class normal, this automobile provides the notion that it’s even slower at instances due to the way in which its transmission works. However does that matter, given the Crosstrek is engineered for such particular dual-purpose use? In case you are frequently going off the Tarmac, you would possibly simply be minded to forgive it.
The CVT truly exhibits some subjective indicators of enchancment on refinement, driver engagement and all-round drivability on the street, whereas it features very effectively off it.
That it will probably’t work any miracles is obvious within the figures we recorded. The Crosstrek does really feel like a barely underpowered automobile whenever you need it to make brisk progress, notably whenever you’re utilizing the transmission’s handbook gear choice mode. Right here, the decrease intermediate ratios are made to really feel unusually tall, whereas the driveline itself appears able to swallowing pretty massive purposes of mid-range torque with out displaying a lot added ahead urgency.
We measured 50-70mph in ‘third’ – prime overtaking territory – in 8.4sec (a VW Golf 1.5 eTSI takes simply 4.3sec), however right here we should enable for a transmission that’s being requested to work otherwise from how it’s designed to when ‘locked in gear’.
When the gearbox is left in D, whereas it revs just a little stratospherically by first and second gears and solely takes on a extra regular method of working by its ‘ratios’ from third upwards from about 50mph, the automobile isn’t fairly as sluggish as that efficiency differential suggests.
That’s as a result of, in getting you from A to B in regular each day driving, the Crosstrek has respectable roll-on efficiency. It isn’t assertive or sporty; it isn’t characterful or idiosyncratic, as Subaru flat fours was; and it isn’t notably environment friendly both. On the street, the hybrid system merely does a job.
The automobile’s electromechanical brake servo generally is a little irksome, making the pedal particularly grabby when the automobile is chilly. Nevertheless it improves thereafter, and permits the automobile stopping distances that, contemplating its tyre specification, are respectable sufficient.
Off-road notes
The Crosstrek isn’t blessed with Land Rover-beating off-road angles and pretty clearly isn’t a automobile for the form of rock crawling or sand duning that some 4×4 lovers have interaction in.
And but it is a genuinely ready automobile on the muddy gravel tracks and slippery climbs for which it’s meant. The X-Mode traction management system has separate settings for on-road use, after which particularly for mud and filth, or deep mud and snow.
The off-road modes work solely beneath about 20mph, however the distinction they make – to prime the transmission to maintain revving and delivering actually helpful and constant torque ranges when climbing at these decrease speeds, for example, or to extra pre-emptively change the front-to-rear torque distribution – provides the Crosstrek a remarkably sure-footed really feel on free surfaces.
Our check automobile scaled a moist, muddy 35% incline on Millbrook’s off-road course with out struggling for a second.
