I've almost talked myself into a Subaru Crosstrek. What should I know?

I know there was a redesign in 2018 that got good reviews.  (I don't care if it has low HP.  This is for carrying my dog and/or stormtrooper 50gal tote bin in the winter with heated seats and decent gas mileage.)

I see some older models with ok pricing, were any of them maintenance issues?  I know the standard internet comment on anything Subaru is head gaskets and ringlands.  Is that still a problem?  As much as I don't want a car payment, this 15yr old xB won't last forever, it's showing more rust, it rides like every single bushing underneath is shot, and at 166k miles with unknown prior maintenance (had it 2.5 yrs) I don't know when it's going to be done.  I already know firsthand these tires are terrible in the snow, AWD would be handy.

Following with interest. A friend is looking at a new hybrid Crosstrek, and asked me what I thought.

Ringlands is a b00st-dewd problem, head gaskets are a nonturbo oil leak problem.  But that stuff is all old school nowadays, the cool kids with the FB engines have oil consumption issues.  So, check the oil more often than "never".

Angling to try to beat Duane next year? 

I have a friend who has one and he actually says to buy the CVT, they get better mileage.

IIRC, the early FA's had a bad rap for burning oil.

Up here (Canada), finding used ones that are actually for sale is rare and they go for top dollar.

We bought an 18 premium CVT for the wife in May. So far it’s been flawless and perfect for our needs. 

Its not fast but the power is enough once your moving. Passing isn’t a problem if you’re willing to work the engine a little which it doesn’t seem to mind. The transmission is a little jerky at low speed (the torque converter locks up just off idle and doesn’t disconnect unless coasting or stopped, that’s the reason for the surge) but otherwise I’d found it pretty decent once you get used to it. For reference my car is a 6 speed and the car before that was a manual too. I don’t like autos in general but this one isn’t bad. 

It’s averaged 30mpg in the 15k we’ve put on it. On the highway, if I try, I can get that number closer to 40. 

Noise is minimal, at least compared to my Mazdaspeed3 which is a horrible comparison.

Its not a remarkable car but it does the daily hustle very well. I want one for myself. I haven’t been in an older one but I think most of this would carry over. 

There are about a dozen semi lifted ones here with bigger tires. I bought one for my sister lin law and she adores the thing.

AWD doesn't really help in the Snow, except for acceleration. 

A good set of snow tires tends to equalize the playing field between AWD and FWD for most passenger cars.  Moreso if the FWD has a limited slip or decent traction control.

If you really want to go AWD for snowy/icy traction issues, then make sure it has really good differentials and/or traction control technology.

And just because its fun to continue to troll with Focus RS stuff (continued from Bookface): 

Test drove one and then bought a Golf Sportwagen 4motion for less money. It just left me wanting more of just about everything. More power, more responsiveness, more space, more capabilities. Because they put so much ground clearance on the thing putting my Bike on the top of it was a PITA too. 

Call me not a fan. 

They seem to hold their value very well. Its same dimensions as an Impreza hatch/wagon just lifted. They do look cool with big tires ftw..

I test drove one and the one aspect I didn't like was the interior noise level, it's no louder than other cars in it's class but just a bit boomer than I wanted. 

I found a used 6 speed manual Outback for 17K versus the 24K they wanted for the Crosstrek. I like the extra room in the Outback. 

One guy on here had one and hated it pretty quickly.  Can’t remember who

I had a new 18 Crosstrek from Aug 18 till 3 weeks ago.

I just traded mine for a 17 ND RF.

They gave me 19650 for it.  I had an 18 2.0i Premium 6MT.  They made the 6mt slower than the 5mt from the previous model. 0-60 is 9.5... Its horribly slow and the gearing is stupid.  I put 28k miles on it is 1.5 years and I averaged 29.5mpg with 95% highway(read average mph of 50mph per tank) driving.  The seats are comfortable. The subaru infotainment system is the biggest pile of crap I have used. It would never keep my phone synced to the Bluetooth for more than a month, Android auto was wonky on it and would freak out at times. I replaced my AWD needs with a 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser with 427k miles that I would rather drive more than the 18 Crosstrek.

If you need an AWD appliance with some ground clearance, a manual, and decent gas mileage. Your only options are the Golf wagon thingy or the Crosstrek.

In reply to Tom1200 :

My ND RF is barely louder road noise wise than my crosstrek was.

In reply to Sonic :

that would be me.

Knurled. said:

Ringlands is a b00st-dewd problem, head gaskets are a nonturbo oil leak problem.  But that stuff is all old school nowadays, the cool kids with the FB engines have oil consumption issues.  So, check the oil more often than "never".

 

Angling to try to beat Duane next year? 

The thought did cross my mind a minute ago of "how soon after purchase would I take it to a rallycross in SA again?"

(And this is one time I don't really care auto vs manual.  The older I get maybe having one car in the fleet as an auto just in case might be a good thing)

The 2.0s still have the possibility of consuming oil even now. Iirc according to Subaru up to 1qt per oil change interval is "normal". Mine never did but it is still a problem.

I don't get it with Subarus.  It seems like every generation of every model has a tendency toward self destructive engines, head gasket leaks etc.  Everybody complains (until recently, maybe still) that the interiors suck.  But nobody ever seems to throw shade at them like they do on VW's because of frequent CELs...

Not trying to stick up for VW, just an observation that I've noted on this board and elsewhere.  I've had several Volkswagens.  There was usually something wrong with them.  But NEVER did I have any fatal issues that were beyond annoying and into the "fix this or it will leave you sitting" type scenarios.

I really wanted to get one but when I test drove it, I couldn't believe how slow it was. It was a complete turd. However, I liked the size and it felt like an old-school Japanese car; simple and well-laid out. If you need a manual, the 2018 Foresters still had a 6spd and a little more power (2.5 vs 2.0) to at least make it adequate. 

I would say the aforementioned VW GSW is also way better if you can handle potential German ownership shenanigans (although they have long warranties now). Had we not been suffering from the PTSD of our last German car experience, we would have gone that route.

But I won't blame you if you get one. They are sort of like a Tacoma for me; they both look the business and both offer manuals but they really are not that great when you compare them to the competition. 

What? This thread is full of misinformation. Let’s set the record straight- the 2013-2015 cars had oil consumption issues (dealt with by the dealer). My 2017 doesn’t use any. None. Zero. It has the best ground clearance for a CAR in its class, it is not an suv (and I wouldn’t have it any other way). The Mazda awd system is good, but not as intuitive as the Subaru system. The CX tries to prevent the car from moving “out of the normal zone of operation” by prediction. The Subaru uses the tried and true “your steering wheel and gas pedal tell me you need to rotate, let’s do that. Oh? I notice your done rotating, allow to prevent you from have to over correct”. I do snonuts in mine. Tc and asc engaged. Good luck ever getting the Mazda to “drive hard” on a slippy surface. 

I wouldn’t call mine slow. It’s not a wrx, but it’s not vw beetle. And I have the CVT. The infotainment does suck on the 2017, my friend has a 2019, and it’s not much better. It’s got quarks in that area, I’ve learned how to use it. 

The only thing the 18+ infotainment system has over the 17 and earlier system is Android Auto and Apple Car Play.

If the lack of power does bother you, AVO does make a turbo kit for them

The word that I think of is "adequate". It might be a solid "B" in every category, but seems to excel at nothing.

What does it have that is near "class leading"? It's not the least expensive, or the best performing, or the fastest, or the most fuel efficient, or the most efficient/versatile use of space. I guess it's got better awd systems than anything else, but I've spent my entire life driving 2wd vehicles (mostly trucks) through Midwestern winters and have never needed super fancy mechanical AWD. The Crosstrek just seems like the "bro truck" of hatch backs. Seems like the buyers get them for the rugged, capable image but they never do more than some gravel roads. And the things that give it that images just force compromises in other areas that actually get used in daily driving.

In reply to STM317 :

Adequate is the correct word to describe it.

The Dayton Auto Show is this weekend, guess I'm going.  I'd really like to test drive an auto and a manual to see if I care (as of right now I don't).

In reply to Stefan :

excellent videos, thanks for the link.