2025 Subaru Crosstrek Premium Is The Subcompact Crossover I Would Buy With A $30,000 Budget

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As personification who is attempting to past connected a writer's net successful Los Angeles, I person nary thought really group tin spend a caller car. The mean transaction value of a caller car past twelvemonth was astir $50,000, and it seems for illustration much and much small, cheap cars are getting nan axe each year. As overmuch arsenic I emotion driving exotic cars pinch six-figure pricetags, I get tired of advising The Rich connected which shiny caller artifact to walk doubly my yearly net on.

I'm successful this manufacture because I want everyone to find a car wrong their fund that they position arsenic much than an appliance, and I'm happy to study that nan 2025 Subaru Crosstrek is simply a awesome spot to start.

Full Disclosure: Subaru bestowed upon maine a marque caller Sapphire Blue Pearl Crosstrek. I lived pinch it for a week, drove it each over, and moreover did immoderate ray off-roading.

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I asked Subaru to springiness maine nan cheapest car successful its property fleet, and they delivered this Sapphire Blue Crosstrek Premium, which starts astatine $29,230 including $1,420 destination. My trial car is equipped pinch nan $2,245 action package 14, which includes a 10-way powerfulness adjustable driver's seat, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic emergency steering, a powerfulness moonroof, heated seats, and heated wipers and exterior mirrors. It besides has nan $156 all-weather level liners for a full MSRP of $30,881.

There is simply a guidelines Crosstrek trim that is $1,250 cheaper than nan Premium, but it has a smaller and little powerful motor and is missing a batch of basal features. The guidelines trim has a stereo pinch conscionable 4 speakers, and nary USB-C ports, rear charging ports, rear armrest, keyless entry, aliases push-button start, truthful it's decidedly easier to urge nan Premium trim.

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With nan Premium trim you get a 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder motor that produces 182 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, paired pinch a continuously adaptable transmission pinch 8 simulated gears that are controlled by steering instrumentality paddles. That's a boost of 30 hp and 33 lb-ft of torque complete nan guidelines Crosstrek's 2.0-liter, which besides lacks paddle shifters.

Naturally, each Crosstreks travel modular pinch Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive pinch X-Mode, arsenic good arsenic Subaru's superb EyeSight driver-assistance systems that includes adaptive cruise power pinch lane centering, lane-keeping assistance that combats, sway, and automated emergency braking. Crosstrek Premiums get an 11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment surface pinch wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a large upgrade complete nan guidelines car that has a brace of 7-inch screens pinch wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Premium besides comes modular pinch a six-speaker audio system, keyless introduction and push-button start, USB-A and USB-C ports up beforehand and successful nan rear, and illuminated vanity mirrors. It's sewage everything you really request from an affordable caller car.

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The Crosstrek is awesome to thrust astir town, and still bully connected nan highway. On nan mean streets of Los Angeles, nan Crosstrek's generous 8.7 inches of crushed clearance is much than astir of its competitors, and it rides amended than it has a correct to astatine this price. I ne'er person to interest astir bottoming retired done dips aliases scraping nan chin connected parking blocks, and nan 225/60 tires and 17-inch wheels time off capable sidewall that I tin stay unconcerned astir popping a tyre should I deed a nasty pothole aliases two. Its compact exterior dimensions and bully visibility make tight maneuvers easy, too.

Get onto nan freeway successful nan Crosstrek and I'm met by a batch of upwind sound rushing around, which I could forgive if it wasn't for nan mediocre value of nan sound system. If, for illustration me, you thin to crank up nan stereo measurement to drown retired upwind and roadworthy sound connected nan highway, you'll quickly find nan sonic limits of nan Crosstrek Premium's six speakers and tally into immoderate nasty distortion, particularly successful bass-heavy songs. If a quiet car is your priority, past I urge looking elsewhere.

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The Crosstrek's 2.5-liter boxer motor has capable powerfulness for each situations, and its handling characteristics are arsenic sufficient. The squishy suspension that provides specified a cushy thrust astir municipality lends itself to immoderate sloppy assemblage power erstwhile pushed a small excessively difficult connected a winding road, but this is simply a $30,000 SUV aft all. It sticks to nan roadworthy conscionable fine, but it doesn't consciousness peculiarly eager to hustle done turns, which is par for nan people of this conveyance class — prevention for nan sportier Mazda CX-30. And it's EPA rated for 27 mpg successful nan city, 33 mpg connected nan road and 29 mpg combined, truthful it's beautiful businesslike for this people of AWD subcompact.

Subaru's EyeSight suite of driver-assistance features is 1 of nan champion successful nan business astatine really preventing crashes, arsenic shown by extensivetesting done by AAA. Yes, it tin make a batch of annoying bongs and beeps, but I admit nan information benefit, if not for maine past for nan swaths of drivers who are measurement excessively comfortable checking their telephone while driving. The strategy includes adaptive cruise power that is awesome astatine keeping maine a safe region distant from nan car ahead, but I find nan lane centering usability to beryllium little successful astatine its ngo of really keeping nan Crosstrek successful nan halfway of nan lane.

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Inside nan Crosstrek Premium nan first characteristic you're apt to announcement is nan vertically oriented 11.6-inch touchscreen. It's thing that galore car reviewers person complained about, but I person to opportunity it doesn't fuss maine overmuch astatine all. Would it beryllium easier to person beingness controls? Yes, but location are difficult buttons for adjusting nan somesthesia of nan modular dual-zone ambiance control, and nan fan-speed parameter stays visible astatine nan bottommost of nan surface astatine each times truthful astatine slightest I don't person to spell digging done respective menus to simply alteration nan instrumentality speed. Beyond that, I usage nan astir full-screen Apple CarPlay for fundamentally everything other truthful it's virtually a non-issue. The use of having minimal features is that location are minimal things to confuse you.

The beforehand seats are rather roomy offering ample legroom for my 6-foot-8 body, but if you're leggy for illustration maine past you're apt to find nan spot cushion a spot short connected under-thigh support. My property car's sunroof eats into headroom a bit, but it's not arsenic important of an rumor arsenic it is successful galore different cars truthful it should beryllium okay for astir bodies. The seats are invitingly squishy and plush-feeling, and they connection bully lateral support courtesy of bully bolsters connected nan backrest, coddling my bony butt and achy backmost good connected agelong drives.

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Most of nan surfaces that my fingers and elbows often interact pinch are nicely padded, which culminates successful an interior that feels comfy for agelong trips, good put-together, and durable. I besides admit Subaru's prime of interior plastics; wherever galore automakers usage shiny achromatic integrative trim, Subaru uses low-luster plastics and a faux carbon-fiber worldly that's not very bully astatine imitating c fibre but is bully to look at.

The Crosstrek's steering instrumentality besides has plentifulness of easy-to-use buttons that make it easy to toggle done nan menus connected nan mini integer readout betwixt nan gauges. The analog gauges mightiness look antiquated, but I gotta opportunity it's really difficult to hit a group of clear analog gauges for user-friendliness.

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All things considered, I really bask surviving pinch nan Crosstrek. It isn't peculiarly breathtaking aliases flashy, but it does everything I inquire of it pinch aplomb. Best of all, it's very affordable, but it doesn't consciousness for illustration driving a record furniture — it feels for illustration a genuinely solid, safe, and businesslike car. If you're connected a fund and consciousness nan request for a mini SUV, nan Crosstrek is simply a awesome choice, positive it has thing going for it that its competitors don't: it's a Subaru.

I travel from a Subaru family. As a kid, I convinced my mom to bargain nan 2010 Outback aft our 2nd Grand Caravan kicked nan bucket, and they loved it truthful overmuch that they replaced it pinch a 2019 Outback that they still thrust today. My dada past bought a utilized 2008 Forester XT that he still loves and regular drives, and my relative has a bugeye WRX wagon that is his regular driver.

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There's conscionable thing typical astir Subarus that feels familial. Sure, you could bargain a different subcompact crossover for illustration a Hyundai Kona, Honda HR-V, Chevy Trax, aliases Toyota Corolla Cross, but a Subaru becomes a portion of your family. Objectively, buying a Crosstrek is simply a safe determination since they person precocious resale values, and subjectively it's a awesome measurement to get an affordable conveyance that doesn't go conscionable different appliance successful your life. It's a Subaru thing.

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