Used 2021 Subaru Crosstrek

Winner: 2021 Best Resale Value Award
#5 in Best Subcompact SUVs for 2021

Like the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk, the Crosstrek is a small crossover SUV offering standard AWD along with good off-road skills and generous safety equipment.

For 2021, the big news is the availability of a 2.5-liter engine in the new Sport and the Limited models. It’s the same horizontally opposed flat-4 engine found in the larger Forester, and its 182 horsepower represents a 30-horsepower gain over the 2.0-liter still used in the other 2021 Crosstreks.

While the 2.0-liter Crosstreks, the base car and the Premium, are available with a 6-speed manual transmission or a continuously available automatic (CVT), the new Crosstrek Sport and the Crosstrek Premium are CVT-only.

When ordered with the 6-speed manual transmission, the Crosstrek comes with a conventional AWD system. With the CVT, the AWD system is more electronically advanced and has features such as X-Mode, which offers Hill Descent Control. HDC allows you to go down hills safely without need to touch the brake pedal.

The Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid gets a redesigned front bumper and grille for 2021, along with sportier suspension tuning. Its all-electric range remains 17 miles.

In general, everyday driving, the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek is perfectly acceptable. It’s comfortable yet controlled, while being quiet and easygoing.

Our biggest gripe from last year, the lack of power from the 2.0-liter engine, has been addressed in a a good way by the new 2.5-liter, which puts out 30 more horsepower and 31 lb-ft of additional torque. The new 2.5 is standard in the Sport and Limited models, but we wish it were standard in all Crosstreks because it makes merging onto the freeway a much more relaxing affair.

The 2.5-liter also is remarkably fuel efficient. Its EPA city fuel economy is down by 1 mpg (compared to the 2.0-liter Crosstrek with the CVT), but its EPA highway number is better by 1 mpg (34 versus 33 mpg).

The standard transmission in the base and Premium models is a 6-speed manual. The optional automatic is a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that helps boost Crosstrek fuel economy to impressive levels.

With 8.7 inches of ground clearance and standard all-wheel drive, the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek is your friend on slippery dirt roads or the snow-covered driveway that leads to your cabin near Ishpeming, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

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In interior room, the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek impresses. It has generous front and rear headroom, and the cargo area expands from 20.8 to 55.3 cubic feet when the rear seat is folded forward. With its thin roof pillars and expansive glass, the Crosstrek provides an expansive 360-degree outward view.

Although this compact Subaru SUV rides high, the driver’s seat is low to the floor, as in a standard compact car. Seat comfort is good, although we wish the driver’ s seat had some sort of adjustable lumbar.  A simple and uncluttered dash contains easy-to-use knobs and switches for most functions. Interior materials are top-rate, especially the available black and gray seats with orange stitching.

The new Crosstrek Sport is equipped with a new water-repellent upholstery that has yellow stitching. That stitching continues all over the Crosstrek Sport interior – on the door panels, armrests, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and even the lid of the central storage console.

Although it’s still immediately recognizable, the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek has a revised grille and front bumper. Roof rails are standard, and the new Crosstrek Sport model is distinguished by its wheel arch moldings, a gunmetal finish on its grille, side mirrors, and badges. The Sport also sports unique 17-inch alloy wheels with a dark gray finish.

SI-DRIVE
Standard on all Crosstreks fitted with a CVT, SI-Drive is a driver-selectable powertrain management system. In Intelligent mode, fuel economy is enhanced. In Sport, the throttle and CVT are tuned to be much more responsive, making the Crosstrek feel much livelier.

APPLE CARPLAY & ANDROID AUTO
With Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, your smartphone’s screen is displayed on the Crosstrek’s touchscreen, allowing full access to apps. CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on every trim.

The base-level 2021 Subaru Crosstrek is equipped with a 17-inch alloy wheels, a 6.5-inch touchscreen, and automatic climate control. If you order a Crosstrek with the CVT, it adds some significant hardware in the form of Subaru’s EyeSight safety suite (which now includes adaptive cruise control with lane-centering), SI-Drive, and automatic start/stop.

On the Crosstrek Premium, you get paddle shifters, a leather-covered steering wheel, an all-weather package, and fog lights.

In addition to the 2.5-liter engine and the CVT, the new Subaru Crosstrek Sport model comes with a dual X-Mode all-wheel-drive system, aggressive fender liners, dark gray 17-inch alloy wheels, a water-repellent interior, and side-view mirrors with integrated directional signals.

The 2021 Subaru Crosstrek Limited also gets the 2.5 and the CVT, but it’s also equipped with 18-inch alloy wheels, pushbutton ignition, a leather interior, a power driver’s seat, an 8-inch touchscreen and welcome modern safety features like blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, active LED headlights, and reverse automatic braking.

As a Crosstrek Hybrid, this Subaru has a plug-in hybrid powertrain with a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine and two electric motors. Standard fare includes X-Mode AWD, Hill Descent Control, low-profile roof rails, black 18-in. alloy wheels, a gray/navy blue leather interior, and 8.7 inches of ground clearance.

On the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek Premium, a popular option package ($1,995) groups a power driver’s seat and a moonroof along with a blind-spot detection system, rear cross-traffic alert, and pushbutton ignition.

The new Subaru Crosstrek Sport model has a similar package. For $1,600, it comes with all the same equipment minus the power driver’s seat.

On the top-of-the-line Crosstrek Limited, you can order a moonroof for $1,000 or a $2,395 option package that includes said moonroof plus navigation and a premium Harman Kardon audio system.

The Crosstrek Hybrid can be ordered with a similar package for $2,500 that includes a moonroof, heated steering wheel, voice-activated navigation, and an 8-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.

Subaru Crosstrek shoppers have a choice of engines for 2021. While the base car continues to be powered by a 2.0-liter flat-4 with 152 horsepower, the 2021 Crosstrek Sport and 2021 Crosstrek Limited models come standard with a 2.5-liter flat-4 that produces 182 hp and 176 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s the same good engine used in the larger Forester. Unlike the 2.0-liter, which is available with a 6-speed manual transmission or a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), the 2.5 mates exclusively to a CVT.

The 2.0-liter Crosstrek with the CVT is rated by the EPA at 28 mpg city /33 mpg highway/30 mpg combined. With the 6-speed manual (which has a simpler mechanical AWD system), the Crosstrek has EPA fuel economy that drops significantly, to 22 mpg city/29 mpg highway/25 mpg combined.

We’re impressed by the EPA fuel efficiency of the Sport and Limited, the two Crosstreks that use the new 2.5-liter engine. They are both rated by the EPA at 27 mpg city/34 mpg highway/29 mpg combined.

Subaru’s flat-4 engines ride low in the chassis, which helps give the Crosstrek a lower center of gravity and carlike handling. Also, although we like the fact that the Crosstrek remains available with a manual transmission, we continue to recommend the CVT because its AWD system is more modern and gives the vehicle much better fuel economy. It’s also the only way to get Subaru’s EyeSight safety suite in the 2021 Crosstrek.

Regardless of engine choice, the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek is rated to tow 1,500 pounds.

The 2021 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is a plug-in model powered by a gas/electric powertrain featuring a 2.0-liter flat-4 engine and two electric motors. It has an all-electric driving range of 17 miles. 021.

2.0-liter flat-4 (Base, Premium)
152 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
145 lb-ft of torque @ 4,000 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 22/29 mpg (manual), 28/33 mpg (automatic)

2.5-liter flat-4 (Sport, Limited)
182 horsepower @ 5,800 rpm
176 lb-ft of torque @ 4,400 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 27/34 mpg

2.0-liter flat-4 (Hybrid)
Gas engine:
137 horsepower @ 5,600 rpm
134 lb-ft @ 4,400 rpm
Electric motor:
118 horsepower
149 lb-ft of torque @ 0-1,500 rpm
EPA combined fuel economy: 90 MPGe (gas & electric) 35 mpg (gas)