2023 Subaru Crosstrek

2023 is the final model year of the second-generation (GT) Crosstrek and a carry-over year apart from the new Special Edition trim; the volume Premium still carries the 2.0-liter FB20 at 152 hp. That sits essentially on the floor of the SUV horsepower band.

Peak torque of the FB20 fitted to the 2023 volume Premium. The 31 lb-ft deficit to the 2.5L is the practical reason the 2.0L cars have to be revved out when loaded or climbing.

The 2.0L volume trim needs roughly 9.7 seconds to 60 mph, beyond the slow end of the SUV band — the long-standing 'underpowered' criticism of the nameplate applies squarely to the trim most buyers take. The 2.5L cars are nearly a second and a half quicker.

The naturally aspirated boxer responds cleanly and immediately at light throttle with no turbo lag and no hybrid handover to manage, but the 152-hp 2.0L in the volume Premium has to be worked hard for merging and grades, where it turns audibly coarse. The shortfall is a routine part of driving the car rather than an occasional one, so it sits at the bottom of the middle band.

The Lineartronic CVT is unobtrusive around town and steps through simulated ratios rather than pinning revs, but paired with the low-output 2.0L it spends more time at high revs and drone under load is the recurring complaint. Rated a little above the third-generation car because 2023 still offers a genuine 6-speed manual on Base and Premium, and CVT trims above Base add an 8-speed manual mode with paddles.

Every 2023 Crosstrek is rated at 1,500 pounds maximum — there is no Wilderness trim this model year, so nothing in the range reaches the 3,500-pound rating the 2024 car introduced. That is near the floor of the SUV towing band: a small utility trailer or a pair of jet skis, not a camper.

Symmetrical full-time AWD is standard on every 2023 US trim rather than an option or a top-trim upsell — the strongest possible showing on availability. Held out of the top of the band because the volume Premium gets only single-setting X-MODE, dual-function X-MODE with Hill Descent Control is limited to the Sport, manual-transmission cars get no X-MODE at all, and there is no low range or true torque-vectoring rear unit.

8.7 inches of ground clearance standard on every trim beats most subcompact crossovers outright and, with X-MODE and standard AWD, makes the Crosstrek genuinely useful on forest roads and snow. But 2023 is the last year before the Wilderness arrived, so there is no dedicated off-road variant, no lockers, no low range and no all-terrain tire option — light-duty trail hardware only.

2023 is the broadest the Crosstrek line ever got: two naturally aspirated gas boxers (2.0L and 2.5L), a 6-speed manual alongside the CVT, and the Crosstrek Hybrid plug-in — an electrified option the third-generation car would go without until 2026. Short of the top band because the PHEV was a low-volume, limited-distribution model at a $36,845 price that put it $12,000 above the volume Premium, and there is no turbo option anywhere in the range.

EPA rates the 2023 volume Premium's 2.0L CVT AWD configuration at 30 MPG combined — a strong figure for a subcompact SUV carrying full-time symmetrical AWD as standard, and one MPG better than both the 2.5L cars and the third-generation 2024 Crosstrek. The 6-speed manual gives up five MPG.

EPA city rating of 28 MPG for the 2.0L CVT volume trim, helped by the auto start-stop system fitted to the CVT cars. Near the top of the SUV city band despite standard all-wheel drive, and the strongest city figure in the 2023 range.

The 2.0L volume trim posts 33 MPG highway. Unusually, the larger 2.5L is a mile per gallon better on the highway cycle — its taller effective gearing means less work at cruise — so the 2.0L's efficiency advantage is entirely a city-cycle one.

The 16.6-gallon tank is shared across every 2023 Crosstrek trim and engine, so at the EPA combined 30 MPG the volume 2.0L Premium covers roughly 498 miles per fill and about 548 on the highway cycle. Solidly above the middle of the SUV range band — capped by the small tank a subcompact carries rather than by the engine's efficiency.

EPA's published annual fuel cost for the 2023 Crosstrek AWD 2.0L CVT is $2,050 at standard assumptions, with a $750 five-year saving versus the average new vehicle. Low absolute running cost, driven by 30 MPG combined on the cheapest fuel grade.

Every 2023 Crosstrek powertrain — the 2.0L FB20, the naturally aspirated 2.5L FB25 and the Hybrid alike — runs on 87-octane regular unleaded, with no premium recommendation, no turbocharger to feed and no special fuel handling. There is no ongoing grade penalty relative to any rival in the class.

NHTSA rated the 2023 Crosstrek SW AWD five stars overall, the top of the band. The overall figure is carried by a clean 5-star side result (5 barrier, 5 pole); frontal is 4 stars on both driver and passenger side and rollover is 4 stars at a 15.6% rollover probability with no tip in the dynamic test.

The legacy tests are all Good — small overlap driver and passenger, original moderate overlap, roof strength, head restraints — but the 2023 Crosstrek is rated Poor in BOTH of the tests IIHS updated to reflect current crash reality: the updated moderate overlap front (rear-passenger protection) and the updated side test. It carries no 2023 IIHS award; the Crosstrek's return to the award list came with the 2024 redesign, not this car. Two Poor results in the tests IIHS itself considers the current standard put this in the bottom band despite the older Good ratings.

The volume Premium with the CVT gets EyeSight standard — pre-collision braking and throttle management, lane keep assist, lane departure and sway warning, and Advanced Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Centering — which is a stronger standard core than most subcompact SUVs of this year. What holds it to the middle band is the two gaps at the volume end: blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert are a paid option on Premium and Sport and standard only on Limited/Hybrid, and the 6-speed manual Base and Premium ship with no EyeSight at all.

EyeSight's stereo-camera AEB posts the top result in vehicle-to-vehicle testing and Superior in daytime pedestrian detection, with Advanced — one notch down, not a failure — at night. That combination sits in the top band. It is not perfect: IIHS flags the system as optional equipment rather than standard because manual-transmission cars do without it.

Blind-Spot Detection with Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert exists and works, but it is alert-only — no active steering or braking intervention, no safe-exit warning — and on the volume Premium it is an extra-cost item rather than standard equipment. Reverse Automatic Braking, the one piece of active rear intervention in the range, is confined to the Limited and Hybrid.

Lane Keep Assist, Lane Departure and Sway Warning, and lane centering (bundled into the Advanced ACC) are all standard with the CVT, so the volume trim wants for nothing on paper. The execution is the second-generation stereo-camera EyeSight rather than the wide-angle system the 2024 redesign brought: centering holds a lane competently on well-marked highway but wanders on faded markings and through sweeping curves, and the departure warning is a chime-heavy system reviewers commonly turn down. Solidly functional, not confidence-inspiring.

Advanced Adaptive Cruise Control is full-speed-range with stop-and-go and comes standard on every CVT trim, paired with lane centering — a genuinely useful commuting package at this price. It falls short of the top band on refinement rather than capability: EyeSight leaves a conservative following gap, closes on slower traffic later than the best radar systems, and there is no integrated highway-assist mode above plain ACC-plus-centering.

No hands-free highway system is offered on any 2023 Crosstrek trim. EyeSight is a hands-on assist with a driver-attention requirement; Subaru had no BlueCruise/Super Cruise equivalent in the US lineup this model year.

This is the 2023 car's worst safety result: IIHS rates the headlights POOR on the Base, Premium and Sport — three of the five trims, and the volume trim among them — with Good reserved for the Limited. Steering-responsive LED units arrive on the Sport and High Beam Assist only on the Limited, so the buyer taking the mainstream trim gets neither. The 2024 redesign fixed exactly this, making Good-rated headlights standard.

One of the Crosstrek's genuine strengths and a deliberate design choice: slim roof pillars, a low beltline, deep side glass and a tall upright seating position give sightlines noticeably better than the subcompact-SUV norm, which partly offsets the blind-spot monitor not being standard. Held below the top of the band because no surround-view camera is available on any 2023 trim — the compensation is all natural glass, with only a standard rear camera behind it.

IIHS gives the LATCH hardware its second-best result — Good with extra positions — and independent car-seat checks score the anchors straight A's: two sets of lower anchors under removable fabric covers, easy to find, plus three clearly marked and accessible top tethers. Wide rear doors and generous rear legroom for the class make installation straightforward. The ceiling is the car's width, not its hardware: three car seats will not fit across the rear bench.

The second-generation Crosstrek is a strictly five-passenger, two-row subcompact SUV in every 2023 trim including the Hybrid, which places it near the floor of the 4–8 seat SUV band.

Subaru publishes 39.8 in of front headroom for every 2023 trim without the moonroof — mid-band for an SUV and generous for a vehicle only 63.6 in tall. The optional glass roof costs a substantial 2.2 in, more than the third-generation car gives up.

43.1 in of front legroom on the 104.9-in wheelbase sits about two-thirds up the SUV band and is 0.2 in more than the third-generation car offers — the front cabin is the roomiest part of this vehicle.

38.0 in of second-row headroom lands exactly mid-band for an SUV, helped by the upright roofline that survives to the tailgate. The moonroof costs only 0.2 in in the back, against 2.2 in up front.

36.5 in of second-row legroom sits a little above the middle of the 30–42 in SUV band — enough that Consumer Reports singles out the 'roomy rear seat' as a strength and Cars.com's car-seat testers found room in front of a rear-facing infant seat, but short of what a size-up compact SUV provides.

The 2023 Crosstrek is a two-row, five-seat subcompact SUV — no third row is offered in any trim or option package, so this scores in the bottom band by definition rather than because of any shortcoming in the seating that is fitted.

20.8 cu ft behind the second row falls below the 25 cu ft floor of the SUV cargo band — the Crosstrek is graded against SUVs of every size and its subcompact hatch area is the single largest space penalty in this category. It is, notably, 0.9 cu ft more than the redesigned 2024 car offers.

55.3 cu ft with the 60/40 bench folded lands barely above the 55 cu ft floor of the SUV band. The seatbacks fold genuinely flat and the load floor is square and usable — Edmunds notes bikes slide in easily — but the absolute volume is subcompact.

Everyday provisions are complete but plainly of their era: dual console cup holders, a bottle holder in each door, a lockable illuminated glove box, an armrest console bin, a rubber cargo tray with four tie-downs and two grocery hooks, plus a retractable cargo cover standard from Premium up. What is missing is the whole modern layer — the 2023 car has no folding rear-seat armrest with cup holders at all, no wireless charging pad at any price, no underfloor cargo bin and no household outlet.

Reviewers rate the front and rear seats comfortable enough for extra-long trips, if firm, and the rear bench is genuinely roomy for the class — but the cushions are flat and short on lateral support on a twisty road, and the volume Premium's driver's seat is a 6-way manual with the 6-way power unit an extra-cost option, so adjustability is thin. Rear passengers get no centre armrest at all this model year.

Ride is the clearest comfort strength of the run-out second-generation car: the long-travel raised suspension shrugs off ruts and broken pavement in a way reviewers compare to luxury cars, and Consumer Reports leads its list of strengths with the smooth ride. Held below the top band because the same soft springs and 8.7 in of ground clearance produce noticeable body roll in quick transitions.

Road and wind noise are reasonably well suppressed at a steady cruise, but the volume Premium's 152-hp 2.0L is the problem: it has to be worked hard for any merge or grade and the CVT holds it at high revs, which reviewers describe as a raucous drone. Buyers of the 2.5L Sport and Limited get a measurably quieter cabin because the bigger engine is not straining.

The volume Premium does better than the redesigned 2024 car on the one feature that matters most in a Subaru — heated front seats, heated mirrors and a wiper de-icer are standard rather than a $2,245 package — and automatic climate control with voice-activated controls is standard on every trim. But the system is single-zone, there is no heated steering wheel outside a Hybrid option package, no ventilated seats and no rear climate control anywhere, and remote engine start with climate is a Limited exclusive.

The final second-generation Crosstrek opened under $25,000 delivered with standard Symmetrical AWD, sitting at the very bottom of the subcompact-SUV normalization band. The manual-transmission Base is the true entry point; the CVT most buyers actually take adds $1,350.

Premium with the CVT is the volume Crosstrek configuration — the CVT is what unlocks EyeSight, which is why most Premiums leave the lot with it. The $1,150 walk from Base buys heated front seats, fog lights, a leather-wrapped wheel, six speakers and STARLINK Safety & Security.

BOXER-plus-AWD servicing runs a little above the Toyota/Honda class benchmark but well below luxury rivals, and the second-generation car adds nothing unusual to the schedule. Published projections for this nameplate disagree by more than three times, so this is a blend weighted toward the clustered low estimates rather than either endpoint.

The Crosstrek is the strongest retainer in the subcompact-SUV class and the 2023 car now has three years of real transaction data rather than a pure projection, tracking to roughly two-thirds of its delivered price at five years. Standard AWD, a tight 2023 supply market and durable outdoor-brand demand all hold the curve up.

$27,370 volume-trim price minus its estimated resale value after 5 years (66% retained, or about $18,064) leaves about $9,306 in depreciation. Add the projected $4,800 in 5-year maintenance and repairs, and owning this vehicle for 5 years costs about $14,106 in total.

Industry-baseline coverage sitting on the floor of the normalization band — no advantage over the segment and two years behind the 5 yr / 60,000 mi basic term Hyundai and Kia offer on the Kona and Seltos.

Baseline powertrain term at the bottom of the band — half the 10 yr / 100,000 mi original-owner coverage Hyundai, Kia and Mitsubishi extend, which matters more than usual on a CVT-and-AWD driveline.

Subaru of America included no complimentary scheduled maintenance for 2023, so the owner pays from the first oil change — a standing gap against Toyota's 2-year ToyotaCare on the Corolla Cross and Hyundai's 3-year plan on the Kona. What is included is roadside assistance tied to the warranty term plus STARLINK connected-service trials, which is basic-roadside territory rather than a perks package; any free-maintenance offer is a dealer promotion, not a factory program.

2023 is the sixth and final year of the second-generation (GT) Crosstrek and a near-pure carry-over — the only change of substance was a new Special Edition trim — so the forecasters were rating fully mature hardware. Every predictor lands above average, and unusually for a model year this old the prediction has since been settled by field data: J.D. Power's 2026 Vehicle Dependability Study, which surveys three-year-old cars, named this exact model year the most dependable small SUV in America.

Across every study that bears on a 2023-model-year car, Subaru sits in the upper third without the outright No. 1 finishes it would collect a year later. Consumer Reports ranked the brand 7th of 24 in its 2023 survey, the 2023 Initial Quality Study put Subaru above the industry average, and the dependability study covering these cars places the brand around 6th overall — better than typical, still well behind Toyota and Lexus.

NHTSA lists zero recall campaigns against the 2023 Crosstrek — a genuinely clean record, and notable given the driveshaft and instrument-panel-harness campaigns that landed on the 2024 car and on sibling 2023 Foresters. Owner complaints are low in volume and non-systemic, clustering on spontaneous windshield cracking, a long-running Subaru grievance rather than a defect of this model year. Held just short of the ceiling by the generation's familiar TSB themes: CVT shudder from insufficient fluid and FB-family valve-cover/spark-plug-tube oil seepage.

The volume Premium runs the 2.0-liter FB20 boxer with the Lineartronic CVT — by 2023 a six-year-old combination in this body and a decade-old engine family, with a deep high-mileage record and nothing unproven. It ranks above the equivalent 2024 car because that year restarted the clock on a new platform, but stays out of the top band for family reasons rather than year-specific ones: documented oil consumption on the direct-injected FB engines, cam-carrier and valve-cover leaks, and CVT shudder as the most-cited Subaru driveline complaint.

The volume Premium's cabin is a 2018-vintage design built for outdoor durability rather than richness: cloth upholstery, a 6.5-inch screen, padding where hands and elbows land and hard textured plastic elsewhere. Reviewers consistently note the materials improve markedly with trim — Limited gets the soft-touch surfaces — and describe the lower trims as feeling somewhat cheap, leaving the volume car a step behind the Mazda CX-30 and the redesigned 2024 Crosstrek on perceived quality for the money.

Assembly is the cabin's strength rather than its materials. Every US 2023 Crosstrek was still built at Gunma in Japan, in the sixth and final year of the generation, so the line was thoroughly dialed in — reviewers report consistent panel gaps and excellent workmanship with no pattern of rattles or misalignment, and Subaru's initial-quality result for this model year finally cleared the industry average.

Service satisfaction is Subaru's strongest suit and the study contemporary with this car says so outright — the brand ranked highest of all mass-market car brands in J.D. Power's 2023 Customer Service Index. What keeps it out of the top of the band is reach rather than quality: roughly 630 US retailers is half Toyota's footprint and a fifth of Chevrolet's, skewed toward the Northeast, Pacific Northwest and Colorado, so owners in the Sun Belt and Plains can face a long drive to a dealer.

Running costs measure below both the compact-SUV and all-vehicle averages, unscheduled shop visits are roughly a third as frequent as the segment norm, and the Crosstrek's outdoor-accessory aftermarket is among the largest in the class. Held short of the top band because boxer-specific jobs — spark plugs, cam carrier and valve cover seals — carry more labor than a transverse inline-four, and CVT service remains dealer-oriented.

The volume Premium carries the 6.5-inch Multimedia Plus head unit, which is below the 7-inch floor of the SUV touchscreen band — the largest screen in the 2023 range is 8.0 inches and it is not offered on the Premium at all. This is the last model year before the 11.6-inch portrait screen arrived with the 2024 redesign.

Layout logic is the system's redeeming feature — Consumer Reports counts 'easy-to-use controls' among the 2023 Crosstrek's core strengths, and Subaru keeps physical volume and tuning knobs plus hard buttons for climate rather than burying them. Against that, the 6.5-inch panel on the volume trim is small and its graphics were visibly dated by 2023, CarPlay renders on a screen barely bigger than a phone, and the head unit is the outgoing generation's rather than the cloud-connected 8.0-inch unit.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on every 2023 trim including the $23,645 Base, which is genuinely good coverage — but every one of them is a wired USB connection. No wireless projection is offered on any 2023 Crosstrek at any price; it arrives only with the 11.6-inch system in the 2024 redesign. That places the car squarely in the middle 'wired standard' band with no upper-trim escape.

The volume Premium has no embedded navigation available at any price — the TomTom-based 8.0-inch Navigation system is an option confined to the Limited and Hybrid — and the Premium's 6.5-inch unit is not even credited with the voice-activated multimedia controls the 8.0-inch systems get. Owners rely entirely on CarPlay/Android Auto maps over a wired connection; the only native voice function on the Premium is the climate system's.

Six speakers on the volume Premium is adequate rather than good — a step up from the Base's four, but a long way from a branded system. The Harman Kardon 8-speaker, 432-watt-equivalent upgrade exists and is well regarded, yet it is locked inside a Limited-only option package, so no Premium buyer can reach it.

There is no full-digital cluster anywhere in the 2023 lineup, and the volume Premium sits at the bottom of what is offered: analog speedometer, tachometer and eco gauges with a 2.4-inch monochrome LCD, with the 4.2-inch colour LCD only an option. The 6.3-inch colour multifunction display is a separate dash-top screen, not a gauge cluster, and it is a Limited/Hybrid item.

There is no whole-vehicle over-the-air update capability on the 2023 Crosstrek, and the volume Premium's 6.5-inch head unit is the outgoing hardware — map and firmware refreshes are dealer or USB affairs rather than pushed updates. The car is connected (4G LTE Wi-Fi capability is standard from Premium up and MySubaru Connected Services runs over it), but that connection is used for telematics and a hotspot, not for adding features.

MySubaru Connected Services is standard from the volume Premium up and covers the core set — remote lock/unlock, vehicle locator, automatic collision notification, SOS, enhanced roadside assistance, monthly health reports and concierge. Two things hold it mid-band: remote engine start with climate control is a Limited-only feature, so the Premium buyer cannot pre-warm the car from the app, and the safety/security tiers revert to paid subscriptions after 3-year and 6-month trials. There is no digital key.

The volume Premium gets two front USB-A input ports and nothing else: the dual rear USB charging ports are a Sport-and-up item, there is no USB-C anywhere in the 2023 car, no factory wireless charging pad on any trim, and no household outlet. Rear passengers on the trim most people buy have no way to charge a phone.

The volume Premium does not get proximity entry as standard — Keyless Access with Push-Button Start and PIN-Code Access is an extra-cost item bundled into the larger CVT/EyeSight packages, and is standard only from Sport up. Remote engine start is a Limited exclusive, there is no hands-free or power liftgate on any trim, and no phone-as-key. A plain keyless-entry fob with a twist key is what a base Premium leaves the lot with.

A rear-vision camera standard on every trim is the entire parking-aid story. No surround-view or front-view monitor is offered on any 2023 Crosstrek, no front or rear parking sensors appear in the equipment tables, there is no automated parking, and even Reverse Automatic Braking is confined to the Limited and Hybrid. What partly rescues the car in practice is visibility rather than technology — the slim pillars and low beltline make it easy to place without help.

No head-up display is offered on the 2023 Crosstrek in any trim, option package or dealer accessory. The only supplementary information display is the 2.4-inch (or optional 4.2-inch) LCD in the gauge cluster.

Car-seat logistics are a genuine strength for a car this small: Cars.com gave this generation straight A's in its Car Seat Check, IIHS rates the LATCH hardware Good with extra positions, the lower anchors sit under removable fabric covers and are easy to reach, all three top tethers are clearly marked, and a 5-ft-6-in front passenger still has legroom ahead of a rear-facing infant seat. The low step-in height and upright door openings help daily loading. It falls short of the top band on width and volume — three car seats will not fit across the 55.6-in rear bench, there is no rear centre armrest this model year, and 20.8 cu ft behind the seats fills fast with a stroller.

The headline credentials are good — 5-star NHTSA overall, Good ratings in every legacy IIHS crashworthiness test, and EyeSight's AEB is among the best-performing systems tested — but the trims families actually buy carry two real gaps. IIHS rates the 2023 car Poor in both of the tests it updated to current standards, and rates the headlights Poor on Base, Premium and Sport with Good reserved for the Limited. EyeSight itself is standard only with the CVT (an option package on the volume Premium), and blind-spot detection costs extra there. No IIHS Top Safety Pick for 2023.

Four people travel acceptably on the strength of the absorbent ride and a rear bench Consumer Reports calls roomy, with about 498 miles of range between fills. But rear amenities on the volume Premium are close to absent: no rear USB ports, no rear air vents or rear climate control, and no folding centre armrest with cup holders anywhere in the 2023 range. Luggage space with all four seats occupied is 20.8 cu ft, which is a weekend for four rather than a week.

Commuting is what this car is built around. The CVT is smooth and unobtrusive in stop-and-go, the 2.0L's light-throttle tip-in feels eager off the line even though the engine runs out of breath later, outward visibility is unusually good, the step-in height makes entry and exit easy, and EyeSight's full-speed-range adaptive cruise with lane centring is standard on every CVT car. The fatigue penalty is the noise the engine makes whenever traffic demands a real acceleration.

Very cheap to run for an all-wheel-drive vehicle: EPA 28 city / 33 highway / 30 combined on the 2.0L CVT volume trim — the best combined figure in the 2023 Crosstrek range, better than both the 2.5L and the manual — on 87-octane regular, with an EPA annual fuel cost of $2,050 and a $750 five-year saving against the average new vehicle. Consumables are ordinary compact-car parts and Subaru's projected repair costs sit below the segment average. Short of the top band only because no electrified option is realistically reachable: the Hybrid was a $36,845 low-volume model.

A 176.5-in-long, 71.0-in-wide body turning inside 35.4 ft curb-to-curb, with slim pillars, deep side glass and an elevated seating position, makes this one of the easiest vehicles in the catalog to thread through a city and slot into a space. The one thing it lacks is electronic help — there are no parking sensors or surround-view camera on any trim, only the standard rear-vision camera, so tight reversing is done on sightlines.

Not meaningfully a work vehicle. Every gas 2023 Crosstrek is rated at 1,500 lbs maximum towing (1,000 lbs for the Hybrid), the volume Premium has 152 hp to move a load and 20.8 cu ft of enclosed cargo, and 2023 predates the 3,500-lb Wilderness entirely. That is bike-trailer and small-utility-trailer territory — one lawn trailer, not a jobsite.

The mechanical package is about as proven as anything in the class — 2023 is the sixth and final year of this body with a decade-old FB-series boxer, the Lineartronic CVT and Symmetrical AWD, NHTSA lists zero recalls against the 2023 Crosstrek, and the standard wheel-arch and rocker cladding shrugs off the gravel that work routes throw at it. What keeps it mid-band is that none of this is work-hardened: there is no vinyl-floor or fleet trim, cloth upholstery on the volume Premium (StarTex water-repellent material is a Sport exclusive), a unibody with no frame, and no fleet track record to point at.

The provisions are outdoor-recreation ones pressed into service rather than work-grade equipment: four cargo tie-down hooks, two grocery hooks, a standard rubber cargo tray, raised roof rails standard on every trim (better coverage than the 2024 car, where the Base drops to low-profile rails), and a deep Thule-based accessory catalogue including aero crossbars, a hitch bike platform and a 13-cu-ft roof box. There is no onboard AC power, no bed, no washable floor option and no upfitter ecosystem.

The mile-eating case rests on the ride, which reviewers compare to a luxury car's for bump absorption, on seats good for extra-long stints if firm, on roughly 498 miles of combined range from the 16.6-gallon tank, and on EyeSight's full-speed adaptive cruise with lane centring standard on every CVT car. The ceiling is set by noise and reserve: the 152-hp 2.0L drones through every highway merge and grade, and the Premium's Poor-rated headlights are a real liability on a night drive.

The Crosstrek's best use case and one of the strongest showings in the subcompact class: Symmetrical full-time AWD is standard on every trim, ground clearance is 8.7 inches on all of them — more than most compact SUVs a size up — and X-MODE with Hill Descent Control comes with the CVT, plus roof rails and cladding as standard and a large factory outdoor-accessory catalogue. Held below the top band because 2023 has no Wilderness variant, no low range or locking differential, no all-terrain tire option, only 1,500 lbs of towing for toys, and manual-transmission cars get no X-MODE at all.

Flexibility beats raw volume here. The 60/40 seatbacks fold flat to 55.3 cu ft — slightly more than the redesigned 2024 car — over a square load floor with four tie-downs, a standard rubber tray and a retractable cover from Premium up, and Edmunds reports bikes slide straight in. Roof rails are standard on every trim and take an aero crossbar set, a 13-cu-ft locking roof box or bike carriers, and a hitch is a factory accessory. The ceiling is the 20.8 cu ft available with the seats up and the absence of any underfloor bin.

The Impreza underpinnings show through in a good way — a quick 13:1 steering ratio, standard Active Torque Vectoring and a low boxer engine give the car a nimble, secure feel that reviewers consistently describe as composed and enjoyable, and grip from the 225/60 R17 all-seasons is adequate. What keeps it out of the upper band is the price of the 8.7-inch ride height: the soft long-travel springs that make it comfortable also let it lean noticeably in quick transitions.

Subaru fits a quick-ratio electric rack and reviewers reliably note that it is fast and well weighted off-centre, which makes the car feel more alert than its mission suggests — a real advantage over the numb, over-light racks common in subcompact crossovers. It is still electric assist with modest feedback: accurate and predictable rather than communicative.

Braking is a quiet strength of this generation. Ventilated 11.6-inch front and solid 10.8-inch rear discs on a 3,223-lb curb weight give plenty of hardware for the mass, with 4-channel ABS, EBD, Brake Assist and a brake override system standard, and no regen blending to complicate pedal feel on the gas cars. Held short of the top band because no instrumented 60–0 figure specific to the 2023 car was retrieved and reviewers treat the brakes as unremarkable rather than a highlight.

The naturally aspirated boxer is smooth and immediate at light throttle — no turbo lag, no hybrid handover, no dual-clutch hesitation — and the Lineartronic CVT is genuinely unobtrusive in traffic, stepping through simulated ratios rather than pinning revs. The calibration falls apart under load: with 152 hp the Premium has to go to wide-open throttle for a merge or a grade, where reviewers describe the pairing as revvy and short on polish. That is a routine part of driving this trim rather than an edge case.

The recurring criticism of the car and the clearest weakness of the volume trim: the 2.0L is noisy when asked for anything, and the CVT holds it at the revs where it is loudest, producing a drone on every highway merge. Reviewers explicitly note the 2.5L Sport and Limited are quieter for the simple reason that the bigger engine is not straining. Vibration through the controls is not an issue — the boxer is inherently well balanced — but the noise character is.

35.4 ft curb-to-curb sits near the tight end of the 34–42 ft SUV band and is a real everyday asset — U-turns and parking-garage ramps take one movement rather than three, and it is the same figure the redesigned 2024 car carries.

An elevated hip point, slim pillars, a low beltline and deep glass give the driver an unusually clear view out for the class, the step-in height makes getting in and out easy, and the controls are conventional — physical volume and tuning knobs, hard climate buttons, a tilt/telescoping column standard on every trim. The limit is adjustability: the volume Premium's driver's seat is a 6-way manual with the power seat an extra-cost option, and there is no lumbar adjustment or memory.

There is real character here — the chassis is nimble, the steering quick, the car carries speed happily on a rough back road, and 2023 is one of the last model years in which a proper 6-speed manual could be ordered on the volume Premium, with paddle shifters on the CVT cars. But with 152 hp, roughly 9.7 seconds to 60 mph and an engine that sounds strained doing it, the enjoyment is in where it will take you rather than how quickly, so it stays in the 'pleasant but not sought out by enthusiasts' band.

Every 2023 Crosstrek includes Symmetrical AWD, X-MODE and 8.7 inches of ground clearance — hardware rivals either charge for or cannot offer at all — and Premium adds heated front seats and fog lights as standard. Against that, the screens are small and dated by 2023 (6.5-inch STARLINK on Base and Premium, 8.0-inch only from Special Edition up), EyeSight is withheld from manual-transmission cars, and blind-spot detection is standard only on Limited, so the volume Premium is capable rather than well-equipped.

The money buys capability and durability rather than content: standard AWD and real ground clearance at a $24,870 entry price, one of the lowest projected total ownership costs in the class, and the best resale retention of any subcompact SUV. It is held back from the top band by the 152-hp 2.0-liter in the volume Premium — reviewers uniformly call the base engine underpowered — and by an interior the same reviewers call plain next to a Mazda CX-30 or Kia Seltos.

Six variants spanning $24,870 to $40,570 delivered, two engines (2.0-liter on Base/Premium/Special Edition, 2.5-liter on Sport/Limited), a plug-in hybrid at the top, and a six-speed manual still offered on Base and Premium — unusually wide choice for a subcompact SUV, and 2023 filled the Premium-to-Sport gap with the new Special Edition. The manual's exclusion from EyeSight forces an awkward safety-versus-transmission trade, and there is no off-road halo trim this year.

Calendar 2023 was the Crosstrek's best sales year to that point at 159,193 US units, up about 3 percent and within 3,000 of the Outback for the title of Subaru's best-seller — and it achieved that in the run-out year of a six-year-old generation while the redesigned 2024 was already arriving. Among subcompact SUVs that volume is at or near the top of the class.

Subaru carries one of the strongest owner-loyalty and brand-affinity records among mainstream makes, built on standard AWD, an outdoor identity and a long safety reputation — an image that demonstrably feeds resale rather than just marketing. It is not an aspirational premium badge, which caps it below the luxury marques in this category.

Scored on buyer benefit, this is the Crosstrek's weakest value dimension. Subaru runs among the lowest incentive spends of any automaker, has never offered zero-percent financing on this nameplate, and 2023 sat in a still-tight supply market where Crosstreks transacted at or very near MSRP. It earns a few points over a pure no-deals score because the model-year run-out ahead of the 2024 redesign opened some late-year dealer flexibility, and a $500 lease-loyalty credit was available.

2023 is the final US model year of the second-generation (GT) Crosstrek launched for 2018, and the replacement was not a rumor — the third-generation car had already been revealed and reached US retailers as a 2024 during this model year. A buyer choosing the 2023 was knowingly taking a six-year-old design weeks before its successor, which is exactly the redesign risk this item measures.

Well-regarded rather than decorated: Consumer Reports made it the best subcompact SUV and a top-10 pick and KBB gave it Best Resale Value in class, but it did not carry an IIHS Top Safety Pick for 2023 after the updated side and moderate-overlap tests both came back Poor, and mainstream outlets rank it mid-pack — U.S. News placed it 10th among affordable subcompact SUVs at 7.7/10. It rarely wins a comparison test, losing on powertrain and interior quality to the CX-30 and Seltos while beating them on capability and cost.