Apart from expensive design palaces: with the Subaru Crosstrek, performance takes precedence over form

New cars are Funda house. Large screens, walls and floors in warm tones of the plan to live in the ice, but above all there is no calm: freezing chests and light of emotions. In the leafy desert, the Subaru Crosstrek stands like an old tree, gnarled but healthy, a little proud. It’s one of the few SUVs with standard all-wheel drive and off-road capability, from one of the few brands that still puts function over form. Because of that, and not because it’s not electricity, nobody buys it. With the Crosstrek, the down-to-earth lifestyle that seemed to be delayed by the fashion junkie is now a wash. You can be nice in a Subaru house. Safety, space and road usability calculations. It has always been that way with this brand and it remains that way. I haven’t seen such a large rear window for a long time, which means that as a driver you again get something of what is happening around you, unimaginable in luxury villas surrounded by B- and C-pillars that pay. price. Love the generous exterior mirrors and excellent forward visibility. The trunk is not spacious, but the back space is very good. And it shines a little by boasting a humble upgrade. The rear window wiper is 4.5 cm longer than on the modified Quasimodo that preceded the Crosstrek, the XV. More visibility! On the right track.

Why does the mirror appear on the headboards, the photographer asks. I don’t know, but there must be a reason, it’s a Subaru. In the cabin, a non-beautiful, boring-stable house grows randomly in all directions like an old city. Service level is up-to-date with Android Auto and the latest safety systems, but the dashboard looks like it was put together in 1990 and the multimedia screen was temporarily pasted onto that old cake. There should be a department at Subaru to prevent unnecessary beauty. Modern carbon panels are a very failed attempt to communicate directly with the spirit of the times. The clock is analog, the buttons are washed-up antiques from a better, quieter century. They still had rotary knobs for volume control and channel tuning from 1985. Windshield wipers? Heated rear window? Left and right temperature control? Click the buttons! There are also a lot of buttons on the steering wheel, too many for my liking, but also a balm for the soul after a series of labyrinthine Chinese touch screens.

Zoom in for all the Subaru Crosstrek Premium detailsClick on the points for detailed informationPhoto by Merlijn Doomernik

The best thing about Crosstrek services is how they show you THAT they work. After turning on the seat heating – the toggle switches can easily be found in the Rijksmuseum – the light comes on to show that the heating function is ON. The graphics of the infotainment screen seem to be copied from a historical computer game, as if it were aftermarket, whereas Subaru came up with it themselves, and it shows. If you turn on the air conditioner through the touch screen, the relief light will come on again. It says: ON!

Good-natured and familiar

The Crosstrek is not fast. Don’t give him up on his failure, the machine won’t like that. The engine sound is gentle and familiar, very smooth for a four-cylinder boxer, another fine specialty of the house. At 100, the speed changes civilly between 1,500 and 2,000, neat.

This product always plays different from the lemming companies that I fall for it again and again, whatever the negative aspects of this concept may be from an ecological point of view. CO-friendly hybrid powertrain₂emissions of 174 grams per kilometer will not save the Netherlands from drowning. On the other hand, there is also no CO₂-using battery production that only pays for itself after many years of running the plug-in. Plus, Subarus last a long time, an underrated kind of durability. And whatever cosmetic flaws you have to accept, you leave happy. It is comfortable and quite soft for the modern Japanese man. The seats are not too big – the backrest is long enough, the seat is too small – but it is better than it seems.

Photo by Merlijn Doomernik

And Subaru makes it easy for you. The Crosstrek automatically comes in three variants. The only option is metallic paint for 750 euros. If you buy the most expensive model, which according to Subaru is cheaper than the comparable XV predecessor model, you get a complete car for 56 solid but well used, including the mandatory roof Subaru sliding door. And that works with electricity. But his most important asset: he is important to you. In all weather conditions.

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