As someone who is attempting to survive on a writer's salary in Los Angeles, I have no idea how people can afford a new car. The average transaction price of a new car last year was nearly $50,000, and it seems like more and more small, cheap cars are getting the axe each year. As much as I love driving exotic cars with six-figure pricetags, I get tired of advising The Rich on which shiny new toy to spend twice my annual salary on.
I'm in this industry because I want everyone to find a car within their budget that they view as more than an appliance, and I'm happy to report that the 2025 Subaru Crosstrek is a great place to start.
Full Disclosure: Subaru bestowed upon me a brand new Sapphire Blue Pearl Crosstrek. I lived with it for a week, drove it all over, and even did some light off-roading.
I asked Subaru to give me the cheapest car in its press fleet, and they delivered this Sapphire Blue Crosstrek Premium, which starts at $29,230 including $1,420 destination. My test car is equipped with the $2,245 option package 14, which includes a 10-way power adjustable driver's seat, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic emergency steering, a power moonroof, heated seats, and heated wipers and exterior mirrors. It also has the $156 all-weather floor liners for a total MSRP of $30,881.
There is a base Crosstrek trim that is $1,250 cheaper than the Premium, but it has a smaller and less powerful engine and is missing a lot of basic features. The base trim has a stereo with just four speakers, and no USB-C ports, rear charging ports, rear armrest, keyless entry, or push-button start, so it's definitely easier to recommend the Premium trim.
With the Premium trim you get a 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder engine that produces 182 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, paired with a continuously variable transmission with 8 simulated gears that are controlled by steering wheel paddles. That's a boost of 30 hp and 33 lb-ft of torque over the base Crosstrek's 2.0-liter, which also lacks paddle shifters.
Naturally, all Crosstreks come standard with Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive with X-Mode, as well as Subaru's brilliant EyeSight driver-assistance systems that includes adaptive cruise control with lane centering, lane-keeping assist that combats, sway, and automated emergency braking. Crosstrek Premiums get an 11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a big upgrade over the base car that has a pair of 7-inch screens with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Premium also comes standard with a six-speaker audio system, keyless entry and push-button start, USB-A and USB-C ports up front and in the rear, and illuminated vanity mirrors. It's got everything you really need from an affordable new car.
The Crosstrek is great to drive around town, and still good on the highway. On the mean streets of Los Angeles, the Crosstrek's generous 8.7 inches of ground clearance is more than most of its competitors, and it rides better than it has a right to at this price. I never have to worry about bottoming out through dips or scraping the chin on parking blocks, and the 225/60 tires and 17-inch wheels leave enough sidewall that I can remain unconcerned about popping a tire should I hit a nasty pothole or two. Its compact exterior dimensions and good visibility make tight maneuvers easy, too.
Get onto the freeway in the Crosstrek and I'm met by a lot of wind noise rushing around, which I could forgive if it wasn't for the poor quality of the sound system. If, like me, you tend to crank up the stereo volume to drown out wind and road noise on the highway, you'll quickly find the sonic limits of the Crosstrek Premium's six speakers and run into some nasty distortion, especially in bass-heavy songs. If a quiet car is your priority, then I recommend looking elsewhere.
The Crosstrek's 2.5-liter boxer engine has adequate power for all situations, and its handling characteristics are equally sufficient. The squishy suspension that provides such a cushy ride around town lends itself to some sloppy body control when pushed a little too hard on a winding road, but this is a $30,000 SUV after all. It sticks to the road just fine, but it doesn't feel particularly eager to hustle through turns, which is par for the course of this vehicle category — save for the sportier Mazda CX-30. And it's EPA rated for 27 mpg in the city, 33 mpg on the highway and 29 mpg combined, so it's pretty efficient for this class of AWD subcompact.
Subaru's EyeSight suite of driver-assistance features is one of the best in the business at actually preventing crashes, as shown by extensivetesting done by AAA. Yes, it can generate a lot of annoying bongs and beeps, but I appreciate the safety benefit, if not for me then for the swaths of drivers who are way too comfortable checking their phone while driving. The system includes adaptive cruise control that is great at keeping me a safe distance away from the car ahead, but I find the lane centering function to be less successful at its mission of actually keeping the Crosstrek in the center of the lane.
Inside the Crosstrek Premium the first feature you're likely to notice is the vertically oriented 11.6-inch touchscreen. It's something that many car reviewers have complained about, but I have to say it doesn't bother me much at all. Would it be easier to have physical controls? Yes, but there are hard buttons for adjusting the temperature of the standard dual-zone climate control, and the fan-speed indicator stays visible at the bottom of the screen at all times so at least I don't have to go digging through several menus to simply change the fan speed. Beyond that, I use the nearly full-screen Apple CarPlay for basically everything else so it's virtually a non-issue. The benefit of having minimal features is that there are minimal things to confuse you.
The front seats are quite roomy offering ample legroom for my 6-foot-8 body, but if you're leggy like me then you're likely to find the seat cushion a bit short on under-thigh support. My press car's sunroof eats into headroom a bit, but it's not as significant of an issue as it is in many other cars so it should be okay for most bodies. The seats are invitingly squishy and plush-feeling, and they offer good lateral support courtesy of nice bolsters on the backrest, coddling my bony butt and achy back well on long drives.
Most of the surfaces that my fingers and elbows frequently interact with are nicely padded, which culminates in an interior that feels comfy for long trips, well put-together, and durable. I also appreciate Subaru's choice of interior plastics; where many automakers use shiny black plastic trim, Subaru uses low-luster plastics and a faux carbon-fiber material that's not very good at imitating carbon fiber but is nice to look at.
The Crosstrek's steering wheel also has plenty of easy-to-use buttons that make it easy to toggle through the menus on the small digital readout between the gauges. The analog gauges might seem antiquated, but I gotta say it's really hard to beat a set of clear analog gauges for user-friendliness.
All things considered, I really enjoy living with the Crosstrek. It isn't particularly exciting or flashy, but it does everything I ask of it with aplomb. Best of all, it's very affordable, but it doesn't feel like driving a file cabinet — it feels like a genuinely solid, safe, and efficient car. If you're on a budget and feel the need for a small SUV, the Crosstrek is a great choice, plus it has something going for it that its competitors don't: it's a Subaru.
I come from a Subaru family. As a kid, I convinced my mom to buy the 2010 Outback after our second Grand Caravan kicked the bucket, and they loved it so much that they replaced it with a 2019 Outback that they still drive today. My dad then bought a used 2008 Forester XT that he still loves and daily drives, and my brother has a bugeye WRX wagon that is his daily driver.
There's just something special about Subarus that feels familial. Sure, you could buy a different subcompact crossover like a Hyundai Kona, Honda HR-V, Chevy Trax, or Toyota Corolla Cross, but a Subaru becomes a part of your family. Objectively, buying a Crosstrek is a safe decision since they have high resale values, and subjectively it's a great way to get an affordable vehicle that doesn't become just another appliance in your life. It's a Subaru thing.