2024 Subaru Crosstrek: A subtle redesign, and that’s for the best

2023 Jeep Compass High Altitude 4x4 vs. 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Sport vs. 2024 Kia Seltos SX AWD Turbo: Battle of three extra-small SUVs.

This week: 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Sport

Price: $32,605 as tested. Blind spot detection, power moonroof, and 10-way power seat added $1,920; fancy green paint, $395.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes that it’s “more capable off-road than your average subcompact SUV, fairly fuel efficient, comfortable front seats,” but not the “poky powertrains, no more manual transmission option, lackluster interior design.”

Marketer’s pitch: “Love is out there. Find it in a Crosstrek.”

Reality: A Crosstrek redesign had me worried, but I didn’t need to be.

Catching up: In our last episode, the Jeep Compass kicked off this series with a slow, expensive mini-SUV of middling comfort.

What’s new: The Crosstrek gets a complete redo for 2024. The engine in the test model gets an upgrade, suspension is stiffer, and Subaru says it’s a whole new look, but it’s a subtle whole new look to me.

Subaru has done a BMW once in a while and taken nice vehicles and screwed them up. Just keep the vehicle’s basic Subaruality, and all will be well.

Competition: In addition to the Compass and the Seltos, there’s the Volkswagen Taos, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Mazda CX-30, Buick Encore, Hyundai Kona, Honda HR-V, Jeep Renegade. And more. It’s a huge category.

Up to speed: First, the 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder engine remains the faster engine choice. It creates 182 horsepower, and it’s not going to win any races, but it performs admirably. The vehicle gets to 60 mph in 8.1 seconds, according to Car and Driver. Still, it beats the Compass by about a second.

It gets on the highway in fairly short order, although there is a bit of a lag from about 20 to 30 mph. But I climbed uphill onto Route 30 in western Chester County and got to quick speeds in a comfortable time.

Then on the return trip, I was forced for the first time in a long time to stop on an entrance ramp, and there the Crosstrek showed its real spirit.

If the vehicle had the Crosstrek’s standard 2.0-liter engine that creates 152 horses, it probably would have resulted in me getting run over in the entrance-ramp scenario.

Shifty: Now that the manual is gone, the Crosstrek keeps the continuously variable transmission, and it seems improved. I enjoyed it so much I wondered whether Subaru had gone to a geared transmission, but no such luck.

There are eight steps you can control manually, like shifting, if there were gears.

On the road: Here’s where the real Subaruality is put to the test. Does the Crosstrek just seem to put on a happy face and move forward? Is it dependable like Dad, and maybe a little boring?

Mission accomplished. The Crosstrek didn’t excite or delight on the country curves; it didn’t make butterflies over the dips and peaks. It just drove me from West Chester to Bucks County on the Turnpike, and took me to the Y, and to the grocery, and did it with quiet fortitude. I wish I could cue snow or find mud, but I know it’ll do fine there, too.

Driver’s Seat: This helps as well. It’s comfortable and supportive, not even memorably.

The gauges haven’t changed with this edition, either, and why mess with what works?

Friends and stuff: The rear seat is snug but 5-foot-10 me fits in OK.

A middle seat passenger will suffer a way-back console and a high hump, in addition to the general indignities of that spot.

Cargo space is 20 cubic feet with the rear seat up and 54.9 when it’s folded.

Play some tunes: The big vertical touchscreen remains, and it’s a fairly nice companion as well. Clear and easy to read, knobs control volume and tuning, and everything else happens in pixels.

Sound from the system was good, about an A-.

When it came time to travel to unknown (to me) reaches of Bucks County, CarPlay hit a Subaru snag, one that happened years ago in another model. I live in a dead spot, so I know to set up my map program before I leave the Wi-Fi zone.

But I learned that when I plug into the Crosstrek with the map running, it interferes with CarPlay and I can’t get it loaded onto the screen. Just when I needed it most.

Sure enough, for the return trip, punching in the destination after plugging in my phone worked just fine.

Keeping warm and cool: The HVAC is run through the screen, and it’s pretty easy to navigate as well.

Fuel economy: I averaged around 25-26 mpg, higher on the highway, lower around town.

Where it’s built: Lafayette, Ind.

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the Crosstrek reliability to be a 4 out of 5.

Next week: 2024 Kia Seltos.