Drove A Hybrid Crosstrek XV Last Night

"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94) 10/21/2015 at 12:31 • Filed to: None

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I can’t remember the categories that usually get used and I can’t be bothered to search for them. Suck it up.

Exterior: 7/10. I like the ordinary Crosstrek. This one would be better without the cliche hybrid-clear-taillights.

Interior: 6/10. Everthing looks nice and is easy to use/understand. However just sounds cheap. I don’t mean feels, I mean sounds. It’s a wierd disparity. Looks nice. Feels nice and solid to use. Sounds like I’m scrunching up the plastic at the bottom of a cookie tin, and that ruins it for me. While we’re on the subject, the doors have the same problem. They feel solid. They sound like you’re opening and shutting a framework of kebab sticks and tinfoil. Yes, I know that it’s just a little economy car. Doesn’t matter. It has been proven you don’t have to make a cheap car feel/sound cheap.

Sound: 5/10. Didn’t play anything, giving the benefit of the doubt, 5 points. Engine noise, 0 points. A non-turbo boxer I4 just doesn’t make a noise that appeals to me. The CVT that holds it at those revs constantly makes it even worse. The electronic whining noises coming from the battery and electric motor were also annoying.

Transmission: 2/10. CVT, ‘nuff said. Reasonably good CVT, so 2 points, but that’s it.

Engine: 5/10. Yup, it has one. I think. Nothing more to see here.

Toys: 9/10. Given that it’s a little economy car, It has pretty much anything you would want. Heated seats, cd/aux/usb/satelite with a touch screen, auto climate control. No nav, but I’m pretty sure it’s an option somewhere. And anyway, I wouldn’t care—my experience with Subaru nav systems is that they suck a load of donkey balls.

Handling: 10/10. This thing is AWESOME!!! Maybe a little quick on center. That’s it.

Brakes: 7/10. Has those, too. Really grabby because regenerative, but once you pry your head out of the steering wheel you can appreciate how good they are. Still -3 for REALLY F*CKING GRABBY, though.

Economy: 5/10. The only benefit this holds is AWD. Yes, I was beating it, it wasn’t mine. But I beat my rental Cruze the same, and it managed the same mileage. It was NOT an eco, it was a 1.8 NA with an auto. Now there’s nothing wrong with matching the economy of a Cruze, but this thing is a hybrid. I mean, c’mon.

Performance: N/A.

Total: 56/100.

Would I buy one? No. Not like this. I'd take the ordinary one, with a manual. In orange. Yes, plz. And maybe throw a turbo in for good measure.

HammerheadFistpunch > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/21/2015 at 12:36

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The general consensus when this thing came to market was that it was a very easy and cheap way to sell a hybrid with absolutely no benefits.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/21/2015 at 12:41

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I think the hybrid is to make up the fuel economy you lose with full time AWD, to get it close to cars in it’s class. It’s basically a break even proposition, for more money.

When I bought my Cruze, I looked at the Crosstrek but the manual transmission wasn’t available and that was a deal breaker for me. At this point, I’m just as glad. I really like the Crosstrek, but for the amount and type of driving I do I think the Cruze has ended up being much better because it’s returning fantastic gas mileage and doesn’t give me any trouble, and I haven’t encountered any situations where the AWD would be a make or break.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > HammerheadFistpunch 10/21/2015 at 12:46

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That's pretty much it, yeah.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/21/2015 at 12:48

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If you put in the turbo, the economy numbers would drop through the floor, mostly because your right foot would always be on the floor.

My WRX averages 19.2 mpg with primarily city driving. The best I’ve managed is 25.1 mpg on one tank during a long trip.

I would imagine the added ride height of the XV would increase drag and lower economy.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Snuze: Needs another Swede 10/21/2015 at 12:48

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It’s basically a break even proposition, for more money.

So... it's a break even proposition for idiots.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/21/2015 at 12:51

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Exactly. You pay more money to get the same fuel economy you can get on almost any other car in the class.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/21/2015 at 12:54

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Sad that the Hybrid dorky tail lights are the only way to get LED tail lights... Red vinyl film can go a long way.

Sad that the 5-speed manual is barely available, and looking sideways at the option list makes it disappear.

FAIL that there isn’t a WRX equivalent XV. Even better with an STI option, with a MUCH higher FA20DIT tune, and the STI robust 6-speed gearbox, DCCD, Torsen rear diff, Brembos, long-throw Bilsteins, and flow formed or forged wide wheels and whatever the best most versatile high-performance all-season mud+snow rated tires on the market are.

I would so buy that car. The closest thing to a production REAL rally car for the road, with a bit of cargo versatility. Rally cars aren’t low to the ground.

BTW... some Dynamat in strategic places might help the tinny sounds. I think Subaru has been skimping on their sound deadening materials.

I am so not-enthused about anything Subaru is selling now.

BTW, I would love the above suggestion with a 3-door shooting brake style body... or any sort of modern Typhoon.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > TheRealBicycleBuck 10/21/2015 at 12:56

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Yes, but I wouldn’t be buying it for economy. If milage numbers were what I was concerend about, I’d take the hybrid. If saving money was what I was concerned with, I’d get a basic non-turbo. A turbo Crosstrek would, to my mind:

-Provide the performance I want when I’m in the mood

-Provide economy when I’m not

-Provide a fun-handling little car (in practical hatchback form!!)

-Provide AWD

-Provide a small car that doesn’t make me feel like I’m scraping my ass on the road (one of the things I’m really liking about my truck is that I’m up where I can see. The Crosstrek felt similar)

-Provide a car with more ground clearance than the Impreza it’s based on, meaning I can get stranded further from civilization (or rather, that it can tackle a bit of exploring now and then)

Perfect compromise afaic.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Snuze: Needs another Swede 10/21/2015 at 12:59

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I was thinking more of the “I want AWD but I don’t want to pay for the extra fuel so I’ll pay more up front” person.

But that one as well, yeah.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 10/21/2015 at 13:01

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Modern Typhoon... GIB

But you knew that from looknig at my username.

And I would buy the SHIT out of that XVSTIWRX thing.

BeaterGT > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/21/2015 at 13:16

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Poor Subaru, I don’t think I’d buy another product from them again as long as they continue down this boring path.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. 10/21/2015 at 13:25

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You are correct in regard to sound deadening. When I had my Crosstrek I put some sound deadening in the doors when I had the door cards off to change the crummy factory speakers. Made a HUGE difference in road noise and how solid the doors felt.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/21/2015 at 13:34

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My brain got caught on the economy side.

I’ve been considering what to do with my WRX. I like the extra clearance of the XV, but really don’t want to give up the performance of the WRX. I’ve thought about lifting the WRX, but it will only get me a couple of inches without something more radical than a set of springs. There are some folks swapping in the suspension from a Forester, but their efforts have been limited to older models.

The alternative would be a powertrain swap into an XV. While that would get me the height, it would be pretty expensive and I would be going back to a less appealing body style.

Conundrum.

Here’s my favorite lifted WRX :

I can get most of the way there for a couple thousand.

Light bar on front - $349

King Springs - $439

Spacers - $200

Lights - $400

Roof basket - $400

Then there would be a need for some upgraded wheels and tires, and front and rear skid plates....

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 10/21/2015 at 17:56

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Exactly.

Fuel economy is being treated by the industry as the only metric that really matters, and that is because of CAFE fines.

Not everybody’s priority is set up that way, Not to mention that a WRX is notoriously short-geared. A humane final drive ratio, and a wide-ratio 6-speed gearbox (or wide limits on the CVT, if that is what you want...) would help some, as well as direct fuel injection being inherently more fuel and power efficient, but a turbo XV would not be a hyper-miling economy queen, it would be a performance vehicle that could do most of what an STI can do, and a whole lot of other more versatile things, on and off the road, and with a bit of cargo practicality.

Nobody dreams of a performance car based on how gingerly it sips fuel, and economy cars and hybrids already exist. A true economy car doesn’t have AWD at all, and stays parked in the garage when it snows.