As I am on vacation, I decided to take a new car for a spin (after all, what
else does one do on while on vacation?
). I have a few on my list and today was the number one choice: the Subaru Crosstrek.
The version they had me try was the Sport version (without the tech package). As it had no tech package, there was no Eyesight to test, although I had no intention of invoking the system even if it had been installed. As a side note, it is possible to get the Eyesight option as a free upgrade without the full tech package. I found that out today.
The entry to the car felt at a reasonable height to both me and my girlfriend. That is saying something as I am coming from a Sorento and she from a Civic. That tells me that they hit the sweet spot in ground clearance, between being high enough to be useful and low enough that you don't feel like you are climbing into the car. The rear hatch opened with a slight touch to a fully rubberized button. The cargo space itself is huge and best of all, a real spare tire. It is not a full sized spare but at least it's not one of those "repair kits" favoured by many manufacturers.
The controls were well laid out, with everything in reach. I did not have time to familiarize myself with everything but the system is intuitive enough that navigating the onscreen centre console display was a breeze, for example. Visibility is very good to excellent on all sides, with the little triangle windows on the driver and front passenger sides making up nicely for the thick 'A' pillars. The cloth seats were very comfortable.
The drive was fairly revealing. The acceleration was good but not as strong as I would have liked in an ideal situation. Still, I got the impression that it could get me out of - or into - traffic as needed. The suspension was able to soak up the bumps in our roads better than either the Sorento or the Civic could. This is no doubt partly due to the car being new but the rest I put down to the marriage of the size/weight of the car and the type of suspension. Cornering is excellent. There are a few switchback roads in Montreal that occur near the top of Westmount and the car handled them with ease. Braking was also good.
The climate control worked quite well too, at least on a par with what I have, if not better. Quiet and efficient, it had at least the front of the car cooled in a few minutes. Of course, it isn't exactly hot here today but it is quite humid.
Just for fun, I turned on the full headlights to see the difference. As they illuminated the rear of the grey Focus in front me, the change was apparent immediately between the yellow of the DRL lights and the paper white of the Xenon's or even how I know my standard halogens look in our two cars. Gotta love those HID lights.
All in all, it is still at the top of my list. I have to try a couple more but given the price points of all them, even the simpler FWD cars on my list, I think it will be hard to knock the Crosstrek out of first place.
