The tradeoff to the uninspired 0-60 acceleration is that once you are there it delivers 33 mpg, which Subaru says is best in class for all-wheel-drive crossovers, even if the XV Crosstrek barely qualifies as one. Unlike many cars today that come up short on real world fuel economy, we saw as much as 35 mpg on a couple of 30-mile flat highway trips.
One of them took me to a snow-covered dirt road where, even on all-season tires, the XV Crosstrek kept us out of the woods. The Vehicle Dynamics Control is not subtle about saving your sorry self, the system loudly rat-tat-tatting individual brakes to keep the car going straight whenever you start getting out of line. Treat it like the buzzer in a game of Operation and it can be a very good lesson in vehicle dynamics. Slippery surfaces or not, the XV Crosstrek’s suspension does a great job in the rough stuff, soaking up the deepest ruts with nary a shock to the spine, but is a little bouncier than ideal on paved roads.
As with many “gearless” CVT transmissions, the XV Crosstrek has a manual mode and paddles behind the steering wheel that allow you to use it like a virtual six-speed. Normally very silly, this feature actually comes in handy off-road by giving you more direct control over the power delivery and some engine braking when heading downhill.
Bike Hauling
Roof rails are included so installing a bike rack on top is a cinch with the Thule cross bar system. It works well with up to three bikes up on the roof. But the vehicle sits high and there is no obvious place to place your feet as you climb up to reach the roof. A step-ladder may be a necessary tool here.
And the obvious bike transport location is the rear cargo area. The seats fold flat so it’s easy to slide a bike in. We were able to put in a road bike with front wheel on but mountain bikes will need their front wheel off. The roof is not high like an SUV so forget about visions of fork mounting the bikes and standing them upright on the rear cargo area.
And the best option of all is a hitch rack. Subaru does offer a hitch mount option and they even have bike hitch racks available! Check here for available Subaru accesories. A third-party mount is easily available from places like Etrailer.com for about $150. Install that yourself, then buy a rack like the 1upusa.com and you will be a happy camper for the next decade. Mileage is unaffected and you will have easy access to your bike and your rear cargo door.
So orange we impressed? Yes, the author is now scheming to sell some older cars to make room for this one in the stable.
2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek
- Base Price: $22,805
- Type: 5-door, 5-passenger hatchback
- Engine: 2.0-liter flat-4-cylinder
- Power: 148 hp, 145 lb-ft torque
- Transmission: 5-speed manual or CVT automatic
- MPG: 25 city/33 hwy
- 0-60 mph: 8.7 seconds
Check the Subaru XV Forum for more details. Mtbr Subaru XV Discussion
What else is out there?
There’s many options of course but one particularly close peer is the 2013 Mazda CX-5. It starts out at around $20k and can end up at $30k when fully decked out, just like the Subie. It’s a little bit heavier at 3300 lbs and has a tick more horsepower at 160 hp. It’s roomier, bu not quite as off-road capable. Read our full review here: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring AWD Review
I fell in love with this car when I saw first sketches.
Now I know why
“And we have unique auto needs.” really, who’s we? It’s like the 29ers and 650b’s
People’s bikes cost more than their vehicle’s that transport them these days!
Ride more, drive less…sad to say this is not a Mt. Biking site anymore.
Seriously? Surely you can’t be that out of touch with reality. Do you really think that everyone has the same needs/wants as you? Sadly, we don’t all live within riding distance of a trail, nor do we want to ride just trails that we can ride to. Please, spare us your sanctimonious attitude.
I have an older impreza which shares the same engine as the Crosstrek. It gets about 8 L/100km on mixed highway/city use, but it’s completely gutless. Get three people and all their gear inside/on-top and you’ll be constantly shifting down to crest any hill. I can imagine it’ll only be worse with the Crosstrek given its a number of pounds heavier.
10x better looking than a forester?! This thing looks a lifted car (hideous). The forester has twice the cargo volume, achieves the same ground clearance without looking like a lifted car, actually has room to sleep in (which you claim is important for a mtn biker), and has more power!!! wow
Seems like a pretty cool car. I’d definitely get the manual over the CVT anyday. The gas mileage is definitely impressive; it’s just too bad this car doesn’t come with a turbo.
I wish it had more power,a better transmission, and the electronics were more “modern”.
I’d buy this car right now, but for the things i listed. I hope next years model will make these changes.
I love the look, and am willing to make the switch from Land Rover to Subie, but i need those improvements.
I’ll stick with my WRX wagon and STI hatch, thanks.
Too bad they no longer sell Skoda’s around here. You could get a Skoda Yeti to haul your Yeti. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eePGDLyIoKU
Skoda have a poor build quality.
I thought the pictures of the author struggling to reach the bikes on top summed this up perfectly for me. I just don’t see the point of this car – most cars can get up logging/ fire roads to trail heads and if you want to go anywhere a standard sedan or hatchback can’t go, you’d need something far tougher than a jacked hatchback with rubber bumpers. All you end up with is no more space or practicality than the donor car (Impreza), although the rubber boot liner is nice, but worse aero (hence economy) and handling. Seems more of a fashion statement than anything else, which is fine if that floats your boat, but I wouldn’t make it out to be anything better than a standard Impreza (or even a 12yr old Focus wagon, which does just fine
).
I just wish there were more wagon options in the US, that’s really where it’s at if you want to haul a lot of stuff with good mileage.
Francis- what tires are on your cross bike? Nice review of the Subaru!
This Crosstrek is a good looking car, WRC style. Sporty, with good 4WD off road clearance and mpg.
The only problem is easily loading a bike or two inside, safe and out of sight. I considered buying this car new, but opted for a clean used 2010 Outback Premium for $15500 before trade-in, for the ability to easily load my bike and surfboards inside, and ability to sleep in the back when traveling and car camping. The Outback rides bumps real nice, corners pretty well, sits high with good visibility in traffic, good power and great mileage for 4WD and its size, the CVT transmission is so smooth with quick power response and has manual “gear” control when wanted, minimal maintenance requirements, good sound system, heated seats. I imagine the Crosstrek is similar, but less power and less space for road trips and fitting bikes inside without removing wheels.
You’re aware that this is just a rebadged Outback Sport, right? Subaru’s branding is horrible.
Why would anyone be aware of that when it’s not true? It’s actually a raised suspension Impreza hatchback.
Mileage unaffected by hitch mounted bikes? No. Unless the author meant just by the rack itself.
>>Mileage unaffected by hitch mounted bikes? No. Unless the author meant just by the rack itself.
Good point. Any data on this when there are two bikes on the hitch rack?
I love Subies so I’m definitely not criticizing the car, just that they’re fairly small vehicles and having objects strapped on to the exterior is going to hurt your mileage.
We haven’t done enough long trips for real numbers, sorry, but our 2008 Outback gets noticeably (3-5 mpg?) less when we have a couple of bikes behind it. On the roof is even worse. Without bikes, on 55-60 mph roads we get 28-30 mpg on our car; but that drops to mid 20′s at 75 or 80 mph. The Crosstrek is starting out at a better MPG so Crosstrek + two bikes might be as good as an Outback with no bikes, I don’t know.
Good review in any case!
>>Francis- what tires are on your cross bike? Nice review of the Subaru!
Those are Continental Top Contact 32c reflective tires. Just awesome tires for road and trail.
http://www.everybicycletire.com/shopping/pc-2407-1-700-x-32c-continental-top-contact-reflective-622.aspx
I have a Subaru Liberty (called Legacy in markets other than Australia) Type R wagon with the 3.0 litre 6 cylinder petrol engine. Two Thule bike racks on the roof and a 2 bike Thule rack for the towbar if needed. With back seats folded, a bike fits inside without removing wheels. It’s bigger and better than my previous Forester GT. Why not the XV? First, it’s gutless. Second, based on the Imoreza floorpan, it’s too small. Third, I’m short and, like the Forester, it’s tall. That makes putting bikes on roofracks and taking them off a pain, plus it reduces the clearance under low roofs, bridges, etc. I just don’t get what most SUVs have to offer over an old-fashioned station wagon, particularly when built on a small floorpan.
Re Tom’s comment about “modern” electronics: As a smallish manufacturer, Subaru has less to spend on R&D and I think is better for it. My experience is that more electronic gadgetry is just more stuff to go very expensively wrong. Old cars used to rust into oblivion; new ones get scrapped because the electronics go haywire and are prohibitively expensive to repair as the car ages and loses value.
I bought this car less than a month ago. Don’t even have a thousand miles on it yet. I agree with everything in this article. My Mount Vision and my Talon 1 will make it look even better when they are on the roof and I am pulling into Allegrippis. Yeah I have the Orange one and I haven’t heard anyone say abad thing about it yet. Except for my step-son , he doesn’t like the color. His teenage opinion doesn’t count.
P.S.
BIKES need to be FAST. CARS need to be SLOWED. This car or any car does not need a turbo. DRIVE slower and SAFER and live to ride your bike FAST.
>>BIKES need to be FAST. CARS need to be SLOWED. This car or any car does not need a turbo. DRIVE slower and SAFER and live to ride your bike FAST.
AMEN brother. A safe, capable and economical car like this will get you to the the trails safely in all conditions.
Pontiac Vibe? Our Matrix doesn’t look much different but obviously it’s not lifted. Still looks nice. I’ll keep my Taco though…
I will stick to my modified and lowered 03 WRX! even with it lowered I have no problem with the fire roads getting into where the trail work is and It is easier to put bikes on a roof rack when they are not way over head! Also I like the 340 ponies to the wheels when I feel the need to pass someone on the hwy!
I would call that an updated orange PONTIAC VIBE. I am a big fan of MTBR but in this case thumbs down for the car and the review.
Any vehicle which requires you to carry bikes on the OUTSIDE is not an ideal mountainbikers vehicle. plus there is no where to get changed. A panel van beats this hands down.
Cool looking car, but Subaru should’ve installed nice XTR drive train, so you can help the poor car get up to speed. While merging onto freeway you will get grey ether from how much time it takes, or how scared you will be with other cars passing you, and drivers showing you their fingers. Otherwise it is awesome car.
I test drove one not long ago, still looking for THE car.
I ride, snowboard, hunt, fish and hike. I should have a truck to do all that, but I don’t. I have a Subaru (2011 Imp 5-door). This new model makes sense if you ignore the butt-ugly aesthetics… which I can do. But why would anyone buy it with an automatic? You want an auto, get a Buick.
New Forester is way more comfortable and quieter and has a nicer interior to boot. Choices, forget the kids keep the Cooper!
Ok article and this is definitely a vehicle im interested in. That being said, if your going to write an article about a cx car for mountain bikers (or bikers in general) you need to include a lot more information. Vital to any decision to a buy a vehicle to support MB’ing are items such as: AC plugs (120V)? Power plugs (the old cigarette lighter kind). Internal heating and lighting options, add on camper tailgate options (if offered), etc etc. Many of us use these vehicles as a transport/camper on excursion and/or racing weekends.
I bought this car a week and a half ago in Orange, and I love it! Yes, a little more room in the back would have been nice but not worth the $5000 extra dollars to upgrade to a Forester with same add-ons (and besides, there’s no Orange Forester!). I’ve received many jealous looks from other Subaru owners and most guys say it’s “bad ass.” No turbo engine, and no 0-60 in 5 seconds but honestly, I care more about the mpg than how fast it can go. Handles awesome in mud, snow, and bumpy fields – yes I’ve been in all 3 already. Very happy with my choice.
PS: If you know how to drive it you can accelerate just fine – put it in manual and the car has power.