If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – or at least that’s the tack Subaru of America seems to be taking with their popular Crosstrek. Forging ahead for the 2023 model year, the little tall wagon crossover sees a microscopic bump in price and the addition of different paint options. There’s also a new trim level for those of you who play ridiculously detailed games of Car Bingo.
That new trim is called – wait for it – the Special Edition. How inventive. That’s the model shown in the hero image at the top of this post, donning a new Desert Khaki shade of paint and some unique exterior details such as wheels in a dark grey finish plus door handles, badges, and a front grille bar dipped in a pot of inky black paint. You may want to lie down after digesting that big news. We know it’s a lot to take in all at once.
Also staying the course? Crosstrek’s powertrain options, which start with a 2.0-liter four-banger good for 152 horsepower which can be hooked to a six-speed manual or continuously variable transmission in Base and Premium trims. The SE gets this engine as well, albeit with only the CVT. Sport and Limited trims get a larger 2.5L mill with 182 ponies and, yep, a CVT. Keeping one eye on Johnny Polar Bear is a hybrid option that pairs a 2.0L four-cylinder engine with two electric motors which permit the car to travel approximately 17 miles solely on electricity. Its battery capacity, for all you stats nerds (*raises hand*), is 8.8kWh. And we can’t talk about Subaru without mentioning all-wheel drive.
There isn’t much change inside the Crosstrek, either. The so-called Special Edition does earn snazzy black and red cloth upholstery with zooty stitching, plus a leather-wrapped steering wheel and assorted trim pieces finished in a low luster black. Hey, at least it sounds better than the puzzlingly popular piano black trim which attracts dust and fingerprints like magnets to a refrigerator door.
Starting price for the Crosstrek is $23,645, just a few simoleons north of last year’s car, while the Crosstrek Hybrid stickers at $36,845 and may qualify for financial largesse from daddy government, depending on where you live.
[Image: Subaru]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Related
