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Subaru Crosstrek Is The Best In 3 Key Areas You Won’t Find In Any Other Small SUV

The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek is the most versatile new small SUV you can buy today. It wins hands down in areas where others fear to go. Check out three impressive attributes.
2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness

I've written much about the next-generation Subaru Crosstrek, and there's more customers need to know about the subcompact SUV. It is the most versatile small SUV you can buy today. If you are the type of customer who will use your SUV for more than getting groceries on the weekend, check out three key areas where the Crosstrek impressively excels above all others in its category. 

If you are reading this, you are searching for a vehicle that is an extension of who you are. You're likely someone who has an active lifestyle and likes to mountain bike, go camping, or snowboard on the weekends. If that's you, then you have found the perfect vehicle. The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek. 

The newly remodeled Crosstrek wins hands down in three critical areas for active customers: off-road ability, towing, and snow. Let's look at all three and compare it with the competition. The ranking comes from information I've gathered from iSeeCars' expert analysis and research team. 

1. What Is The Best Off-Road Small SUV?

Based on iSeeCars' analysis of its off-road specs and capabilities, the Crosstrek is the best small SUV. The Wilderness trim level stands out. 

The best off-road subcompact SUV is the Subaru Crosstrek, which has 9.3 inches of ground clearance on the Wilderness trim, the lowest level for better rock-clearing ability on the trail. 

Check it out against the competition.

  1. Subaru Crosstrek - 9.3 inches
  2. Jeep Compass - 8.6 inches
  3. Jeep Renegade - 8.7 inches
  4. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport - 8.5 inches

Is There More To Consider Besides Ground Clearance? 

The Crosstrek Wilderness also has longer coil springs and shock absorbers, specially tuned to help maintain performance in off-road driving conditions. The approach angle, the maximum angle at which a Crosstrek Wilderness can climb an obstacle from the level ground without touching the front bumper, increases from 18.0 degrees to 20.0 degrees. 

The departure angle, the maximum angle at which a Crosstrek Wilderness can descend onto the level ground without touching the rear bumper, increases from 30.1 to 33.0 degrees. The break-over angle, the maximum ramp angle at which a Crosstrek Wilderness can climb over without touching the underbody, moves from 19.7 to 21.1 degrees.

Related Story: 9 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness Features Get It Far Away From The Competition

The hexagonal front grille is also unique to the Crosstrek Wilderness, and the more prominent wheel arch cladding and metal front skid plate help to reduce trail damage.

On the roof, the ladder-type roof rack system has a 176-pound dynamic (while moving) load capacity and a 700-pound static (when parked) load limit, allowing for a rooftop tent. 

There's More

The most rugged and trail-capable Crosstrek has an upgraded suspension, all-terrain tires, more prominent wheel arch cladding, a metal front skid plate, unique hex-design LED fog lights, and an anti-glare hood decal in a matte-black finish. It has everything you want in an off-road-ready small SUV.

2. What Is The Best Towing Small SUV?

The Crosstrek also wins this category. The Wilderness trim has the most towing capacity. Subaru added a transmission oil cooler that doubled the Crosstrek Wilderness model's towing capacity by up to 3,500 pounds. In addition, a retuned Lineartronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) provides optimal traction at low speeds and on slippery surfaces, which is another upgrade that the other small SUVs don't offer.

Check it out against the competition.

  1. Subaru Crosstrek - 3,500 lbs
  2. Jeep Compass - 2,000 lbs
  3. Fiat 500X - 2,000 lbs
  4. Jeep Renegade - 2,000 lbs
  5. Ford EcoSport - 2,000 lbs

3. What Is The Best Small SUV For Snow?

If you head to the high country, you will encounter lots of snow. Having extra ground clearance is essential, but there's much more. 

Check it out against more of the competition.

  1. Subaru Crosstrek - 9.3 inches
  2. Jeep Compass - 8.6 inches
  3. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport - 8.5 inches
  4. Hyundai Kona - 8.3 inches
  5. Mazda CX-30 - 8.0 inches

The Crosstrek Wilderness is the Subaru of America's "go-anywhere" all-terrain capable subcompact SUV, and it's the ideal vehicle for all weather conditions with the automaker's standard Symmetrical all-wheel-drive, X-Mode for severe weather capability, and dual function X-Mode for all-terrain performance.

What is the price of the Crosstrek Wilderness?

The 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness will be the most expensive Crosstrek trim level, but it is worth it because of the upgrades over the standard model. The all-new Crosstrek Wilderness costs $33,290, including dealer destination and delivery fees ($1,295).

Related Content: The All-New 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness Trim, Pricing And Model Guide

If you are looking for the best small SUV for going further off-road, towing a small trailer or camper, and not getting stuck in deep snow, the 2024 Subaru Crosstrek is your best choice. 

Your Turn

What about you? Will you be checking out the all-new Crosstrek Wilderness? Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the Subaru Crosstrek story. See you tomorrow for my latest Subaru Report.

I am Denis Flierl, a top Torque News and Subaru reporter since 2012. I’ve invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role, working with every major car brand. I am an experienced Rocky Mountain Automotive Press member. You'll find my expert Subaru analysis here. Follow me on my The Dirty Subaru website, Dirty Subaru blog, X SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.

photo credit: Subaru USA

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