Video: Subaru Crosstrek beats top US vehicles for Best Subcompact SUV honors

When it comes to small crossovers, Subaru’s Crosstrek is the best and beats 6 other top U.S. vehicles for Best Subcompact SUV honors. Cars.com, USA TODAY and MotorWeek wanted to find out what's the best subcompact SUV in the U.S., and called it the Subcompact SUV Challenge.

The challengers were, 2016 Chevrolet Trax (new for 2015), 2016 Fiat 500X (all-new), 2016 Honda HR-V (all-new), 2015 Jeep Renegade (all-new), 2016 Mazda CX-3 (all-new), 2015 Nissan Juke and 2015 Subaru Crosstrek. They put the small crossovers through a week's worth of testing in and around Boulder, Colorado.

Cars.com, USA TODAY and MotorWeek judges broke the challenge into three scoring categories, 75 percent from the judges' scoring, 15 percent from their family shoppers and 10 percent from the mileage drive. Subaru’s Crosstrek won the Subcompact SUV Challenge with 731 total points.

The judges liked the Crosstrek’s value, it’s EyeSight crash-avoidance system, creature comforts for the money, useful cargo area, visibility and ride quality. What they didn’t like about Crosstrek? The judges thought the Subaru crossover has a slow powertrain, noisy CVT automatic, tech quirks and “uninteresting interior.” While the judges tested the 2015 Crosstrek, the 2017 models are getting new interior upgrades.

Overall, Cars.com, USA TODAY and MotorWeek rated the Subaru Crosstrek the “Best Subcompact SUV” in the U.S. and wins the Subcompact SUV Challenge. Fiat 500X was next, followed by Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Jeep Renegade, Nissan Juke and Chevy Trax. Check out the cars.com video below.

Media source: Cars.com