2025 Subaru Crosstrek Touring e-Hybrid Review

Subaru enjoys huge, big-league sales in the USA, but here in the UK, it’s like an earthquake that doesn’t even register on the Richter scale. Do the Americans know something the British don’t? Yes—yes, they do.

The Subaru Crosstrek launched in 2012, originally known as the XV. The third generation arrived in 2022, and the rest, as they say, is history. It’s one of those crossover SUVs—smaller than a full-size SUV, but big enough to feel like one.

Currently available in the UK in two trims—Limited and Touring—the Crosstrek starts at £35,995 (at the time of writing). It comes exclusively as a petrol-hybrid and features Subaru’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive as standard.

The Exterior

The Crosstrek adopts a classic industrial design, with rugged exterior cladding, detailed surfaces, and a raised ride height that gives it off-road character. It’s old-school styling that works surprisingly well.

It rides on 18-inch alloy wheels as standard and includes keyless entry, high beam assist, and steering-responsive LED headlights.

The Interior

The first thing I noticed was the steering wheel—it feels like plastic. I wanted to believe it wasn’t, but the faux stitching gave the game away. That said, Subaru has made some notable improvements, especially with the seats. They’re now much more comfortable and finished in soft, premium-feeling leather or leatherette.

There’s plenty of space up front, and more than enough room for rear-seat passengers. However, boot space is somewhat limited due to the hybrid system—specifically the motor and battery—being housed directly underneath. This eliminates any underfloor storage and reduces vertical boot height.

Nevertheless, the rear bench seats fold down to a mostly flat position, expanding the standard 315 litres of boot space to a maximum of 992 litres. It’s a fairly shallow boot with the seats up, and even when folded, it’s certainly not class-leading in terms of overall capacity.

Elsewhere, the interior is a mix of soft-touch materials and strategically placed hard plastics—but, truthfully, there are more hard surfaces, especially near common touchpoints.

It lands somewhere between “not cheap” and “could’ve been better”—and I say this because Chinese brands are now doing better in this area. Subaru surely knows this too, as it watches competitors gaining ground in the rearview mirror. Nevertheless, everything feels solid and well-assembled, which makes up for some of the less refined elements.

The 11.6-inch infotainment system is bright, sharp, and easy to use. While it won’t win any UX awards, it gets the job done. It’s functional and compatible with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Standard features include heated front seats, blind spot monitoring, lane change assist, reversing cameras, and the usual array of parking sensors.

The Drive

Power comes from a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre e-Boxer—Subaru’s latest hybrid setup, co-developed with Toyota—and is delivered through a CVT gearbox. However, Subaru’s implementation feels similar to Toyota’s hybrids from 5 to 10 years ago.

It’s not as sluggish as that sounds, but compared to newer hybrids from rivals, it could use a bit more oomph. Still, it’s perfectly adequate for daily driving, and the average driver won’t find much to complain about.

But this is the Subaru way—they tend to do things at their own pace. They see the competition moving ahead, but they’ll catch up when they’re ready.

Pure electric drive is rare and mostly reserved for low-speed crawling. In practice, the hybrid system acts more like a torque-assist feature

The Handling

There’s not much to report here—it’s not a sporty SUV, nor does it pretend to be. It’s a competent all-rounder with a tidy ride and predictable handling. Body roll is minimal under normal driving conditions—less so if driven like a motoring journalist on deadline.

It stays composed and stable on long motorway journeys, making it a comfortable option for both long hauls and short trips.

The Efficiency

Modern hybrids typically return around 50 mpg in combined driving, but the Crosstrek hybrid achieved figures closer to its non-hybrid predecessor—around 42 mpg, depending on how aggressively you drive.

That’s far from class-leading. It’s more like a mild hybrid in terms of real-world efficiency rather than a full self-charging hybrid, but still a good result.

The Verdict

The Subaru Crosstrek eHybrid is a solid all-rounder. I like how it looks and drives. It’s not the fastest, nor the most efficient, and in a crowded market of capable hybrids, it doesn’t lead in many categories. But I can’t shake the feeling that the Crosstrek, as it stands, sits at a crossroads.

Rivals are offering better performance and efficiency. Maybe Subaru is playing the long game—waiting for the inevitable. The real competition now isn’t about who has the best hybrid system, but who’s best positioned for the post-hybrid, all-electric future.

Hybrids, in this light, feel like the final stand for the internal combustion engine—and the Crosstrek, is holding the line in its own quiet way.