This week I’ve been trying out the Subaru Crosstrek, available in Britain solely as an E-Boxer, which means mild hybrid. New in Japan in December 2022, this elevated crossover arrived on these shores in 2024.
Subaru really is the quirkiest of brands and that’s become a clever niche for the company to adopt, an astonishing 322,000 cars sold in the USA, its number one market, during the first half of 2025.
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As for the UK, we remain a small but worthwhile contributor to the worldwide sales total, adding 1,261 vehicles during the same period. Japan? The tally there was 55,981 cars and SUVs during the same period.
Unusual, in a variety of pleasing ways
You need spend only a few minutes inside the Crosstrek E-Boxer to see the appeal. In lots of ways it’s like a normal car yet feels a bit different. The engine has a characteristic note due to the four opposing cylinders, while there is even a little emblem on the tailgate showing the boxer pattern.
This isn’t anywhere near being the most rapid vehicle in its class, nor is the electrified powertrain necessarily the last word in economy yet Subaru buyers don’t mind. It’s all about having something characterful with the brand’s reputation for unbreakable mechanicals very much intact.
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By GlobalDataEconomy good rather than outstanding
The 1,995 cc engine and 10 kW motor produce a combined 100 kilowatts or 136 PS as well as 182 Nm of torque, this being delivered to both axles via a Lineartronic-branded CVT.
Zero to 62 mph takes 10.8 seconds and the official Combined economy number is 36.8 mpg (I saw 43 mpg) with Combined emissions of 174 g/km. Weight for what is a 4,495 mm long vehicle is 1,597 kilos.
Flip what are 60/40 split rear seats and luggage volume becomes 922 litres but with the backrests in place it’s only 315. Still, the 2,670 mm long wheelbase and 1,600 mm height (includes roof rails) means there is a fairly good space for each of up to five occupants.
Thanks to long-travel suspension there is 220 mm of ground clearance – better than that of many so-called SUVs – so off-roading is possible as the chunky bumpers and black wheel arch guards suggest.
Serenity as standard
The driver is well taken care of with, naturally, every mandated safety system yet joyously, none is over-intrusive. And, only if you fail to select Park before switching the car off, is there any shrill-like beeping from the Crosstrek. If only so very many other cars were just like this.
Facing the person at the wheel is a pair of big, round dials with real needles, the left one automatically dropping to zero engine revolutions as drive-by-motor-only happens. Give the throttle pedal a little push and you can just about hear the engine restarting though it’s very quiet. Press harder and the CVT spins away, revs rise and the naturally aspirated H4 emits a lovely sound.
I had thought body roll might be a prominent feature of the dynamics package but despite the high-rise stance this is not excessive. In fact, the Crosstrek is quite a fun thing, passengers will notice the comfort and the driver has much to entertain them by way of nicely communicative steering.
Sum up
This is the typical Subaru experience. The cars are relatively rare and every time I drive one, it’s the same feeling of wonder that they are not more prevalent on UK roads. But, as the saying goes: if you know; you know.
In summary, the Crosstrek E-Hybrid is a highly competent and unconventional choice and as a warm up to the many more electrified and electric models to come, it’s the perfect bridging model.
Future models
So what else is on the way? A fair bit of activity as it happens. The Solterra, which is a JV with Toyota, will arrive in revised form early in 2026, a facelift having debuted at the New York auto show in April. Around the same time comes the Uncharted, another TMC-JV electric SUV.
Next summer we’ll see the E-Outback, which is a special name for European markets and the same vehicle as North America’s Trailseeker. Will the next Outback also be headed to the UK? The importer is yet to confirm that so it might not be with us until perhaps late 2026 or into 2027. All in all then, quite a busy time for the brand and a lot of potential new business in the British market.
The Subaru Crosstrek E-Boxer comes in Limited and Touring variants, priced respectively at GBP 35,995 and GBP 38,100. The latter has not only more standard equipment but additional 4×4 system capability.
