Replacing the Subaru XV in Subaru’s global SUV line-up, the Crosstrek is designed as the brand’s entry point model. The “Bolder” design concept communicates an outdoorsy personally backed up by a wide palette of colors such as Oasis Blue, Offshore Blue Metallic (lead photo), and Sun Blaze Pearl.

The 2023 Crosstrek features a high hood position creating a sense of robustness and power. The front-end appearance, with its sharp front grille bars and LED headlights, comes across as both nimble and tough. Meanwhile, the scope of cladding has been expanded to evoke a feeling of surefire road-performance capabilities, and the dynamic body lines and form exude a sense of dependability and dynamism.

Powering the Crosstrek is normally-aspirated direct-injected FB20 2.0-liter Boxer 4 with 156 horsepower and 196 Nm—same as the outgoing Subaru XV. Power is routed through a Lineartronic CVT driving all four wheels. Zero to 100 km/h is quoted at 10.5 seconds, while top speed is listed at 198 km/h.

The interior remains just as roomy as in previous models. The Crosstrek also preserves the large cargo-space door opening as well as plenty of cargo-carrying space inside. Moreover, the 60/40 folding rear seats make it easy to expand the cargo space when loading bulky or long items into the vehicle.

The seats themselves feature an innovative design that supports and aligns the pelvis, which prevents vehicle swaying motions from being transferred to the head. This design makes for a more comfortable ride by reducing rolling motions during steering actions as well as swaying caused by uneven road surfaces. Moreover, the seat mounting structure has been changed, from the standard type in which a bracket is used between the seat and vehicle body, to one where the seat rails are attached directly to the body. This new approach increases mounting-connection stiffness and improves vibration damping while reducing seat sway, to provide a more comfortable, high-quality ride experience.

In terms of infotainment, the all-new Crosstrek has a 11.6-inch portrait-style screen. Apart from standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, it also comes with USB Type A and Type C connections.

The third-generation model, codenamed “GU” also sports a full suite of safety features including the new Subaru EyeSight 4.0. This enhanced version of EyeSight adds a monocular camera to the stereoscopic setup enabling a wider field of detection and adding abilities such as being able to automatically steer the vehicle away from a collision (Automatic Emergency Steering Assist). This means it achieves Level 2 self-driving.

Similar to another Motor Image market, Hong Kong, the all-new Crosstrek will be available in two variants locally: