Here at MotorBiscuit, we tend to do a lot of consumer advice by comparing different types of cars and helping the consumer be better armed with information about the current car market. Every so often, I’ll break and just give my full-blown opinion on something people should probably just buy if they are looking in that car’s segment. Like the Golf GTI, I think if you are looking at something in crossover or wagon segments, you should probably just buy a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek Sport. 

Consumer Reports really liked the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek

Consumer Reports gave the Crosstrek an 84/100. The 2021 Subaru Crosstrek is killer no matter which version you get. The previous verison (that is still available) had a 2.0-liter flat-four that made a rather sluggish 152 horsepower. The Subaru Crosstrek Sport got the bigger 2.5-liter flat-four from the Subaru Forester. 

This new motor is peppier with its 182 horsepower, but most reviews still consider it quite slow. The regular verison with 2.0-liter can do 0-60 mph in about 10.2 seconds. The update can hit the same speed in only 7.8 seconds. I wouldn’t call that fast, but it is faster. 

Although there’s a new motor to choose from in the two upper-tier models, the Sport and Limited, the base model with the old 2.0-liter motor has one trick left up its sleeve; a six-speed manual transmission. The Sport and Limited models will, however, not include the manual option. Subaru giveth and Subaru taketh away.

The Crosstrek doesn’t need to be fast if you’re doing it right

Although Subaru is often thought of as the gravel spitting rally cars like the WRX, there is another side to the legendary off-road AWD system these cars use. 

The Crosstrek isn’t going to break land speed records, but neither is a Jeep Wrangler or a land Rover Defender. Think of the Subaru Crosstrek Sport as closer to one of those 4x4s than a WRX. Maybe more excitingly, it is the mix of the two camps. 

Let’s go off-road

The folks at Driving Sports TV tested the 2021 Crosstrek Sport in an extensive off-road test. In fact, the one they use to test is actually the host’s personal car (see headline.) 

Before he hits the trail, the host goes over some interior and tech features. The Sport features some touches like the highlighter yellow stitching throughout the cabin and even has the super cool X-Drive off-road driving mode that keeps things in line when driving in various off-road conditions. 

The video shows the Subie going up against some rocky trails. These aren’t anything crazy or overly difficult, but the point is to see how well the Subie can run these trails with and without the X-Drive. The X-Drive is a super-smart system that not only sends power to all-four-wheels when they need it, but it also applies breaks to the other wheels to keep them from spinning unnecessarily. The video shows this system work over and over again. 

The Subaru Crosstrek Sport isn’t a rock crawler nor off-road racer

So, what is it? Well, I think it might truly be the ultimate adventure mobile. When I say ultimate, I mean that within reason, of course. Sure, you could spend six figures on some monster truck that will never get stuck and has an REI’s worth of camping gear attached, but for $28k (as tested in the video), you really can’t get much else that is this reliable, comfortable, and rugged. 

So, I will end where we began, dear reader; If you don’t already have a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek Sport and you need something to adventure on the weekends and commute on the weekdays, you should think about buying one of these.