I know of an automotive Youtube personality that likes to lift any car or truck. He does it because he likes tall vehicles, and the ability to go through trails with fewer worries about scraping the undercarriage of whatever vehicle he is in at the time. He will raise anything. He has even put a Civic on a K5 truck chassis and added super swamper mudder tires to it. So, when I came across this next bit of information, I knew immediately that it is the kind of thing he would like. It’s a lift kit for a Subaru Crosstrek. 

The company is called Crawford Performance. It was involved in making the engine for the Subaru Crosstrek Desert Racer. That car was made to compete in the 2019 Baja 500. As nice as that race car was, it bore very little resemblance to the Crosstrek people can find on showroom floors. Although, both the Desert Racer Crosstrek and the showroom Crosstrek are both four-wheel drives. 

Making the Subaru Crosstrek off-road capable

Crawford Performance did not leave all the fun stuff for the track, though. They make something for the average Subaru lover to make their own Crosstrek more capable on the local trails. They now offer a lift kit for 2018 and newer model-year Crosstrek. 

As Crawford puts it,

“We channel the rugged look of the CDR into the production Crosstek to elevate its trail riding design with the quality expected from Crawford. Enhance your off-roading experience and worry less about high-centering or damaging your undercarriage, so that you can spend more time enjoying the journey.”

The kit

The kit will lift the front end of the Subaru Crosstrek two inches. The rear is raised one and a half inches. This is accomplished through a few pieces of hardware that come with the kit. The first things are corrosion-resistant aluminum spacers. There are also strut extensions for the front and rear. It sounds like very few modifications need to be made otherwise because the sway bar links maintain factory positioning, and the kit also maintains OEM ABS sensors and brake line mounts. 

Other design cues

The kit Crawford made is only for the lift of the Subaru. However, if you look at the pictures of the Crosstrek long enough, you begin to see that they have added a few more things to make it more off-road capable. A front brush guard is mounted in before the front bumper and carries some auxiliary lighting. There are side rock rails affixed under the side rocker panels, and a push bar is also mounted to the rear bumper to round out the rugged look. Of course, bigger tires and wheels work the tough look as well. Altogether, the entire appearance of their show vehicle with the lift kit is a cohesive masterpiece for a desert racer.

The lift kit for the Crosstrek is listed at $549.95. There are ten of them left. So, act quickly if you are thinking on jumping in on this action. In the meantime, it might be time for me to reach out to that Youtube personality I mentioned before and see if he is up to a desert racer project. He has already lifted a Subaru Outback before. So, this is right up his alley.