Are you ready for the Subaru Crosstrek?

Is this Subaru for real, or is the new XV Crosstrek arriving this fall just faking it? If another automaker attempted to elevate one of its small wagons to the status of “off-roader,” it would risk becoming an industry laughing stock. But Subaru is different. It always has been. And just when you think the Japan-based company has settled down and become a conservative member of the community, it ratchets up the funkiness and creates this bold and brash offshoot of its Impreza wagon. You just gotta love it.

In developing the niche-oriented Crosstrek, the Impreza wagon was an ideal starting point. Subaru completely reinvented its popular entry-level model for the 2012 model year, making it larger, better looking and significantly more fuel-efficient (albeit less powerful) than before. And with its standard four-wheel-drive, the Impreza has the right stuff to be converted into a pseudo Rubicon Trail-conquering hero. The reality, however, is that the Crosstrek is best suited for rough road and weather conditions plus limited off-trail adventuring. Anyone familiar with Volvo’s XC70 wagon will think of this Subie as a scaled-down and less expensive copycat as well as sharing kinship with the now-retired Impreza Outback Sport and current Subaru Outback wagon.

The right look is critical for any sport style vehicle and Subaru has provided the Crosstrek with its own distinctive nosepiece, front and rear bumpers, roof rails and rear spoiler. In addition, extra cladding for the wheel arches and rocker panel has been installed. The meaner macho look is completed with darker window tinting and a set of 17-inch all-season tires mounted to custom-look rims. You might not find them entirely to your taste, but they do set the Crosstrek apart from its lower-key Impreza roots.

The slightly bigger front brake rotors add stopping power and a hiked-up suspension provides 8.7 inches of ground clearance, which is three more than the Impreza. That’s just shy of the competing Jeep Patriot’s 9.0-inch stance and should be plenty for straddling rock-strewn terrain and fording shallow streams.

Finally, Crosstrek owners who undertake more desolate journeys will appreciate the 15.9-gallon gas tank, which is a gain of 1.4 gallons over the Impreza.

The more generous fuel reservoir should go a long way when feeding the Crosstrek’s 148-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that comes straight from the Impreza. That’s significantly less oomph than the pre-2012 170-horsepower Impreza, but the offset is a 25-mpg city number and 33 mpg on the highway, ratings that crush the old “Imp’s” 20/27 numbers. The horizontally opposed engine layout, with one pair of cylinders located at 180 degrees to the other pair, lowers the center of gravity and provides all kinds of underhood room.

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/08/17/2275230/2013-subaru-crosstrek.html