The 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid Is An Unrivaled Go-Anywhere Small SUV With Extra Efficiency
Subaru’s smallest and most affordable SUV, the Cross Trek, is certainly no stranger to electrification. Subaru first tried their hand at this with the original model all the way back in 2014, which was a mild hybrid. They followed it up with a plug-in hybrid for their second generation back in 2019. However, both of those hybrids had compromises that really limited the appeal to the typical Cross Track buyer. Well, for 2026, Subaru is trying yet again. And sometimes they say third times a charm because this time they decided to make the new Cross Trek hybrid a conventional hybrid which means it combines a 2.5 L boxer flat 4 with two electric motors and up to 36 MPG. So today we’re actually out here in Mount Adams here in Washington State because we’re finally able to get behind the wheel of the allnew Cross Track Hybrid. And the big question I want answered, has Subaru finally managed to get the electrification part of the Cross Track right? Stay tuned to find out. [Music] Now, here in America, the Subaru Cross Track has consistently been one of the company’s top selling models. So, we all knew that a hybrid version would eventually come back because they just introduced that powertrain on the Forester, which is their second bestselling model. So, before we start talking about the unique styling, let’s go ahead and talk about what’s going on here underneath the hood. Because just like the Forester hybrid that we tested a couple months ago, this also combines the company’s 2.5 L boxer flat 4 that’s been modified to run the Atinson cycle, which means it’s basically a more efficient uh burning cycle that allows you to produce better fuel efficiency, but it also reduces the horsepower. It’s hooked up with two electric motors. Now, those two electric motors essentially come from Toyota. There’s basically a motor generator one and a motor generator 2. One is a traction motor, one acts as a generator. Now, the gas engine on its own delivers around and 62 horsepower and 154 pound-ft of torque. The electric motor delivers another 118 horsepower and 154 foot-lbs of torque. Combined, Subaru says the total output here is 194 horsepower. And the electric motor also draws its power from a very small 1.1 kwatt hour nickel metal or lithium-ion battery pack, which is a far cry versus the plug-in hybrid model, which did offer around 17 mi of electric only range. This doesn’t really offer that anymore, but it can power the vehicle on pure electricity alone. Now, the transmission is also unique. It’s an ECVT, but it’s also housed within the Subaru bell housing. You can hear the engine actually shut off because I wanted you guys to see that you can leave it running and the engine will shut off or it will stay on or it’ll uh come on on its own at some point. It depends on the battery needing some charge. Now, going back to the transmission, it’s an ECBT housed within the Subaru bell housing, which is the only way they were allowed. They basically allowed the two powertrains to work together. Um, but symmetrical all-wheel drive is going to be standard. The beauty about this powertrain is it can it retains the fulltime symmetrical all-wheel drive system. This does not have a separate e- axle at the back like several Toyota hybrids. So that’s kind of where Subaru added their own spin, their own technology. Fuel economy Subaru says is 36 in the city, 36 on the highway, 36 combined, which is around an eight or 7 MPG improvement over the gas only version on the combined figure of this car. Uh they were also able to preserve the 16.6 gallon fuel tank. So, theoretically, Subaru says you could go almost 600 m on a full tank. That’s the best range you’re going to find in the subcompact uh SUV segment. Now, Subaru doesn’t claim a 0 to 60 time. We’ll try it out when we get this vehicle out on the road. Top speed should be around 130 mph. And this model can still tow, although it only toes a maximum of 1500 lb. So, it’s not a lot. And then the curb weight of this model, it’s the heaviest Cross Track because it’s a hybrid, but still weighing in at around 3600 lb. It’s around 300 lb heavier versus a non-hybrid version of the Cross Track. But let’s go ahead and close up the hood here and we can uh talk about the exterior styling. First thing you’re probably going to notice is this color. It’s called Catone yellow pearl. It’s an a hybrid exclusive color that’s new for 2020 uh 2026. And I have to say whenever Subaru introduces a hybrid version of the Cross Track, they always managed to give us a bold color. Um the previous generation was blue. This yellow, as you can see, looks a little bit more green. However, here in the uh I guess Washington State sun, it actually looks pretty nice when the sun hits it with the pearlescent effect. This Limited trim that we’re showing you has a unique front fascia where you have some glossy gray inserts, the Subaru hexogonal grill. Down here, you do have that typical cladding that Subarus are known for, but I think it’s tasteful on the Cross Track. The headlights are full LED. Uh the hybrid models available in either sport or Limited. You can see these are the uh the I guess the directional LEDs where they actually steer. They’re steering adaptive. You have LED turn signals, LED daytime running lights, and you also have LED fog lights down here. The Limited gets kind of like a glossy gray paint surround for the fog lights. for on the sport. It’ll be a bright yellow, which I find to be a little bit too contrasting, especially if you guys go for this paint color. Um, there’s also a front camera system on this model right below the Subaru logo, and it also has a 360 camera, which is an optional feature. It’s actually the first time I think Subaru’s offered a full 360 camera on the Cross Track, and it certainly improves the technology. But let me know what you guys think of the styling updates on the Sport model. Remember, you’re going to have a slightly different look to the front fascia with the bolder yellow accents. But here on this Limited trim in this Citron yellow pearl, it certainly is bold. Uh I’m still kind of getting used to the color. It looks a little bit more green to me versus the yellow that Subaru likes to call it. Now, moving around the side profile, this is again their smallest SUV. And this is a really popular model with a an overall length of 176.3 and a 105.1 in wheelbase. This is again surprisingly large. It’s bigger than vehicles like a Corolla Cross, but smaller than something like an HR-V, but also bigger than something like a Ford Bronco Sport, which is surprising. And even though this is a hybrid, Subaru still uh preserves the 8.7 in of ground clearance on this model. You also do get a unique wheel. The Sport will have like a gloss black wheel. The Limited will have the same design, but with like a two-tone machine and gloss black look. I actually really like the way the wheels look. You have all disc brakes that are around 12 1/2 in in the front, 11.9 in the rear. All independent suspension as well, but Subaru says they’ve reuned the suspension on this model to basically handle the extra weight of the all-wheel drive or of the hybrid componentry. Uh, and of course the all-wheel drive system has al also been tweaked. I also really like the cladding that kind of goes well with the Catrone yellow paint. There’s some functional openings over there. Uh, and then, uh, the tires. They measure two 225x 55 R18. So, if you want a more all-terrain focused tire, you’re going to have to go for the wilderness, which Subaru sadly doesn’t offer the Wilderness as a hybrid. Now, there is a subtle little hybrid badge here to let everybody know that this is the electrified model. It’s kind of nice cuz it shows the hybrid badge here with the horizontally opposed cylinders to show that this is still a boxer engine. There’s also a glossy uh gray painted uh side mirror here with integrated turn signals, full 360 camera, which is again a feature you don’t typically find in this segment. I like how Subaru also didn’t put too much chrome here on the wrong the side sill. You also have these traditional roof rails uh which do allow, I believe, up to 700 lb of static weight. And then this model also comes with a sunroof, which I believe is an optional feature if you guys want the sunroof. No pano roof, which you don’t typically find in the class. But overall, the Cross Track, this third generation when it first came out a couple years ago, I actually really like the design, but I like it more specifically on the Wilderness trim. But let me know in the comments section below what you guys think of the styling update they’ve made here for the hybrid model. Now, looking at the rear, you can see the design hasn’t really changed. There’s a small subtle little spoiler back here. Uh, you have a rear wiper that kind of sits in the middle of the back window. Of course, you have lots of badging here. Subaru kind of goes crazy with the badging. It is kind of like tinted in black. There’s there’s still the symmetrical all-wheel drive badge with, of course, the big hybrid badge underneath cross track. To let everybody know, you have the electrified model. The tail lights, you can see, are a combination of LED and incandescent. The turn signal, you can see, is just an incandescent. Same thing for the reverse lights, but they have that kind of almost like lobster claw shape. We first saw this shape uh tail light on something like a Honda Accord, for example. The rear bumper also has more of that additional cladding. No visible exhaust tip. It’s just tucked underneath there, but you do have some nicely treated parking sensors. your rear your rear view camera sits right there uh above the license plate. And then in terms of the cargo area, this is where the previous generation plug-in had those compromises because of the battery pack. Now, here in the new Cross Track Hybrid, there are very little compromises here because Subaru says you have around 18.6 cubic feet of storage space. That’s about a reduction of 1 cubic feet versus the non-hybrid version of the vehicle. And then if you want, you can still fold down the back seats here. Uh, which once you do that, you can see the floors, or it’s not folding down there because the seat’s kind of in the way. But once you kind of push that down, which There we go. Uh, it does create almost a flat floor here. And Subaru says you have around 50.8 cubic feet of storage space, which is again pretty similar to the non-hybrid version of this car. The only downside is because of the battery pack and its packaging, they did have to put it underneath here. As you can see, you can actually see the high voltage battery there. You do still have a little bit of underfloor storage, but mostly it’s just for the fix a flat kit. That’s the one thing about the hybrid model is you’re going to have to give up having a spare tire because again where the spare would go is where the battery pack lives. But unlike the plug-in hybrid, this floor again is perfectly flat. It’s not raised up and eating into the cargo space. Now, once you get past the bold highlighter yellow color of this particular test car, the interior of the Cross Trek is a far less scorching on the eyes because, as you can see, this Limited trim comes standard with their Starex interior. And that’s kind of a change that Subaru made versus the gas limited model because that model has leather. This again has their Starex which has like a combination of black and gray with the contrast orange stitching which I think I actually think looks really nice. The seats also offer a two-level heat. On the driver’s side, you have a 10-way power adjustment. On the passenger side, however, it is just a four-way manual. No actual um driver seat memory is is available, and typically you don’t find that in this class along with ventilated seats, which again you don’t typically find in the class. only on a select few uh competitors. In terms of the door panel materials, there’s actually a pretty decent uh material quality. You can see this upper portion has the Starex where it’s nice and padded uh nice and padded uh down here on this portion. This, however, where your elbows are going to rest, aren’t as soft as I’d like it to be. I do like the contrast orange stitching. That fake carbon fiber look trim looks nice there. This is hard touch plastic. You have a chrome accented door handle and then the window controls. They are onetouch up down for just the two fronts. The rears are not onetouch, which I’m kind of hoping that Subaru would have done. No power folding mirrors on this model at all. And then down here, you can see it’s all hard touch plastic. The Limited, however, gives you the Harman Cardon stereo with 11 speakers. You cannot get that on the Sport trim, so keep that in mind. The Sport trim will also have a sport cloth material. So, that’s one of the big distinctions between the Sport and the Limited. However, for an extra thousand bucks, you may as well just go for the Limited trim. Now, getting inside the Cross Track Hybrid has that nice easy step- in height with 8.7 in of ground clearance. As I shut the door, the door has a really nice solid sounding thunk. Remember, this is built on the Subaru Global product architecture, which got a 10% improvement in torsional rigidity for this new generation. Now, here’s the key fob for the vehicle. You can see it’s Subaru’s current intelligent access key, which is standard on every Cross Track Hybrid. It’s a nice size key with your typical buttons here for lock, unlock. There’s actually a a button here to pop open the trunk, even though it doesn’t offer a power lift gate, which is something you can get on the Corolla Cross, for example, and a panic function when you want to start the vehicle up. Start stop button is where you’d expect it to be. And because this is a hybrid, there’s no traditional Subaru starter noise here from that boxer engine. Instead, the car just has the Subaru chime. It wors to life. It says EV and it says ready in the fully digital instrument cluster, which by the way, that digital instrument cluster, Rob, is closing the door because it’s really, it offers a really great feature where you can literally change the way that looks by pushing a button here. You can actually put your Apple Maps there or the built-in TomTom maps. You can go into a driver assistance display there by simply pushing a button here. So, that’s a really nice customizable way to show the rest of this or show more information in the cabin. I think this is a nice improvement. Only the Cross Track Hybrid gets that fully digital uh display. So, keep that in mind. The steering wheel, as you can see, is also the typical steering wheel from other Cross Tracks with the contrast orange stitching, however, which looks good. It offers a manual tilt and telescoping adjustment where you can get an easy, comfortable driving position. There are paddles here to control the ECBT, which I which I believe includes six virtual ratios. So again, they are fake ratios. You do have a heated steering wheel. That’s standard when you guys go for the Limited trim. Uh and it’s also the first time Subaru is offering a heated wheel on an actual Cross Track. So that’s a nice little feature. You have your typical buttons here for the eyesight along with your uh audio controls. Uh so again, there’s a lot of buttons here, but I appreciate how they’re actual tactile buttons. In terms of material quality, this upper portion here and here is all hard touch plastic, but this area, you can see, is slightly padded. This right here is kind of like has a interesting rubberized texture with the carbon fiber look trim, which obviously is fake. Uh, and then you can see it’s a little bit dark. I actually would have preferred more metallic trim in here, but again, it kind of goes with the nice with the gray and the black accents you get with this interior uh, color. Uh, the center stack, as you can see here, has your USBA and USB C charging ports along with an oxport. There’s a nice size wireless phone charging pad here, which fits my iPhone 16 Pro Max nicely. And then right here, as you can see, is the 11.6 6 in display. Now, I’ve shown you guys this display before on other Subaru Cross Track or Subaru models. As you can see, my phone is connected via wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s also still laggy and slow, so it’s not my favorite. And you can see the screen gets washed out in bright sunlight. So, this is a problem. And Subaru has a newer system in the Outback, which I’m hoping will eventually show up in the Cross Track, but at least the 11.6 in display is standard. You have again a separate display over here. You can access the X mode. You can go into a weather, you can go to your audio information, of course. uh and going into your GPS function. So, this again is relatively easy to use. It just takes a while for it to respond, especially when you first start the vehicle up. You can see down here is your climate control settings. Uh you’ve got physical buttons here for your dual zone climate. You actually have an audio and a tuning uh knob as well, which is definitely a nice touch. And when you put the vehicle into reverse, you can see there’s your backup camera, which also includes trajectory, distance markers, reverse automatic braking, of course. And it also includes a full 360 camera. So, if I push this button here, you can see it gives you exactly what’s around the vehicle where you can look at like a curb view and you can also do like a top down view. So, this is all features that you don’t typically find in a Subaru Cross Track. And again, it’s one of the features that’s newly available on this model. Only the Limited will give you this option package if you roll in uh if you want to pay an extra $1,600 to get that and of course the uh moonroof that’s above me. It also even has the driver monitoring system. This right here is a camera that watches your face to make sure you’re alive and paying attention. It also can uh I guess preset and recognize that you’re the driver of this vehicle and automatically bring up your settings that are specific to this car. So, that’s a really nice unexpected touch. Down here, you can see in the center console area, traditional shifter for the ECVT, you have these old uh switch or switch gear for the heated seat controls, piano black plastic here, and an electronic parking brake. And that’s to pull up your backup camera or your 360 camera. Down here, you can see the cup holders. They’re a pretty decent size, but Subaru just showed us a redesigned console in the Forester. So, I think that offered a little bit more space versus this model. You have a 12volt power outlet here. And then there’s a nice padded center console here. If I open that up, it’s actually a pretty deep console. No additional power outlets in here. However, Subaru instead puts them all on the outside of the vehicle. Now, above me, you can see that sunroof is also a nice touch. You can also tilt it. You can open it up completely. There’s also a manual retractable shade. And these seats, even though these are StarTech seats, I find the leather to be comfortable or the synthetic leather to be comfortable, supportive, uh, and they were great on longer drives. If you’re wondering, by the way, there is real leather in this vehicle. The steering wheel and the leather on the shift knob is real. So, keep that in mind if you guys are are preferring an animal-free interior. Not everything in this interior is going to be a vegan style leather. Now, the glove box, you can see, is pretty big, actually. It’s damped, but not lined with felt. It offers a lot of additional storage. There’s no auto dimming rearview mirror, although I think Subaru may offer that as a dealer accessory. You can see the map lights in here are incandescent bulbs. Uh, and there’s like a woven material uh here for the headliner. But overall, the cabin, aside from basically just some contrast stitching that’s orange, the unique seats and the all digital display, it’s pretty similar to other Cross Track models, which makes this interior easy to live with, offers plenty of space, and offers pretty high quality materials, especially for uh the segment. But let’s go ahead and hop into the back seat area. I can show you guys how the space is like. And that’s another area where the Cross Track does really well is because even though this car is so small on the outside, you get around 36.7 in of legroom back here. Now, compared to the Corolla Cross we just recently tested, that is 4 1/2 more inches of legroom, which is a whopping amount. Uh I mentioned earlier, these seats do fold down to create basically a flat load floor. This is very impressive, especially if you want to put some stuff back here and pile it up to the roof. Sadly, these seats don’t recline and they don’t slide forward and back. But once you get back here, you can see this is basically my driving position at 5’7. There is good amount of foot space. Um, there is not a flat floor here obviously because you have to have that drive shaft, but no rear seat air vents. You have two USB charging ports, an A and a C. Material quality is hard touch plastic back here. So, they do downgrade you there. But you do have features like the uh chrome accented door handles here. Nice padded cons or armrest area here. And then you can see the window controls. Um, they are not onetouch up down back here, which would have been nice, but at least they’re illuminated. In terms of the space, you can see headroom. There is a little bit of a carveout here because the sunroof does take up room, but I have a solid maybe three inches of additional clearance. There’s also an armrest here that folds down and gives you two cup holders aside basically from no rear seat air vents. And I also would have liked to see another map storage pocket here. It is honestly a pretty nice back seat and it’s one of the roomiest you’re going to find in the subcompact SUV class. So, this new Cross Track Hybrid is the most powerful production Cross Track that Subaru has ever produced with 194 horsepower from its 2.5 L engine and two electric motors. So, let’s go ahead and see what we can get 0 to 60 wise. I have it the I have the car in its sport setting now and we’re just going to brake torque it and floor it and see what we can get here. [Music] All right, so on our first run there, which is pretty much on level ground, we got 8.4 seconds. Now 8.4 seconds is definitely slower than what I was anticipating. However, according to my watch, we are almost at 2,000 ft above sea level. So, I’ll have to wait until I get one back home to retest because I believe the quickest Cross Trek I’ve tested so far was a wilderness of this generation that did it in like 7.6 seconds or something like that. Because remember, even though this car has more power, around 12 more horsepower versus the uh or 14 more horsepower versus the base 2.5, which is technically now the standard engine because it’s the 2 L is gone. Um, this vehicle is carrying around an extra 300 lbs of weight, which is not too hefty of a weight penalty, but at around 3,600 lb, this is definitely heavy. Although, keep in mind, this same powertrain in the Forester hybrid uh carries an additional 300 lb because that vehicle is nearly 4,000 lb in weight. Now, this Limited model that we’re driving is definitely the more luxury oriented model, and we’re actually going to go down this trail here and go down some off-road, I guess, more grally off-road road surfaces to test out the rest of the way the Cross Trek drives. Now, of course, this is kind of the typical off-roading that a lot of people tend to want to do with a Subaru, uh, and you know, this kind of gravel road as you go through these beautiful wooded areas here. We’re actually just north of uh well, not really just north, but we are somewhere north of Mount Hood. We’re in Washington State right now. And Subaru had set out some nice little trails for us to kind of explore in both the Forester Wilderness and this Cross Track Hybrid. But what I love about Cross Tracks, and this is probably what sells so well for a lot of people, is the fact that the suspension in these vehicles, you know, it’s raised up. We still have the 8.7 in of ground clearance. Um, the vehicle suspension also is nice and softly tuned, but it gives you a really great ride quality even on these rougher surfaces. The steering in this car also is, you know, not sporty, but it’s very quick. It’s very direct. Uh, the car itself just feels very playful. It feels very nimble. Uh, but it also feels very competent. It feels like it, you know, goes down the road with this level of solidity that you expect from a Subaru vehicle cuz a lot of Subaru owners tend to go off-roading. And what I also love about the hybrid model is the fact that you really can’t tell that it’s a hybrid because remember this powertrain is a Subaru or it’s a nice little hodge podge mix of Subaru and Toyota. The the boxer flat 4 has been modified to run on the at on the Atkinson cycle and uh it’s designed to be a little bit more efficient. It makes less power though at 162 horsepower. When you add in the two electric motors uh which the electric motor it own on its own delivers 118 horsepower, you got a total of 194. Subaru, just like Toyota, doesn’t quote the torque figure. And then we have an ECBT providing that or pushing that power to all four wheels. It’s got a symmetrical fulltime all-wheel drive system, which is very different versus the uh Corolla Cross hybrid that we just recently drove, which by the way, the Corolla Cross hybrid did 0 to 60 in 7.9 seconds when we last uh or I’m sorry, 7.6 seconds when we last tested it. Again, that was more at sea level. This vehicle, however, you know, is, you know, carrying around this kind of extra weight and it also is dealing with the altitude. Now, the one thing I’m also noticing is the vehicle, the way it goes down the road, it just feels very seamless. Um, there’s a little indicator here that shows in the fully digital cluster when it’s in EV mode, but most of the times it actually is driving around in pure or with the a combination of the gas and the electric powertrain. The battery pack in this car is pretty small. It’s just uh 1.1 kwatt hours. But the cool thing is when you come to like a stop for example, it’s showing EV mode there. There’s a big cloud of dust behind us. And then when you accelerate, it will accelerate slowly in EV only mode. But remember, it’s just like the Toyota hybrid systems. You have to be very, very gentle with the throttle applications because this is not a plug-in hybrid anymore. It’s now just a traditional full hybrid, which is definitely different versus Cross Treks before because remember the early Cross Trek hybrid was a mild hybrid. It offered uh not that much of a gain in terms of efficiency. The plug-in hybrid offered that gain and the electric only range, but it was only like 17 mi. It also significantly reduced the cargo capacity. Uh, so this is kind of designed to be a nice mixture of the two. And I think this is what, you know, Subaru needed to do with the Cross Trek Hybrid. Now, as we go through this kind of tight trail, this is where we’re reminded of just how good the Cross Trek Hybrid or how small it is, which is pretty nice. So, now that we moved the camera onto the roof to kind of give you guys a better viewing angle, let’s go ahead and continue onward in this little off-road trail that Subaru has uh set up for us. Now, again, even though this model is not the wilderness, we have a more, I guess, normal set of street tires on the vehicle. We’ve we’ve got 18-in wheels. So, I’m going to I’m not going to push it as hard as I usually would at Subaru off-road events just because the tires aren’t really set up for this. But, what I’m noticing right away is just again how seamless the delivery of power is. The vehicle will kind of start out in electric power alone, which is nice. And anytime you kind of give it a little more throttle, the engine will come on seamlessly. You don’t even notice the transition point at all. And instead, you just have very smooth forward momentum. And that’s again a very different experience versus what you might test out in the Corolla Cross hybrid because in the Corolla Cross, the rear axle only gets power from the electric motor, which I believe only has like 40ish horsepower. It’s not a lot. Uh, so it can’t truly deliver the kind of full-time seamless traction that you’re looking for when you’re in these certain off-road conditions. The other thing that Subaru gives you is their dual function X mode with this vehicle, which I don’t think we’ll have a chance to test out here, uh, because again, it’s very, very like light off-roading, but I can put it into, for example, the dirt mode here, and that will adjust the throttle application, the traction control. There’s also a deep snow and mud mode. Uh, and this vehicle, unlike the Forester hybrid, we just stop just just hopped out of, it actually does have a full 360 camera feature, which as you can see, the camera quality and resolution is much better in this vehicle. And it shows you exactly what uh the side profile is showing if you want to prevent your tire or your your wheel from getting curbed or hit by a rock, for example. This is again a great feature that Cross Tracks has never had before is being able to have a full 360 camera, but the small size of this vehicle just makes it really nice. It’s no no no wonder to me why so many people tend to choose the Cross Track. This has been Subaru’s bestseller um or at least last year was their bests seller. I wouldn’t be surprised to see if this year was their best seller again. But with the addition of the hybrid model, this is going to significantly expand the appeal of the Cross Track. And this remember this limited model that we’re driving is the fully loaded version. It’s the most expensive Cross Track, but it has all the features you could want. It’s got that fully digital cluster where you can literally put your GPS from Apple Maps or Ways in there. It’s got, you know, wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto. And while this software behind the system is not great, uh I’m hoping that Subaru will eventually add their newest software from the upcoming Outback, uh it is still a nicel looking screen and it’s a nicer looking display, at least when you first initially see it compared to some other rivals in the subcompact segment. Um we were driving this vehicle at higher speeds earlier and Subaru actually said that this model is quieter than the regular Cross because they added more sound detonating materials. They’ve retuned the suspension to be able to deal with the extra weight. And again, when the engine is transitioning from electric to gas, uh that’s kind of where it has additional sound dening. So, this is going to be an easier car to live with. And then, of course, there’s the fuel efficiency because this model is rated to get 36 MPG combined. Now, unfortunately, I can’t do a real world uh fuel economy test on this very brief drive. I’ll have to wait until I get one back home for a week to do that. But 36 combined is about around 7 MPG better versus the gas only version of the Cross Track. Now it is down compared to the 42 that Toyota uh quotes on the Corolla Cross hybrid. That’s because again the Corolla Cross’s all-wheel drive system isn’t as good, but with uh a full tank of fuel, Subaru says this model can go nearly 600 miles of range on a full tank, which I’ll be curious to test out for myself. But I mean, overall, for those of you who have always had your eye on a Cross Track, I think with the addition of the hybrid powertrain, if you guys had a chance to test drive the Forester hybrid, don’t like the looks of it, you wanted something a little smaller, I think in this vehicle, it’s it makes a lot more sense. And because it carries around a little bit extra weight, the powertrain feels a little bit more peppy. But this is kind of where I would love to see Subaru do uh an even or a wilderness version of the hybrid because I think a wilderness model uh would definitely do this car even better uh if they could do the hybrid plus the wilderness because supposedly Subaru says that the all-wheel drive system isn’t even compromised with this model. Uh and even though the Wilderness is designed to be the most off-road capable, the fuel efficiency of that model is a lot lower. And I think that’s where people are really going to find a lot to like with the hybrid powertrain with this car is it just gives you the power and the efficiency without any of the sacrifices that you might be used to. Now, if you guys are in the market for a compact SUV, the Subaru Cross Check has always been an easy recommendation for me. In fact, if you look at the sales figures, Subaru managed to sell a little over 181,000 units in the US last year, making this model their bestselling vehicle and the bestselling vehicle in the subcompact SUV space. So, after spending the day driving the hybrid version, this has been a hotly anticipated powertrain option. I I wouldn’t be surprised to see see Subaru easily break that 200 unit mark 200,000 unit mark because this vehicle with the hybrid powertrain essentially solves a lot of the issues that I had with just the gas only version of the Cross Track. I mean, I am looking forward to getting one of these back home where I can do a another 0 to 60 test. I can do a proper fuel economy test and range test. But my initial impressions here, just like on the Forester hybrid, this powertrain essentially makes the vehicle smoother. It makes it quicker in terms of acceleration. And it also has that seamless power delivery that you expect from a Toyota hybrid system. But of course, it’s married together with Subaru’s boxer engine, which I think is a more charismatic engine versus the buzzy engine that you’ll find in something like the Toyota Corolla Cross. As you guys saw, 0 to 60 happened in 8.4 seconds, but I suspect it’ll be faster once we get this vehicle on sea level. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see this car do well over 35 miles to the gallon when we actually are able to do some real world range tests. The interior is the typical Cross Trek interior. I like the fully digital instrument cluster which is standard on the sport uh on the hybrid trims in general and the 11.6 in display. While it is Subaru’s older software, at least it has wireless Apple CarP. But again, I’m hoping that Subaru will graph their newer system from the Outback at some point whenever they give this vehicle a proper refresh. Unlike some of its competitors, the back seat is usable and the cargo c the cargo area actually doesn’t have any of those compromises. And that’s the other thing great thing about the new hybrid version of this car is it’s finally a full hybrid that’s going to basically, you know, give people that extra efficiency and power without the sacrifices that you had to make with the first generation, which was a mild hybrid or the expense and cargo uh impracticalities of the plug-in hybrid version. Now, in terms of pricing and availability, Subaru says the hybrid version of the Cross Track will be showing up at your local Subaru dealership sometime in November. So, you’re going to have to wait another month and a half or so. And pricing for this model is kept well in check because you can get into a base cross track for 2026 and spend around $26,9.95. The hybrid powertrain basically starts at the sport trim level. So, previously I thought Subaru would offer it as a premium trim. But basically, if you want the sport hybrid, that’s the base model, it starts at $33,9.95, which is around $3,200 more versus a a ice powered sport or a gas only sport, which Subaru basically throws in the hybrid powertrain plus additional features. If you want to go to the Limited trim like I’m showing you here, it’s only an extra,000. So, I’m surprised at $349.95, it’s really not that much more. Although Subaru technically removes the sunroof from the Limited and makes you makes it part of an option package, which this car has for $1,600 that rolls in that 360 camera and the sunroof, but you do get the painter or you do get the Harman Carton stereo, the different exterior trim, the different wheels. When you add that trim in, uh, plus the option package and the the um destination charge, you’re looking at an asested price of 38,410. So 38,410 makes this the most expensive cross check that I’ve ever tested. However, I should point out that the last Corolla Cross hybrid that I tested literally last week was around $37,000. And I have to say there is something just more appealing about the Cross Track hybrid. It’s got more capability. It looks better. It’s got more interior space. And even though the tech in the Toyota I think is better, uh there is something again just utterly nice about this car. So, I think once Subaru gets these out into dealerships, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of buyers gravitate toward the hybrid model and Subaru may have a difficult time actually keeping these vehicles out on their lots. With all that said, hope you guys have enjoyed my full overview on the brand new 2026 Subaru Cross Trek Hybrid in the Limited trim. If you’re also looking to see the latest cars I’m testing, be sure to follow me on Instagram at redline reviews. Like us on Facebook, and as always guys, please keep subscribing to the Redline Reviews YouTube channel for all the latest reviews. Thank you so much for watching. I’ll catch you all in the next video. [Music]
The #SubaruCrosstrekHybrid returns for 2026, but for Subaru’s 3rd attempt, the #CrosstrekHybrid brings a conventional #Hybrid powertrain under the hood. #Subaru once again borrows some tech from #Toyota, but pairs it with the #SubaruBoxer engine to produce up to 194 HP and 36 MPG combined. Unlike its rivals, the #Crosstrek continues to use the excellent symmetrical AWD system to preserve its capability.
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