The Subaru Crosstrek is a popular car. Really, take a look around US roadways and you’ll see them across the nation. That’s not too surprising considering that, in 2023, it was the brand’s best-selling model, even beating the Outback.
Now, we’ve just spent a week in one and came away with a full review on it. Before we took it out to become one of the thousands in a Crosstrek, we asked you what you wanted to know about it. Today, we’re giving you your answers. All two of them.
Is the infotainment system as bad as some report it?
Sadly, yes. At least in our test car. Just to bring everybody up to speed, here’s a comment from our “Ask us Anything” article from another Subaru owner: “I recently bought a new ’24 WRX. This will be my last-ever Subaru. I’m done. The ‘infotainment’ system is AWFUL.”
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They’re not alone either. Here are just two comments from Reddit that have been posted recently.
“I’m in the market for a new car and one of the main reasons I haven’t been looking at Subarus is because of the giant stupid screens. I only want buttons and knobs.”
“I don’t see how I’ll find my way back to the brand. I mean, unless they can manage to make their infotainment not lag.”
Over the course of the week, the infotainment system had several laggy moments. In fact, a few times it seemed to just stop responding. On top of that, the climate controls are baked into the screen and unmoving. It’s not as though Subaru actually uses the bottom of the touchscreen in innovative ways. There’s really no reason that section couldn’t have been a physical panel of real buttons and switches.
Is this 2.5 equipped with direct injection or even a variation of the D-4S system?
Yes, the FB25D engine in the Crosstrek we tested has direct injection. It does not have the D-4S system featured in other Subaru models though. To explain that difference, let’s break down what we’re talking about here.
Direct injection is exactly what it sounds like. An injector feeds fuel directly into the cylinder for combustion. That’s a bit different than many cars where the fuel gets injected into the port (known as port injection). Each variation has its own unique benefits.
Toyota designed a system called D-4S that actually uses both systems so it feeds fuel into the intake port and directly into the cylinder itself. While that system can improve fuel economy, reduce carbon build up, and aid in power generation, it’s more complex and costly. Subaru doesn’t say why it didn’t use it in the Crosstrek, but cost might have played a role.
