Originally Posted by Al
Grandson will be finishing up his MOS in the Marines (MP) in a couple months. Looking at giving him my '16 Chev Spark and buying a new Crosstrek. I have sat in one. Sits high and has 8.5" of ground clearance. Visibility is amazing. Anyone have one?
They're very popular around these parts. The increased ground clearance makes them great for getting through plow berms and ice shelves the city leaves behind. I haven't heard of any major problems with them.
With the Crosstrek, it's absolutely worth going new, as Subaru seriously stepped their game up with the 18 model (despite it looking virtually identical) and it's just a much nicer overall package. Refinement is up across the board with the ride and handling much improved. There are some gripes about the power, but honestly I don't think they're THAT bad. They're not sports cars, and were never built to be, but I guess I'm old enough to remember what a REALLY slow car is like.
Also worth pointing out that Subaru's AWD is a "real" AWD system, and generally more capable than most on the market. The X mode apparently really works and the ground clearance makes it surprisingly capable even if you want to go offroad. A set of snow tires and it'd be unstoppable in snow and ice.
They're good little cars if that's what you want. They're not real big, but if you're used to a Chevy Spark the Crosstrek will feel like an aircraft carrier. I like them, but then I also loved the old Forester and thought Subaru ruined them by making them too big, so maybe I'm weird.