Crosstrek Hybrid ‘Easily’ Handles Portland’s Rugged Roads, Says Tribune
Subaru’s 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid proves to be the right AWD for any job.
Subarus and the Pacific Northwest go together like grunge and plaid shirts, rainy days and evergreen trees, rose bushes and Starbucks, and so on. It must have something to do with the great outdoors mixing with the desire to own an all-wheel drive vehicle to tackle it all, from BRZs carving through the Cascades, to Foresters diving into the Olympics.
No wonder, then, why the Portland Tribune is a fan of the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid, which adds more green cred to the outdoor cred it already has.
The new Crosstrek features Subaru’s StarDrive Technology plug-in hybrid system, which gives the crossover up to 17 miles of travel on electric power alone before the 2.0-liter flat-four kicks in to deliver 35 mpg combined; the entire system delivers up to 90 MPGe. The Portland Tribune managed to get 50 mpg during its week of testing “without plugging in at every opportunity.”
The newspaper notes that while most automakers have tried to combine AWD with hybrid technology, the Crosstrek Hybrid nails it by simply retaining Subaru’s legendary system while adding two electric motors to the 2.0-liter flat-four. Add nearly nine inches of ground clearance and plenty of instantaneous torque from the electric motors, and you’ve got a crossover that will cross over nearly any terrain with ease.
The Portland Tribune found the Crosstrek Hybrid “to be a fun and willing runabout that easily handled heavy rains and the deeply rutted unpaved roads” of their Portland home. It also helps to have the same leather interior and technology goodies that come standard on the Crosstrek Limited, as well as the fact that it’s a Subaru; can you imagine a Toyota Prius trying to crawl around Mount Hood?
The publication’s verdict is that the Crosstrek Hybrid is the perfect Subaru for fans who want to reduce their carbon footprint while enjoying the lush, green environment all of Cascadia has to offer, in between stops at Starbucks, REI, and Fred Meyer.
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