By Otsile Kadiege

Subaru recently unveiled the new Crosstrek SUV which is a new nameplate replacing the outgoing XV. The Crosstrek nameplate ushers in sleeker exterior styling, new technologies, new model derivatives, two powertrains and a raft of safety and driver assistance systems.

Sleek exterior

The new Crosstrek has a sleeker more edgier exterior design thanks to newly designed, slimmer LED headlights flanked by a newly designed and slightly larger patterned grille. Its redesigned front bumper gets prominent contrast cladding. Contrast cladding continues on the side profile. It also gets a new set of wheels with up to 18-inches in size, new roof rails and a sharp crease on the lower section of the front and rear doors.

There are more design changes at the rear of the new Crosstrek. These include claw-like LED taillights and a redesigned rear bumper with prominent body cladding and rear diffuser. It measures 4,480 mm long 1,800 mm wide 1,580 mm tall, has a wheelbase of 2,670 mm and a ground clearance of 200 mm.

Advanced interior tech

Inside, the new Crosstrek gets a new 11.6-inch portrait style touch display flanked by physical shortcut buttons for media control and AC controls.  More interior highlights include a standard 6-speaker sound system (optional Harman Kardon premium audio system with eight speakers and 432-watt equivalent amplifier) and optional “moonroof”,yellow or orange contrast stitching (depending on chosen derivative), paddle shifters in CVT models and a 4.2-in color LCD in higher-spec derivatives to name a few.

Subaru adds that the new Crosstrek gets newly designed seats with improved pelvis support to help prevent vehicle swaying motions from being transferred to the head.

Improved EyeSight system

All new Crosstrek models with CVT gearboxes feature Subaru’s EyeSight system which now adds on a wide-angle camera to the existing EyeSight stereo camera. Subaru says the wide-angle mono camera allows better recognition of pedestrians and motorcycles to allow initiation of pre-collision braking in a wider range of situations, such as at intersections, thanks to its wider field of view.

e-Boxer engine

Also new to the Subaru Crosstrek is a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder e-Boxer engine paired with a 48V electric motor and an 8-step CVT gearbox. Subaru is mum on the exact power and torque figures but we should expect it to develop more power and torque than the current offerings.