What’s the best 2021 Subaru Crosstrek trim? Review & Buying Guide

If you are looking for an agile city zipper and a part-time adventure mobile, Subaru has you covered with the 2021 Crosstrek. The 2021 Subaru Crosstrek is a sporty subcompact SUV with the DNA of the Impreza lineup of cars. The Crosstrek received a light visual refresh for 2021 with changes to the front bumper design and grille. The Crosstrek also added a new Sport trim and a more powerful engine option to the mix for 2021.

Subaru is offering five trim levels with the new Crosstrek. Each trim has something for different kinds of buyers. To make things easy we have compared the different trims highlighting their pros and cons. And in the end, we will name our top Subaru Crosstrek Trim. Before diving deep into the specifications, let's have a look at the pricing of different trims.

2021 Subaru Crosstrek Base trim

Even the base Subaru Crosstrek is fairly loaded and poses as a perfect usable package for thrifty buyers. The Crosstrek comes standard with a Wheel Drive system. The base trim boasts a 2.0 L four-cylinder engine that puts out 152 hp and 145 lb-ft of torque. As standard, the engine is paired to a six-speed manual transmission with the automatic to be found in the options list. If you opt for the CVT automatic transmission you also get Subaru’s EyeSight safety suite of active safety features. These include forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, and adaptive cruise control. All new Crosstreks come standard with Subaru's StarLink infotainment system. The system boasts a 6.5-inch touch screen as standard and offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard.

2021 Subaru Crosstrek Premium

Next in line is the Premium trim which builds on the existing features of the Base trim. This trim adds automatic headlights, halogen foglights, heated body-color side mirrors, heated front seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, cloth upholstery with orange contrast stitching, dual front seat USB ports, and a six-speaker audio system. If you get the Premium with CVT Automatic you also get a sunroof, blind-spot monitoring system, and rear cross-traffic alert system.

2021 Subaru Crosstrek Sport

The Crosstrek Sport is the cheapest trim where you can get rid of the sluggish 2.0-liter engine for a 2.5 L flat four-banger out of the Legacy and Outback models. This engine makes 182 hp and should provide the necessary oomph and refinement to the Crosstrek line. If you opt for this engine, you will get the CVT with paddle shifters as standard. This trim boasts a zero to 60 time of 7.8 seconds which is way faster than the previous trims 9.1 second time. The engine is not a match to other rivals like Kia Seltos and Mazda CX-5 but it is certainly a huge improvement over the base engine.

Besides the bigger engine, the standard 17-inch alloy wheels also get dark gray treatment along with a unique black Sport grille with gunmetal accents, gunmetal painted side mirrors. The Sport trim also adds more features over the Premium like integrated turn signals, special Sport fender cladding, StarTex faux-leather upholstery with yellow contrast stitching, a 4.2-inch display in the gauge cluster, hands-free keyless access with push-button start, dual rear USB charging ports, and an available 8.0-inch touchscreen Starlink infotainment system.

2021 Subaru Crosstrek Limited

Next up is the Crosstrek Limited. This trim also boasts a powerful 2.5 L engine. Limited builds upon the Sport trim by adding the necessary luxury touch that previous trims lacked desperately. The feature set includes an 8.0-inch touchscreen system, leather-trimmed upholstery with orange contrast stitching, a power driver's seat, body-color side mirrors with integrated turn signals, LED foglights, Adaptive LED swiveling headlights, Blind Spot Monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, rear automatic braking, power-adjustable driver's seat, and 18-inch alloy wheels finished in black. Optional extras with the Limited trim include a sunroof, an eight-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, and an integrated navigation system.

The full-loaded Crosstrek is one hell of a deal at 30 grand. The interior feels much nicer compared to previous trims. And it looks the part too with the larger wheels and better lighting situation.

2021 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid

The Hybrid Trim actually stands on its own league. The powertrain consists of a Plug-In Hybrid setup that somehow utilizes the same base engine with a permanent-magnet AC synchronous electric motor and only puts out 148 hp and 134 lb-ft of torque. However, in a straight line, the plug-in hybrid variant is faster to zero to 60 mph by 0.9 seconds over the 9.2 seconds of the base engine Crosstrek, The plug-in's lithium-ion battery pack allows for a claimed all-electric range of 17 miles and 90 mpg-e or 35 mpg combined when running as a regular hybrid.

However, the Hybrid has some cons in the form of reduced cargo capacity due to the battery pack taking up a significant amount of space. The cargo capacity falls from 20.9 cubic feet to 15.9. Also, the hybrid components make the Crosstrek significantly hefty by adding roughly 500 pounds.

So which is the best trim on the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek?

Considering the ratio of money to the number of features available, Subaru Crosstrek Sport seems like an excellent deal. It boasts all the necessary features that make the Crosstrek stand toe to toe with swanky subcompact rivals like the 2021 Mazda CX-5. The trim also gets the larger engine which is much better than the sluggish base engine. Plus, the trim also looks the part with those gunmetal accents.