Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid 2026 Review: Smooth, Efficient

The 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid gives the brand’s smallest utility vehicle what it’s long needed: better gas mileage. It’s a compact all-wheel-drive crossover hatchback that incorporates all of Subaru’s traditional off-road chops, with the added benefit of somewhat better fuel efficiency. It’s rated at 36 mpg combined versus the 29 mpg EPA combined number for the conventional Crosstrek, with either 2.0- or 2.5-liter engine. (The butch Crosstrek Wilderness trim comes in at 27 mpg combined.)

Courtesy of Subaru

Subaru calls the Crosstrek a subcompact, to position it below the Forester compact crossover. That designation will startle anyone who drives a subcompact from the 1990s or 2000s, but bracket creep due to vastly tougher crash tests has affected every vehicle—and aside from the Impreza hatchback (a Crosstrek minus the lift and the off-road trim), it’s the smallest car Subaru will sell you.

After two previous, somewhat compromised attempts, the company at last is adding hybrid options to two of its most popular lines: the Forester last year, now the Crosstrek. There were two previous “hybrid” Crosstrek models, one for each of the two earlier generations. The 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid was only a mild-hybrid system very much like Honda’s: the electric motor added torque and replaced the starter and generator, but couldn’t propel the car itself in any meaningful way. Switching among the engine, motor, or both also wasn’t very smooth.

Then came the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid, actually a plug-in hybrid with an underwhelming 17 miles of electric-only range. It was essentially a compliance car for a maker whose fuel economy has never been particularly good, and it was available only in limited markets. Unlike the mild hybrid, which was Subaru’s own design, the PHEV used components mixed and matched from various Toyota hybrids and plug-in hybrids.

Now we have a proper, conventional hybrid model of the Crosstrek. On a brand-hosted test drive of more than 100 miles in Oregon and Washington states, it proved the smoothest, quietest, and nicest Crosstrek. The fuel economy of 38.1 mpg over that distance may not be representative, as the drive combined 25 miles on forest trails with more than 90 miles of mostly highway driving—and a 1,900-foot decline in altitude. Hybrids do well when they’re going downhill.

Real, Mechanical AWD

The Crosstrek Hybrid’s 1.1-kilowatt-hour liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery is located under the rear floor, packaged so that it only cuts cargo volume incrementally. The hybrid Crosstrek retains the standard car’s 16.6-gallon fuel tank, giving it a range of almost 600 miles. That contrasts to most hybrid SUVs, which have smaller tanks.

The battery powers a two-motor hybrid system that entirely replaces the chain-driven continuously variable transmission (CVT) in other Crosstreks. Subaru’s standard 2.5-liter flat-4 engine has been heavily adapted. At lower engine revs, torque from the electric motor compensates for a lack of power. One motor replaces the starter and generator of a conventional combustion engine, and uses overrun engine power to recharge the battery. The other powers the wheels through the center differential and also charges the battery via regenerative braking.