Subaru Crosstrek adds pep with new engine

Subaru will give its subcompact Crosstrek crossover a new engine option this year, in response to consumers saying the model could use a bit more power, according to Subaru of America CEO Tom Doll.

Subaru will introduce a new Sport version of the Crosstrek this year that will get a 2.5-liter engine instead of the standard 2.0-liter, Doll said, speaking during an NADA Live event last week at the auto dealers' convention in Las Vegas.

"One of the things that our customers were telling us about the Crosstrek was it was maybe a little underpowered with the 2.0-liter engine," Doll said. "Well, the 2.5-liter engine will solve that problem."

Doll said the 2.5 also will go into the Limited version of the crossover.

The second-generation Crosstrek launched for the 2018 model year, powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 152 hp and 145 pound-feet of torque.

Three models in Subaru's portfolio also have a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter engine: the Forester compact crossover, the Legacy midsize sedan and the Outback midsize crossover. In those models, the four-cylinder engine has 182 hp and 176 pound-feet of torque.

The engine was updated when the Forester was redesigned for the 2019 model year.

Subaru has a second 2.5-liter engine in its top performance model, the WRX STI, but that one is turbocharged and boasts 310 hp and 290 pound-feet of torque — making it an unlikely fit for the Crosstrek, given that the crossover is not a performance model.

Subaru also has the Crosstrek Hybrid, a plug-in hybrid variant with a combined 148 hp, that went on sale in 2019.

The automaker sold 131,152 Crosstreks last year, a decline of 9.2 percent.