Subaru's Hybrid SUVs Have Only Two Real Downsides

Subaru might not typically be a company you would associate with hybrids or otherwise electrified vehicles. It's an automaker that prides itself in offering what it thinks are the best adventure and lifestyle vehicles, at good value. Subaru also knows its audience incredibly well, to the point that the automaker's fans are some of the most loyal in the industry.

But rugged all-wheel-drive camping machines don't tell the full story of Subaru's recent efforts in both hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. Just a few years ago, there weren't any Subies with electric motors in the lineup. Now, there are four: the electric Trailseeker and Solterra and the hybrid Forester and Crosstrek. Another full EV, the Uncharted, is launching sometime next year.

Now, Subaru has reintroduced the Crosstrek Hybrid for the 2026 model year (Subaru briefly flirted with a hybrid Crosstrek all the way back in 2013). Aesthetically, the 2026 Crosstrek Hybrid really doesn't look all that different than the gas powered model, apart from a small "HYBRID" badge on the outside. Under the environmentally-conscious hood is a very familiar 2.5-liter four cylinder boxer engine that, with the electric motor, makes 194 horsepower, exactly the same as its slightly bigger Forester brother. 

Not all that long ago, I reviewed the Forester Hybrid and came away surprised in that it really wasn't all that different than a regular Forester, except that it got much better fuel economy. It drove in almost exactly the same manner. In all honesty, then, a 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Sport Hybrid didn't elicit all that much excitement, at least when I saw it on the review schedule.

After a lot of time behind the wheel of both cars, I'm actually pretty glad that my first impressions were wrong. Cars like the Subaru WRX or the Wilderness versions of the Outback or Forester can be a little ostentatious (or at least as ostentatious as a Subaru can be) with big beefy tires, or a loud paint scheme. The Crosstrek Hybrid, however, might be the most "normcore" car in Subaru's lineup. It was painted in a nice and subtle "sand dune pearl" and that was about it when it came to optional extras.

Now, you could make a solid argument — sorry, Subaru — that it won't stand out much in the grand scheme of the automotive landscape, but it's well enough executed that it's worth taking notice of. Much like the Forester Hybrid, the electrified Crosstrek behaves nearly exactly the same as a base, gas-only model. Indeed, it's barely perceptible as a hybrid. 

Now, I like cars that are in your face with technology. Give me a goofy gauge on the odometer and badging everywhere showing off the electrified parts, and I'm a happy camper. But not everyone likes that. Some customers don't want to flaunt, and that's who the Crosstrek Hybrid is for. It's subtle and gets the job done. On the power front, the slight horsepower boost didn't make it a race car, but the little bit of extra torque from the electric motors made it at least feel quicker off the line.

But how does it act as a hybrid? I achieved about 36 miles per gallon over the week I had the car, right in line with Subaru's estimate. Compared to the base model Crosstrek's 29 combined miles per gallon, it's not an astronomical difference, but it's enough to be noticeable, especially given Subaru's tendency to not put fuel economy at the top of the priority list.

For all intents and purposes, this is just a slightly more fuel efficient (and therefor slightly better) Crosstrek. But before you scream your Crosstrek Hybrid order in the general direction of your local Subaru dealer, there's a trade off to point out. Since it's only available in the mid-range "Sport" trim, with a base price of $33,995, it's $7,000 more expensive than the non-hybrid base model. If that much money isn't a deal breaker for you, the Crosstrek Hybrid seems like an easy choice. If that much cash is too much to plunk down, the hybrid might be too big of a kinda-sorta lifted hatchback-shaped pill to swallow.

Alex Hevesy/SlashGear

The Forester Hybrid follows nearly the same playbook. As I found earlier this year, the Forester Hybrid behaves exactly the same as a gas-only Forester, except, you know, hybridized. At the risk of getting philosophical, a few car models try to be more than the sum of its respective parts, even if the car itself is good. With a Rivian, for instance, you are buying into an aesthetic of adventure and overlanding, even if it is just an electric truck with some nice convenience features. On the opposite end, a truck like the hemi-equipped Ram 1500 strives to be a huge obscene hand gesture in the face of the ever encroaching tide of electrification, even if it is just a V8 truck with old tech.

The Forester and Crosstrek Hybrids, however, are exactly the sum of their parts. It's just a Subaru with a hybrid engine, that's all, and you get roughly seven miles per gallon better than the base model and a more spritely low-speed feel. In the grander scheme of electrification, Subaru has taken an approach more like Honda's, as opposed to hybrid-king Toyota's. 

For Toyota, the hybrid model is slowly becoming the base model: that's already occurred with the ever popular Camry and Sienna. Honda offers hybrid versions of most of its cars almost as a little treat for extra cash. Since Honda has been making hybrids much longer than Subaru, the extra cost has gone down to roughly $5,000 extra. As time progresses, Subaru's hybrid premium will probably settle to a little more palatable number.

Breaking out the EPA's fuel savings calculator, assuming you drive roughly 15,000 miles a year, you'll spend an estimated $1,520 on gas yearly driving a gas-powered 2026 Crosstrek. Under the same parameters, you'll spend an estimated $1,218 a year with the Crosstrek Hybrid. That's $302 in savings per year. The delta is almost the same with the Forester Hybrid, saving $262 a year. In short, with a price difference of $7,000 between a base model Crosstrek and the cheapest Crosstrek Hybrid, you'd have to drive 15,000 miles a year for over 20 years to make up the difference in straight monetary value.

That said, since the Crosstrek Hybrid is only available in the Sport trim, a comparable gas-powered Crosstrek Sport retails for $30,625, making the hybrid premium price a little easier to justify at $3,370. That's still about 11 years of driving to make up the difference, though — given the gains in fuel economy and the fact that Subaru fans are more than happy to keep their cars for a decade or more — buying a hybrid seems like a pretty good choice over the gas-powered model. If Subaru can add a few more extras to the interior and maybe a slight visual distinction, then the extra cash will be all the more worth it. It's just a better car. 

For all those reasons, Subaru's rather small (for the time being) hybrid lineup is quite hard to ignore. In fact you could say Subaru's hybrids only have two real downsides: price, and the fact there aren't more of them. Here's hoping the lineup expands a little more to the recently refreshed and updated Outback and to the dedicated family hauler Ascent (it seems unlikely that we will get a hybrid WRX or BRZ any time soon, but I can dream).