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Help Me With Real-World MPG Comparison with Crosstrek

7K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  9986mkoh 
#1 ·
So I've recently been shopping for a new 2017 Subaru, either a Forester 2.5 or Crosstrek 2.0, both of which as far toward the base model as possible while still having the CVT. I have a few price estimates that put both of these cars within $500 or so of each other ($22,800 for Crosstrek vs $24,000 for a Forester) although the Crosstrek may have a heated seats.

Anyway, everybody knows the stickers show a 1 mpg difference, in which case I would almost undoubtedly go for the Forester. However, upon looking at a Crosstrek forum and this forum (as well as a couple fuel economy tracking sites), I have seen that there seems to be a bit more of a real-world difference in the fuel economy achieved. I've seen averages around 30-32 for the Crosstrek and 24-26 for the Forester, and this ends up being quite significant.

Am I missing something here, or does this actually seem about correct? I'm purchasing in the next couple weeks and have some good offers on the table, but both vehicles are still pretty close in price. I can deal with the smaller storage capacity of the Crosstrek, but its always nice to have that extra room inside especially for some car camping (we're short 5'7"). This kind of goes along with my initial thoughts about the aerodynamics, just looking at the two vehicles.

This really comes down to mostly fuel economy for me given the miles that we drive and cross country road trips, but obviously we also can't totally neglect things like the view from the car, ease of loading and unloading kayaks (height), and aesthetics.

I'd really appreciate some feedback, especially from people who have both and drive them under similar conditions. I'm generally pretty light footed and exceed EPA fuel economy ratings in everything I drive, but it looks less likely (or at least that there's a larger fuel economy difference in real life) with the Forester based on what I've seen so far. For reference, over about 65,000 miles with my 2002 Forester S (currently at 200k), I have averaged about 25 mpg with some winter tank lows around 22 and highs around 30.

Thanks for any input regarding my fuel economy concerns.

Mike
 
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#2 ·
I liked the crosstrek but when I was shopping the difference was less than $1000
and you just plain got more for your money in the forester.

Try fuelly for mpg.

There should be at least a 1-2mpg gain just from the smaller engine.. around city.
on the highway a similar amount due to the aerodynamics.

with my 2015 forester I could easily break 30mpg with the OEM tires and 65mph highway.

Fuelly says most are between 23-30mpg on the crosstrek

and with the 2.5 forester 24-30mpg

make sure you select relevant submodels
for example the non-hybrid crosstrek

and the 2.5i base/2.5i premium/2.5i limited/2.5i touring forester (that would be 2014+ fb25)
 
#3 ·
#4 ·
Crosstrek is quite a bit smaller than Forester though (only looked at them, didn't bother test drive), and Forester isn't that big when you start to throw luggage into it.
Crosstrek is 6 inches shorter, 1 inch narrower, 4 inches less tall. It weighs 205 pounds less when comparing Premium trims. These figures are from Consumer Reports, which got 18/26/35mpg from the Forester, and 19/26/34 from the Crosstrek in their metered track and on-road tests.

They share a platform, and the wheelbase is the same, as is the turning circle. They are very close to the same size in terms of on-road footprint, maneuverability, and parking.

The Crosstrek was noticeably slower in every acceleration test (0-60 9.7 seconds vs 8.7 for the Foz).

My opinion is that the Crosstrek is a triumph of form over function, a clear win for the marketing department and proof that even Subaru buyers can be image-conscious. Comparably equipped, the two vehicles are very close in OTD pricing, but much farther apart in practicality. You'd choose a Crosstrek over a Forester for reasons having little to do with rational considerations and, to me, that seems almost unSubaru-like.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for all the replies. After some more consideration and taking both on another test drive we settled on a 2017 Forester (base, just with alloy wheels) that we will complete the purchase of tomorrow. I took both vehicles on a test drive over the course of approximately the same loop and came back with very similar fuel economy readouts. I guess the only disadvantage is not having any heated/power seats for the same price in the Crosstrek, but it came down to a matter of function.

I also saw somewhere that the Forester had a drag coefficient around .01 lower than the Crosstrek (which I'll admit is negligible, but does help offset the extra frontal area and weight).

Again, thanks and I'll be sure to update the other mileage thread as I move along with the car.

Mikr
 
#7 ·
I actually purchased the car today and didn't know how to go about getting the Ambassador Discount, although that would've been really helpful. At least I did get a $500 Loyalty rebate by calling SoA.

On another note, I managed to get 35.1 (display) mpg on the ride back from the dealership. It was about 70 miles (85% highway, 15% city) of hilly to rolling terrain cruising at 65 on the highway. I can't say I'm disappointed at all by that with still under 100 miles on the odometer!
 
#8 ·
I actually purchased the car today and didn't know how to go about getting the Ambassador Discount, although that would've been really helpful. At least I did get a $500 Loyalty rebate by calling SoA.
Not to hijack thread, but the loyalty discount and ambassador discount aren't combine-able. However, some have had success with both at the same time for whatever reason.
 
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