2026 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid First Look: Less Plug, More of Everything Else
The Crosstrek drops plug-in ability for better efficiency, more power, and more range.
The revamped-for-2024 Subaru Crosstrek was really missing only two things: more power, and a hybrid powertrain option. Thankfully, the 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is finally arriving this fall to rectify both.
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Pardon the Delay
As you may recall, the Crosstrek used to have a hybrid option. A plug-in hybrid, to be exact, which offered 17 miles of all-electric range at the expense of some cargo space compared to the gas-only model. The EPA figured it was good for 90 mpg-e combined with both power sources and 35 mpg combined once the battery ran out. It used a 2.0-liter flat-four with 137 hp and 134 lb-ft backed by an electric motor making 118 hp and 149 lb-ft, for a combined total of 148 hp.
When the 2024 Crosstrek came out in 2023, the hybrid model was conspicuously absent, and Subaru promised it would return later despite the gas-electric version being launched simultaneously in Japan. Late in ’23 we learned the hybrid was finally on its way to our market, and now we know that after taking the 2024 model year off, it’s skipping 2025, too, and going on sale this fall as a 2026.
More of Everything … We Think
Although most of the Crosstrek Hybrid is the same as the gas models, everything under the hood is new. Subaru’s next-generation e-Boxer hybrid powertrain gets a major upgrade to a 2.5-liter Atkinson/Miller cycle flat-four; it now produces 162 hp and 154 lb-ft all by itself, which is already a healthy increase over the old PHEV’s system. A 118-hp electric motor with 188 lb-ft of torque boosts total combined output to 194 hp, making it the most powerful Crosstrek you can buy.
Don’t plan on doing much all-electric driving, though. The hybrid battery has been downsized from 8.8 kWh to just 1.1 kWh, so you’ll spend most of the time burning gas, even if it is more efficiently. Subaru doesn’t have final EPA numbers yet but has said previously the new system is good for a 20 percent improvement in fuel economy. Do the math, and that should come out to around 42 mpg combined. Subaru has also said that, combined with a larger 16.6-gallon fuel capacity, range on a single tank should jump from 488 miles to 621. That suggests the combined fuel economy might be more like 38 mpg, but we’ll have to wait for official numbers to be sure.
Regardless, power will continue to flow through a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) to all four wheels courtesy of Subaru’s trademark “symmetrical” all-wheel drive. A hydraulic clutch apportions power front and rear as needed but always powers all four wheels. Ground clearance remains at 8.7 inches and the approach angle at 18.0 degrees, so it might even be a little more capable off-road now that it has more oomph.
More Space, Too
The old Crosstrek PHEV located its larger battery under the rear cargo floor, compromising space back there as a result. Subaru didn't confirm if the new, smaller battery resides in the same spot, but cargo space behind the rear seats has grown from 15.9 cubic feet to 18.6 cubic feet. That’s 1.3 fewer than the gas-only models—a clue that the battery is indeed located in the back—far less than the old model gave up.
Fold the seats down, and total cargo volume increases from 43.1 cubic feet previously to 54.7 cubic feet in the new model, which somehow matches that of the nonhybrid models. Passenger space, meanwhile, is identical to the gas-only models.
More Tech, as Well
To make it more than just a hybrid Crosstrek, Subaru has also upped the tech content. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is available for the first time in a Crosstrek, which can display both the native navigation system and Apple Maps when running CarPlay.
The EyeSight active and passive driver aid system, meanwhile, picks up the ability to recognize when the driver is unresponsive while using the adaptive cruise control and steering assistance systems and can bring the vehicle to a stop automatically, turn on the hazard lights, unlock the doors, and call 911.
More Colors, Because Why Not?
Can’t have a special model without exclusive paint and wheels, can you? The Hybrid will get two special paints, Sand Dune Pearl and Citron Yellow Pearl. Even if you don’t pick those, you’ll still get the exclusive dark gray 18-inch wheels.
More to Come
As we won’t be seeing the Crosstrek Hybrid on dealer lots for more than six months, key details like fuel economy, pricing, and a full list of standard and optional equipment aren’t available as of this writing. Subaru says we’ll get those closer to the fall when the car finally goes on sale.
Were you one of those kids who taught themselves to identify cars at night by their headlights and taillights? I was. I was also one of those kids with a huge box of Hot Wheels and impressive collection of home-made Lego hot rods. I asked my parents for a Power Wheels Porsche 911 for Christmas for years, though the best I got was a pedal-powered tractor. I drove the wheels off it. I used to tell my friends I’d own a “slug bug” one day. When I was 15, my dad told me he would get me a car on the condition that I had to maintain it. He came back with a rough-around-the-edges 1967 Volkswagen Beetle he’d picked up for something like $600. I drove the wheels off that thing, too, even though it was only slightly faster than the tractor. When I got tired of chasing electrical gremlins (none of which were related to my bitchin’ self-installed stereo, thank you very much), I thought I’d move on to something more sensible. I bought a 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT and got my first speeding ticket in that car during the test drive. Not my first-ever ticket, mind you. That came behind the wheel of a Geo Metro hatchback I delivered pizza in during high school. I never planned to have this job. I was actually an aerospace engineering major in college, but calculus and I had a bad breakup. Considering how much better my English grades were than my calculus grades, I decided to stick to my strengths and write instead. When I made the switch, people kept asking me what I wanted to do with my life. I told them I’d like to write for a car magazine someday, not expecting it to actually happen. I figured I’d be in newspapers, maybe a magazine if I was lucky. Then this happened, which was slightly awkward because I grew up reading Car & Driver, but convenient since I don’t live in Michigan. Now I just try to make it through the day without adding any more names to the list of people who want to kill me and take my job.
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