In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Crosstrek are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Crosstrek Limited/Wilderness has standard Reverse Automatic Braking that use rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Crosstrek. But it costs extra on the Outlander Sport.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Crosstrek’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The Crosstrek offers available parking sensors to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a front parking aid.
The Crosstrek’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
The Crosstrek Premium/Sport/Limited/Wilderness has standard STARLINK Safety and Security, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Outlander Sport doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the Crosstrek and the Outlander Sport have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.
A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Subaru Crosstrek is safer than the Outlander Sport:
|
|
Crosstrek |
Outlander Sport |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Restraints |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Head Neck Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Peak Head Forces |
0 G’s |
0 G’s |
| Steering Column Movement Rearward |
0 cm |
1 cm |
| Chest Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Max Chest Compression |
26 cm |
28 cm |
| Hip & Thigh Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Femur Force R/L |
.3/.1 kN |
3.43/.93 kN |
| Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L |
0%/0% |
1%/0% |
| Lower Leg Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Tibia index R/L |
.61/.29 |
.68/.36 |
| Tibia forces R/L |
1.9/.9 kN |
1.9/1.9 kN |
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Crosstrek the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 80 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Outlander Sport is not a “Top Safety Pick.”