I am looking to buy a new Subaru Crosstrek for my wife and wish to buy the most reliable Crosstrek. Should I get the 2.0L or 2.5L boxer engine? I prefer more power but prefer reliability more.
Also, any other recommendations for similar vehicles? AWD preferred but not necessary.
There isn’t a clearly superior choice. The FB20 is bombproof but the 2.5 has reasonable reliability too. The 2.5 is “faster” but not by much.
A lot of people have complained that the 2.0 in the Crosstrek is underpowered with the 2.5 being a noticeable improvement though still not exactly a drag racer. I'd expect engine reliability to be about the same in both. From what I've read you can only get a manual transmission with the 2.0, the CVT being mandatory with the 2.5. A manual transmission will certainly last a lot longer than a CVT.
