Subaru debuts kitted-out Crosstrek Boost Gear Concept

Do you like your small SUVs with an extra shot of Aeropress-sourced caffeine? Then you’re going to absolutely love the Subaru Crosstrek Boost Gear Concept.

A jumped-up version of the recently released Crosstrek (née XV), the pint-sized bruiser successfully tickles the nostalgia funnybone of Subaru’s earliest light offroader efforts, with now-legendary rigs like the Adventure Wagon and the Brumby ute forging a dirt path for current cars like the Forester and Outback.

The Crosstrek Boost Gear Concept adds to the small SUV’s already impressive dirt manners, hoisting the ride height skyward by an additional 21mm over the stock car’s 230mm via taller springs, adding higher profile Toyo Open Country A/T tyres and wider rims as a finishing touch.

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Subaru engineers have also ditched the stock 2.0-litre naturally aspirated flat-four petrol engine for the 2.5-litre version from the Impreza, and added a lower final drive ratio to complement the very capable stock X-Mode electronic terrain control set-up.

Body mouldings (which remind us of the Airbumps on the Citroen Cactus) and custom rock rails with integrated side steps mix perfectly with the comprehensive rooftop array of racks, basket, box and awning.

Of course, there’s a method to the madness of dropping a tarted-up one-off… and Subaru Australia used the recent SubiNats event in Sydney to full effect, showing the Crosstrek Boost Gear Concept off to many potential buyers.

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The end game is to convince the head office that Aussies want the new Wilderness variants that were launched in the US last year, and which encompass the entire Subaru SUV line.

“We are sharing the Subaru Boost Gear Crosstrek concept with our owners as we look at extending our offerings in this space,” said Subaru Australia managing director Blair Read.

Blair actually confirmed with Wheels early this year that the Subaru Outback Wilderness is “definitely coming”, adding that “timeframes are still in flux”.

“There's a huge, huge desire for Wilderness in both [Outback and Forester] and the only reason to caution on the timeframe is that there are some factors at play,” he said. “I'm not too fussed on which one goes first, we just want to get them both here.”

Given that the Forester and Outback are next in line for updates in early 2024, a ’roided-up Crosstrek might be held up the brand’s sleeve until all three SUVs can offer a Wilderness variant.

Note: This author was engaged by an agency of Subaru Australia to work indirectly for the brand at the 2023 SubiNats event.