Can It Off-Road? The Champion Wrangler vs. the Crosstrek Challenger | Edmunds

Edmunds editors Travis Langness and Calvin Kim take the Subaru Crosstrek and the Jeep Wrangler out into the wilderness over rocks, under trees and into the open meadows of California's Sierra mountain range. These two redesigned vehicles are excellent off-the-lot off-roaders, but they offer very different on-road attitudes. The Crosstrek can be equipped with just about everything on its options list for under $31,000 while the Wrangler is pretty bare-bones at that price point. Which one of these dirt-going vehicles will fare better once the pavement ends?

Q: What do the 2018 Subaru Crosstrek and the 2018 Jeep Wrangler cost?
A: The base Crosstrek starts at $22,710 but our top-trim-level 2.0i Limited test car had a starting price of $27,210. With a few options, that went up to nearly $31,000. That's still pretty reasonable, though, considering the Jeep Wrangler's base price of $28,940 and our vehicle's as-tested price of $38,985.

Q: What powers the 2018 Subaru Crosstrek and the 2018 Jeep Wrangler?
A: The Crosstrek has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. The Wrangler comes with a 3.6-liter V6 engine with 285 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque.

Q: What are the 2018 Subaru Crosstrek's main competitors?
A: There are lots of new off-road-focused crossovers that compete with the Crosstrek, but ones that compare directly with it based on size and price include the Jeep Compass Trailhawk and the Volkswagen Alltrack.

Q: What are the 2018 Jeep Wrangler's main competitors?
A: The Wrangler spans a large price range, from under $30,000 to over $50,000 with options. Across that range, there are several off-road rivals to consider. We'd recommend looking at vehicles such as the Crosstrek on the lower end of the spectrum and body-on-frame SUVs such as the Toyota 4Runner if you can afford a bit more.

Read our review of the 2018 Subaru Crosstrek here: https://www.edmunds.com/subaru/crosstrek/2018/review

Read our review of the 2018 Jeep Wrangler here: https://www.edmunds.com/jeep/wrangler/2018/review/

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