00:02if you're looking for a new SUV but your
00:04budget is more CW than it is DC your
00:08options are limited but behind me are
00:10three that take a very different
00:12approach from one another and today I'm
00:14going to try to find out which one is
00:16the best despite these three particular
00:19cars having identical prices and
00:22Footprints they have less in common than
00:24a drag race and a drag race all new for
00:282024 is the Subaru Crosstrek which is an
00:31admittedly pricey lifted Impreza hatch
00:34with noteworthy capabilities to back up
00:36its outdoorsy fenders the Mazda cx-30
00:39while polarizing is the most luxurious
00:41and affordable option here and the
00:44Toyota Corolla cross is the SUV
00:46embodiment of your dad's New Balance
00:48shoes useful comfortable and maybe a
00:51little too deprived of Seoul all three
00:54of these will come with LED projector
00:55headlamps as standard proximity entry
00:58will come on everything except for their
01:00base specs though the Mazda in the
01:02Subaru get alloy wheels as standard
01:05whereas the Toyota actually gets steel
01:06wheels with hubcaps and they ditch the
01:09rear wiper because if you take the L
01:11Toyota thinks you're too stingy for
01:13inclement weather visibility move to the
01:15highest specs in the Mazda Toyota offer
01:18a power rear tailgate and the Mazda is
01:20the only one here that actually offers a
01:22360 View Camera if you don't have time
01:25to check that you will have eight inches
01:27of ground clearance there which is
01:28comparable to what you get with the
01:29Corolla cross the Crosstrek though sits
01:32a little bit higher up now each of these
01:34are in their mid-tier configurations and
01:36cost thirty thousand dollars for that
01:39money I don't think any of these look
01:40too cheap but I think I prefer the
01:42Subaru's funky sharp lines the most the
01:45coral lacrosse comes with a No-Frills
01:47aesthetic that's spiced up for the
01:49hybrids and while I'd say the cx-30 has
01:51a more upscale and swoopy design the
01:54excessive amount of body cladding looks
01:56out of place but that's all opinion
01:58based so let me know what you guys think
01:59in the comments section the interior of
02:01the Subaru is easy to live with but it's
02:04pragmatic approach won't impress your
02:06passengers or large dogs the cabin is
02:09Laden with cheap yet easy to clean
02:12materials with improved panel fitment
02:14when compared to last year there isn't a
02:17whole lot of flair they did retain some
02:19of this carbon fiber looking stuff but
02:21overall everything is pretty dark and
02:23then the premium trim also did get rid
02:24of the old orange stitching you now have
02:27to step up further to get contrasty
02:29stuff but at the very least storage is
02:31good and space is also plentiful I'm six
02:35foot three and I have very little issues
02:36fitting in here something that the new
02:38Crosstrek does particularly well is
02:40seats I think they're very well
02:41contoured the back support is great and
02:43a 10-way power seat with lumbar
02:46adjustment is now available thigh
02:48support isn't too shabby either but what
02:50is is the infotainment system on the
02:52base models you'll have a dual 7-inch
02:54screen setup here we're going to have
02:55the giant 11.6 and I like that they
02:59leave out the temperature controls and
03:01the defrosters but the red rest of your
03:03HVAC is integrated into here and this
03:05system can be a little slow to boot up
03:07and once it is running it's not all that
03:09quick the resolution just okay its
03:12Saving Grace is a simple interface and
03:14if you want a no drama car buying
03:16experience let me recommend Royal South
03:18Mazda and Toyota along with royal on the
03:21East Side in Bloomington Indiana they
03:23let me test drive some new cars and
03:25service loaners to make this video
03:27possible if you're in the market check
03:29them out back to the cross track the
03:31sound system is equally mid in fact you
03:34only get four speakers on the base model
03:35which makes it sound like It's shouting
03:37at your feet and even the top eight
03:39speaker Harman Kardon sound system does
03:41not have a subwoofer but for an
03:43entry-level crossover I think it's more
03:45important that the back seat is usable
03:48and this is more than that someone my
03:50size can sit in the front and the back
03:52with no issues it's good for small
03:54families too the durable materials feel
03:57cheap but if mud or bodily fluids get on
04:00the door panel it'll be pretty easy to
04:02wipe off plus you do have charging ports
04:04but this is the only car here to not
04:06have rear console vents the cargo area
04:08is also a bit snug the rugged materials
04:11do persist back there though and they
04:12actually give you compartments for
04:14either dog water or large bottles plus
04:16I'm a fan of the optional tailgate light
04:19the interior of the cx-30 is much less
04:21utilitarian however it makes the other
04:24two look like Middle School woodworking
04:27class projects it's the only one here
04:29with a tangible wow factor you have soft
04:32touch materials everywhere even where
04:34your knees will lie and your elbow rests
04:36are also very plush the seats while more
04:39snug around the shoulder than some may
04:41prefer come with good support and most
04:43will get lumbar adjustment as well along
04:46with heated seats Dual Zone automatic
04:48climate control just like the Crosstrek
04:502 but you have all physical controls for
04:54that and the same thing with the
04:55infotainment system yes the screen is
04:58far away but the dial and control setup
05:00sits exactly where my hand naturally
05:02lies it is an oversimplified unit some
05:05things take a few extra steps to
05:07complete but it's usually Snappy and
05:09very easy to use while you're actually
05:11driving you do have giant door Pockets
05:13the storage in here isn't horrible you
05:15do have some pretty tiny cup holders now
05:17when it comes to Features these all
05:19offer somewhat similar equipment none of
05:22them can get ventilated front seats or
05:24heated rear seats all of them offer a
05:26sunroof but there's no panoramic option
05:28but the Mazda does take one notable
05:30drawback it is the only one without
05:32Wireless Apple carplay and Android auto
05:34but it's the only one to offer a head-up
05:37display the cx-30's biggest stumble
05:40comes from visibility it feels less
05:42approachable than the others and the
05:44back seat is the most compromise though
05:47once you're back there the cushions
05:48themselves are pretty comfortable it has
05:50less Headroom than the Toyota and Subaru
05:52legroom is short and it requires
05:54strategic knee placement for tall adults
05:56but as long as the people up front have
05:59some sympathy this can accommodate most
06:01passengers if not necessary in the wide
06:03opening doors are thoughtful for parents
06:05the cargo area is very comparable to the
06:08Crosstrek it's got a decent amount of
06:09height but it's not super wide like the
06:11subi it may struggle on family road
06:13trips or Journeys involving large dogs
06:16nothing to really complain about unless
06:19you're stacking it alongside the Corolla
06:21cross if your biggest desires are
06:23Simplicity and versatility the Corolla
06:26cross has you covered it's also the
06:28easiest to get in and out of the seats
06:30while they don't really coddle me seem
06:32like they would fit a wide variety of
06:34body types and have just enough support
06:36I do wish that lumbar adjustment came on
06:38more trims you also have plenty of knee
06:40room okay Headroom and like the most
06:42streamlined single zone climate control
06:44in the business but there's just not
06:47much to it some may appreciate its
06:49straightforward charm others may feel
06:51robbed when spending over 30 grand on
06:53one most of the materials in here are
06:55just a kind of cheap black rubber or
06:58plastic there's a little bit of glossy
07:00black that breaks some of that up but
07:01will also attract fingerprints and dust
07:04you also have just like the Subaru and
07:06analog gauge cluster you can on The XLE
07:08get a bigger seven inch display kind of
07:11like the Mazda but it's not too tacky
07:13the infotainment system is very stripped
07:15down this was an update for 2023 and I
07:17like it it has an okay response time a
07:20good resolution with Wireless Apple
07:22carplay and Android auto the sound
07:24system though is just kind of
07:25disappointing it does have a subwoofer
07:27but it just gets Blown Away by the Bose
07:30setup in the Mazda I would even say the
07:32eight speaker Mazda could compete with
07:34the upgraded sound systems of the Toyota
07:35and the Subaru if it had a little bit
07:37more power storage in here is also
07:39mid-tier if you're going to use your
07:40back seats a lot to Toyota makes quite a
07:42bit of sense again easy to get people
07:44and kids in and out and there's great
07:47Headroom the leg room is unimpressive
07:49though backseat users should enjoy the
07:51console Vents and USB ports and another
07:54Pro to this being a boxy design is that
07:56this has by far the biggest cargo area
07:59in fact it competes with some vehicles
08:01that are much bigger than than itself
08:03the space is tall wide and the volume
08:06grows further if you stick with front
08:08wheel drive due to a change in
08:10suspension type something we'll get into
08:12soon while this shouldn't come as a
08:13shocker of the three SUVs here the Mazda
08:16cx-30 is my favorite to drive but that
08:19margin is much smaller than it used to
08:21be so one standout for the cx-30 here in
08:24the United States is the standard 2.5
08:27liter naturally aspirated engine it
08:30makes 191 horsepower for 2023 and more
08:34than enough torque for this small of a
08:36vehicle and it comes hooked up to a very
08:38proven six-speed automatic transmission
08:40this thing will shift pretty slow I've
08:43gotten 0-60 in this powertrain in just
08:45under 8 seconds which puts it toward the
08:53more potent than I remember if you're
08:55buying an SUV like this flat out
08:56performance isn't cute you really just
08:58want passing power and that's what this
09:05sometimes that transmission does get a
09:08little bit confused but outside of low
09:10speed spontaneous acceleration it's
09:13smooth and operates in the background I
09:15think with the optional turbocharged
09:16engine it comes with a mid-30s price tag
09:19you have the most effortless powertrain
09:21in the class it has immense passing
09:24power the lag for a turbocharged engine
09:26is hardly noticeable and it's more
09:27refined as a whole this thing gets up to
09:30highway speed much easier than its
09:322-liter foes and once you're there
09:34you're going to be cruising at about
09:362000 RPM there's a touch of wind noise a
09:39little bit of road noise but overall for
09:40thirty thousand dollars it's pretty
09:42quiet SUV the gas mileage is also quite
09:45competitive since they updated the
09:47cylinder deactivation all three are
09:49efficient but if you want the running
09:50cost of a bicycle the hard to find
09:52Corolla cross hybrid should do you best
09:54the cx-30 is by no means abusive over
09:58your more mild imperfections it remains
10:00very smooth as the road becomes more
10:02harsh the cx-30 can't mask out
10:04everything the right is maybe a touch
10:07firm for the class the overall compliant
10:10throwing this around corners you will
10:12immediately notice how dialed in this
10:15steering is it's not super quick it
10:18feels very sure of itself it's super
10:20predictable and natural but at lower
10:23speeds it is kind of heavy but I do
10:26still like how they pump in some
10:28steering feedback now this does have
10:31portion beam rear suspension something
10:33that was a little bit controversial
10:34whenever the cx-30 first came out but
10:37throwing it around corners
10:39I mean you really got to be paying super
10:43close attention in order to pick it out
10:45some of that nature where it gets a
10:47little bit jittery over repeated bumps
10:49likely due to the lack of independent
10:51rear suspension but it is well dampened
10:53it's not a very heavy vehicle so overall
10:55I'd still label it as confident
10:57especially for the footprint the way the
10:59cx-30 handles makes it feel more
11:02expensive and that coincides again with
11:05that more luxurious cabin but one
11:07drawback in this Pursuit for premium is
11:09visibility on the road it just feels
11:12very closed off this Beltline is really
11:14high some won't mind it or may even find
11:17that it adds to the luxury car Persona a
11:20lot of other people will turn away
11:21before even driving her
11:23the powertrains in the Crosstrek are
11:25strictly business so you're gonna have a
11:272-liter naturally aspirated boxer four
11:29it's gonna make 152 horsepower and 145
11:33pound-feet of torque now if you get a
11:35sport limited or Wilderness trim you'll
11:39get the 2.5 liter both of which are
11:41hooked up to a continuously variable
11:43transmission and give you the same
11:49uh and lack any sort of emotion but I
11:52got the last generation 2.5 to 60 to air
11:57now even though a CVT is usually
11:59complained about I actually think it's
12:01the right transmission for this week of
12:04an engine as it really keeps this thing
12:06from getting bogged down or lugged so
12:09even though it can be a little sluggish
12:11from a stop not as bad as the Honda HRV
12:13it's more smooth than they used to be
12:17sometimes it'll mimic shifts if you're
12:19giving it you know half throttle or
12:21something however if you're in high
12:23elevation or you're carrying around
12:24quite a bit of payload it's going to
12:26feel Wheezy and I would recommend
12:28jumping to a sport trim now if you want
12:30a small amount more of low end grunt you
12:33can get an increased final drive ratio
12:36if you go with the Wilderness trim which
12:38also gives you increased suspension
12:41travel which may make this even more
12:43impervious to rough roads but also adds
12:46a little bit of ground clearance and
12:47Smooths things off-road and there's
12:50various other upgrades to that as well
12:51every Crosstrek will also have x-mode
12:53standard which among other things uses
12:56the brakes to help divert power side to
12:58side to help get you over obstacles and
13:01it works very well the 2.5 liter models
13:03also get that with two modes to help
13:06better fit the mood and the Subaru
13:07system is the only one here that is
13:09truly full time and it can divert a
13:11large majority of torque to either axle
13:13whereas the others are primarily front
13:15drive but can send up to fifty percent
13:18to the rear in certain scenarios one key
13:21Advantage the Mazda and Subaru hold over
13:23the rest of the class is standard
13:25all-wheel drive also the Corolla cross
13:27is the only one here that doesn't have a
13:29dedicated off-road mode that does that
13:31brakeback drink from watching videos the
13:33Mazda system seems to work pretty well
13:35if you're shopping in this class and you
13:36really want something that you can take
13:38to very remote camping spots the
13:40Crosstrek is a no-brainer and if you're
13:42planning on Towing this can actually
13:43pull up to 3 500 pounds if you get the
13:45Wilderness the other ones can tug 1500
13:48just like the Corolla cross the Mazda
13:50cx-30 actually isn't rated now taking
13:53this over the worst road that I can
13:55think of it performs phenomenally it's
13:58smooth over the light to medium sort of
14:01impacts you can still feel some of
14:03what's going on underneath you hit some
14:05of the larger Brakes in the pavement and
14:07it barely phases the Subaru this
14:09actually handles pretty well too for
14:112024 they gave this dual pinion steering
14:14and to make things simple it gives you a
14:16more direct feel of the road and while
14:19it's not really providing me with a ton
14:21of feedback and I think that the Mazdas
14:23build up in weight is superior this
14:26isn't completely numb and it's very
14:28precise it feels tight on Center which
14:31pairs nicely with the quick steering and
14:33pushing it around corners with
14:34imperfections the full independent
14:37suspension is very stable and controlled
14:41there is a little bit of body roll but
14:42for the class it is well kept it's a
14:45tossable little crossover that's
14:47borderline fun to drive if you forget
14:49that the powertrain has the personality
14:51of a washer machine I'm still tearful
14:53over the death of the flawed yet
14:55endearing six-speed manual cross track
14:57it would have been great here but that's
14:59not a big deal for most in this market
15:01at 65 miles per hour this thing is going
15:03to rev you know around 1500 to 2000 RPM
15:07and it's really not that loud I would
15:09call it on par with the Mazda the Toyota
15:11and the Subaru also have a leg up when
15:12it comes to your active driving AIDS all
15:14of these will have autonomous braking
15:16and adaptive cruise trolls standard but
15:18the Mazda you have to get the top Trim
15:20in order to get Lane centering and then
15:22it's only going to work up to like 40
15:24miles per hour it's not something the
15:26brand focuses on blind spot monitoring
15:28is available or standard on most trims
15:31of each on the road the Toyota Corolla
15:33cross is just as easy to drive as a
15:36riding lawn mower and it's about as fun
15:39to drive as one too under the hood
15:41you're going to have a 2-liter naturally
15:43aspirated inline four it makes 169
15:45horsepower but it does need to be wrung
15:48out in order to get the full extent of
15:50its Grunt and it doesn't sound
15:52particularly happy about doing so
15:59anyway it feels identical to the 2-liter
16:03Crosstrek and the acceleration numbers
16:04are roughly the same too expect a mid 9
16:07second zero to six dude now the party
16:09piece that this has is its transmission
16:11it is a CVT with a launch gear it's
16:15supposed to allow for a more linear
16:21it does a good job shifting smoothly
16:24into its continuously variable form
16:27but it's also pretty responsive once you
16:29get going it delivers acceleration
16:31sufficient for the target audience but I
16:33wouldn't advise this powertrain if
16:35you're at high elevation or carrying a
16:37full load constantly if you can find one
16:39and you can afford it go with the hybrid
16:41it dropped the 0-60 to 7.4 seconds for
16:45me it has improved the response and
16:47Stellar gas mileage that's going to use
16:49a detuned version of the 2-liter engine
16:51a trusty ecvt and two Drive Motors one
16:55at the front and one at the rear for
16:57standard all-wheel drive pulling up to
17:02we're fluctuating around that 2000 RPM
17:04Mark wind noise and road noise pretty
17:07competitive a little bit noisier than
17:09the Crosstrek on a bad Road this kind of
17:11rides a middle ground between the
17:13Crosstrek and the cx-30 which also is
17:16not an uncomfortable car by any means
17:18while you are made aware of small to
17:20medium-sized imperfections they're
17:22hardly ever a nuisance the Toyota just
17:24isn't as smooth over the worst stuff as
17:27the Subaru yet I would still ultimately
17:29call it forgiving in any one of these
17:31vehicles should be compliant enough for
17:34people who live in areas that the city
17:36would rather not acknowledge that story
17:38changes just a little bit if you go with
17:40the front wheel drive model as that
17:42drops the independent rear suspension
17:44for again torsion beam though I don't
17:46see too many people complaining about it
17:48where the Corolla cross feels most
17:50appliance-esque is on some twisty back
17:54roads and not because it's incompetent
17:56it doesn't feel clumsy Body Rolls
17:58comparable probably a little bit more
18:00present than what you'll find in the
18:01Subaru or Mazda it's uninspiring because
18:04of how detached the steering feels I
18:07mean it is truly fingertip light and
18:10also completely dead and it's not as
18:11predictable as the Mazda or as direct as
18:13the Subaru taking it a little bit higher
18:15speed over some imperfections this thing
18:18is stable leans a little bit more into
18:24it's not as playful as the others but
18:25it's competent nonetheless the reason
18:27why this car exists is to make driving
18:30uneventful and it does just that I mean
18:33the overboosted steering is super easy
18:35to Pilot around a parking lot the car
18:38itself is fairly easy to see out of and
18:40compact so parking it and driving it
18:42down tight streets is not intimidating
18:44and the soft ride will keep your spine
18:46in check and part of Toyota's mission is
18:48to bring reliable transportation and
18:51that's where we get things like that
18:53dual injection which helps keep the
18:55intake valves clean we have Toyota's
18:57continuously variable transmission that
18:58has been pretty consistently reliable
19:00though they did have some qualms with
19:01that CVT changeover in the beginning
19:04some people reported it as rough some
19:06people are also reporting Auto Stop
19:07start issues to keep it brief if we're
19:09looking at predictive reliability based
19:11on the history of this engine and this
19:13Toyota Corolla generation I think it
19:15would be reasonable to predict that this
19:16would have the lowest running cost of
19:18the three however the now previous
19:19generation of the Subaru Crosstrek was
19:21also without major issue the biggest
19:24problems were really related to the
19:25infotainment and easily cracking
19:27windshields the Mazda cx-30 outside of a
19:30valve seal issue for the 2021 model year
19:33turbos has also been pretty good though
19:35some minor issues did persist but either
19:37way if you highly prioritize reliability
19:39I would still be comfortable
19:40recommending any one of these the Toyota
19:43just takes that one step further safety
19:45wise the Mazda cx-30 sweeps the floor
19:48with good ratings through every test
19:49whereas the 2024 Crosstrek has not been
19:52tested and the Corolla cross is not
19:54undergone the new assessments yet and
19:57when it comes to Vehicles like this in
19:59order for me to choose a winner I need
20:00to get into a practical mentality
20:03honestly if you care about utility the
20:06most the Corolla cross is the winner and
20:09it also provides you with Pleasant no
20:11drama ride quality high efficiency and
20:14Toyota's reputation for longevity not to
20:16mention its rational appeal is unmatched
20:19in hybrid form no matter which
20:21powertrain you go with lacrosse is
20:23devoid of Soul the Mazda on the other
20:25hand absolutely obliterates these when
20:28it comes to just what you get for the
20:32money due to its natural steering the
20:34premium cabin and how well thought out
20:36it is for the driver disregarding the
20:39Muscle Car Beltline I'd argue that this
20:41is the nicest car that you can buy for
20:4330 grand for my lifestyle I mean I'm not
20:46really camping that much I'm not
20:48constantly hauling around creatures that
20:50could damage my interior or demand a
20:52bigger back seat so the cx-30 would be
20:54what I take home but the all-around
20:56winner is undoubtedly in my head for
20:58most people going to be the Subaru
21:00Crosstrek and my main reasoning is that
21:02it combines a comfortable ride with
21:05great handling and it can fit a variety
21:07of Lifestyles whether you never take it
21:10off-road or you really enjoy camping in
21:12places you maybe shouldn't it just feels
21:14more up for anything while also
21:16incorporating comfortable seats into
21:18cheap yet durable feeling interior with
21:21exceptional passenger space my biggest
21:23Innovation with the thing is its price
21:25it just does not have a very strong
21:27value proposition cars like the Subaru
21:29Forester and Mazda CX-5 only cost a hair
21:32more when equipped similarly that said I
21:35think plenty of people will be sold on
21:37the hatchback proportions and
21:38personality of the new Crosstrek now let
21:41me know your choice in the comments
21:42thanks for watching if you enjoyed the
21:44video then leave a like to help me sneak
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21:55and I'll catch you in the next one
