Sometimes, I get questions that can get tiring to answer each time, so I decided to compile some of those questions into this FAQ.
Reasons can vary from person to person. For me, I acquired my Crosstrek as my first car during my sophomore year in high school. Since I didn't make the purchase myself, the decision wasn't mine to make. During the first five years I owned it, it served as my daily driver and I had no plans to modify or autocross it.
When I discovered autocross in 2022 and decided to try it out, the Crosstrek was the only car I had, so it was what I had to work with. In order to comply with the rollover guidelines in the SCCA Solo rulebook, I lowered the Crosstrek. Even if I did have an Impreza to start off with, I would have ended up doing the exact same modifications anyway.
(Bear in mind that the information below only applies to the 2012–2016 Impreza and 2013–2017 Crosstrek)
Excluding the fact that a stock Crosstrek has a factory lift and taller profile tires, the two cars share the exact same body and are mechanically identical.
Below is a list of standard features that the Crosstrek comes with, which the Impreza does not get. Body panels and roof rails are not included in this list, as those are pretty obvious already.
Stiffer front sway bar
24mm for Crosstrek, 22mm for Impreza
Larger fuel tank (for non-Hybrid models)
The non-Hybrid Crosstrek has a 15.9-gallon tank, while the Impreza has a 14.5-gallon tank.
Larger front brakes
Crosstrek has 11.6-inch rotors, while the Impreza has 10.9-inch rotors.
These brakes are also shared with the 2013+ BRZ.
Shorter 4.444 final drive ratio for the 5-speed manual transmission
Impreza uses 4.111 final drive.
The steering wheel found in the 2016–2017 Crosstrek is the same one found in the 2015–2017 Legacy/Outback and 2017–2018 Forester.
This Google Doc written by Erin Laura Blair does a good job of explaining more of the differences.
My Crosstrek is currently prepped for E Street Touring (EST), formerly known as Street Touring Sport (STS). While SCCA has not officially classed the Crosstrek in EST, it is legal in that class under its "catch-all" rule at local events. I chose to set up the car for EST since its sister car, the Impreza, is already classed there, and having to install coilovers to lower the Crosstrek to comply with the rollover guidelines would have placed it in that class anyway. In stock form, the Crosstrek is not eligible to run in H Street (HS) due to the rollover risk.
I have been submitting class request letters to the Solo Events Board (SEB) and Street Touring Advisory Committee (STAC) to try and get them to officially class the Crosstrek in EST so that it is eligible for National Solo events. So far, efforts have been unsuccessful.
As of 2025, the Crosstrek is legal to run in Xtreme Street A (XA) at any National Solo event. At your own risk, you can choose to run in EST, but another competitor in the class may potentially file a formal protest against you.
If you're planning on running autocross with larger racing organizations like the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), it's not allowed. The SCCA has guidelines in the Solo rulebook on rollover potential that cars not otherwise classified need to meet. In stock form, a Crosstrek will not meet those guidelines. However, it's worth mentioning that each SCCA region has their own supplemental rules, so your region might allow it while others probably won't.
SCCA also looks at something called the "Static Stability Factor", or SSF for short. This is usually tested by the NHTSA and takes a car's center of gravity into account. Any vehicle's SSF value that is greater than or equal to 1.30 can be run at any SCCA-sanctioned autocross event. Refer to this Google Spreadsheet for some examples, and keep in mind that all of the vehicles listed on the spreadsheet are bone stock.
That being said, lowering the Crosstrek on coilovers and installing wider wheels and/or tires would help bring the car into compliance with the rules.
(This section only covers Impreza model years 2012 and up. Note that the classes shown below only apply to SCCA and any private autocross clubs that follow SCCA rules for car classing.)
Impreza 2.0i (2012-2016)
Impreza (2017-2025)
Impreza RS (2024-2025)
Crosstrek (2013-2025)*
Impreza 2.0i (2012-2016)
Impreza (2017-2025)
Crosstrek (2013-2025)
Impreza 2.0i (2012-2016)
Impreza (2017-2025)
*Unless the Solo Events Board (SEB) says otherwise, these models are only legal under the "catch-all" rule of the class at local events.
No. The eventual plan is to switch to a 2016 Subaru BRZ to run in D Street (DS), and later prep it for Solo Spec Coupe (SSC). For the BRZ's Street class setup, the O.Z. Racing Superturismo Evolution wheels that I currently use on my Crosstrek for autocross will be carried over.
Once the BRZ becomes my primary autocross car, the Crosstrek will be retired from autocross duties and return to being my daily driver.