The Little Crossover That Could: Black Rhino’s Adventure-Ready Subaru Crosstrek

The Little Crossover That Could

How do you define adventure? Is it taking off for a month to retrace a Camel Trophy route in some far-off land? Or would an exploration of a natural habitat be enough to feed your desire to escape? Big or small, far or near, we believe that adventures can be had anywhere. Our focus here is on the conveyance itself that takes you on these grand or humble explorations.

When I first laid eyes on a Land Rover Defender 110, images of navigating tight, almost non-existent routes through dense brush danced through my mind. I had to have one. When I got my first taste of driving one on the 405 Freeway in traffic, those images quickly evaporated. As much as I love that truck, it certainly wasn’t developed for rush hour in Los Angeles.

This brings up the plain fact that one’s choice of vehicle does have an impact on what kinds of adventures one can take. Of course, there are plenty of factors that dictate just which vehicle you end up owning. For the majority, it’s budget. While for others, it may be available space, their commute, or even their environment. There are too many factors to list, really.

“BLACK RHINO WENT TO THE OFF-ROAD SUBARU AFTERMARKET EXPERTS AT LP ADVENTURE FOR THEIR 1.5-INCH LIFT KIT. THE LIFT KIT CONSISTS OF A SET OF SPACERS AND HARDWARE TO INCREASE THE CAR’S GROUND CLEARANCE.”

Something Different

While a Jeep, Tacoma, or Colorado might be the go-to vehicle for many, some choose an entirely different route. We’re not talking a Discovery or Xterra mind you—we’re talking about a whole different kind of off-road capable vehicle, the Subaru Crosstrek.

The Crosstrek is not your proto-typical overland vehicle, and we’re not claiming that it is. But it is a small crossover vehicle that is equipped with all-wheel drive (AWD) that can get you as much as double the gas mileage of many larger purpose-built off-road vehicles. Again, we’re not claiming that AWD can trump a true 4×4, but for the purpose of daily driving with an occasional romp through a local dirt trail, the Crosstrek can be an attractive alternative to the larger trucks and SUVs.

Black Rhino Wheels set out to put together a light off-road vehicle that can take its owners from a dense urban center to a quick car camping weekend getaway. For those outdoors enthusiasts who are single vehicle owners that need a sensible daily commuter that can double as a get-out of-town adventure mobile, the Subaru does make all sorts of sense. Sure, they probably won’t be conquering the Rubicon, but it is more than capable of allowing them to carry their camping, fishing or climbing gear to any number of outdoor destinations.

The 2017 Crosstrek XV comes with a 2.0L Boxer engine that drives what Subaru calls its, “Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive System.” The system optimizes both traction and balance to give the car better stability, efficiency and quicker response when driven through slippery conditions, such as water and unpaved trails. As capable as the Crosstrek is in its stock form, Black Rhino thought that they could push it further.

“BLACK RHINO WHEELS SET OUT TO PUT TOGETHER A LIGHT OFF-ROAD VEHICLE THAT CAN TAKE ITS OWNERS FROM A DENSE URBAN CENTER TO A QUICK CAR CAMPING WEEKEND GETAWAY.”

The Upgrades

The first upgrades that the Black Rhino crew decided on was to upgrade the Crosstrek’s suspension for increased ground clearance. From the factory, the Crosstrek boasts a respectable ground clearance of 8.7 inches. Not bad for a compact crossover. To put that into perspective, a stock Tacoma has 9.4 inches and the Jeep JL has 9.7 inches.

Black Rhino went to the off-road Subaru aftermarket experts at LP Adventure for their 1.5-inch lift kit. The lift kit consists of a set of spacers and hardware to increase the car’s ground clearance. It features an offset design that keeps the Crosstrek’s original camber specifications intact to facilitate proper alignment of the car. Its spacers lower the rear subframe to also keep the car’s original alignment. The added bonus of this set up is that they help to maintain the original positioning of the rear wheels, which prevent tire rub when using larger diameter tires. The lift brings the Crosstrek’s total ground clearance to a respectable 10.2 inches.

“FOR THOSE OUTDOORS ENTHUSIASTS WHO ARE SINGLE VEHICLE OWNERS THAT NEED A SENSIBLE DAILY COMMUTER THAT CAN DOUBLE AS A GET-OUTOF-TOWN ADVENTURE MOBILE, THE SUBARU DOES MAKE ALL SORTS OF SENSE.”

To complete the bottom end modifications, the crew also installed a set of their Black Rhino Boxer wheels in 15×7-inch size. From the factory, the Crosstrek comes with either 17- or 18-inch wheels depending on the trim. It was decided to go with smaller diameter wheels so that tires with taller sidewalls could be installed. Taller tire sidewalls can provide off-road bound vehicles with more capability and increased passenger comfort over rough terrain. The wheels were fitted with go-anywhere BFGoodrich K02 All Terrain tires in 215/75R15. Thanks to the lift kit, no tire rubbing was experienced on the non-factory spec tires.

To protect the car’s front end from road and off-road hazards, an LP Adventure Big Bumper Guard, as well as a Skid Plate, were installed. The bumper guard is made in DOM 1×0.95-inch steel tubing and protects bodywork from impacts. Its design allows for the installation of LED light bars or fog lights. In this case, an LED light bar is installed on the bumper guard’s bottom mount and a pair of 4-inch KC Hi Lights Rally 400 lights sit on its upper mounts.

LP Adventure’s protective skid plate attaches to the bumper guard and is made of 3/16-inch thick aluminum. It provides much needed protection to the engine, oil pan, transmission and other critical components. If you’ve ever come down on a rock a bit too hard, you’ll know that this is protection that you want before heading out on any off-pavement trek.

As an added bonus in the all-important “oomph” department, a DTE Systems PedalBox was incorporated into the build. For the uninitiated, the PedalBox is a plug-and-play accelerator tuning device that connects to the vehicle’s accelerator electronics. With it, one can tune the responsiveness of a vehicle’s electronic accelerator pedal, allowing for a customizable throttle curve. Tuning can be done in the cabin by pressing a couple of buttons on a handy remote control.

With the seats folded down, the Crosstrek has a little over 55 cubic feet of cargo room available. That’s not bad for a compact crossover, but we would want a bit more carrying capacity for a multiday trip. Apparently, the Black Rhino crew agreed, as they installed a Thule Crossroads railing rack and a Thule Canyon XT Basket on top of it. The cargo basket greatly increases the Crosstrek’s hauling load by adding another 150-pound load capacity to its roof.

Something else you’ll find that frees up space is a 1 UP USA Quik Rack single bike rack mounted on a tow hitch mount for hauling a bicycle of your choice. The rack features a rapid tilt and folding mecha-nism for a smaller footprint.

“AS CAPABLE AS THE CROSSTREK IS IN ITS STOCK FORM, BLACK RHINO THOUGHT THAT THEY COULD PUSH IT FURTHER.”

Practical Applications

For daily commuting with an occasional weekend breakaway, the Crosstrek can come in quite handy. Still easily park-able in tight underground garages, yet suitable to get you to your favorite hiking, climbing, camping or bicycling spot, we find that this little crossover can still be considered a capable adventure mobile. If Black Rhino wanted to prove that adventure could come in small packages, we’d say that they’ve proved it.

UPGRADES

Mini Rhino XV

PLATFORM: 2017 SUBARU CROSSTREK XV

ENGINE: SUBARU 2.0L BOXER

SUSPENSION: LP ADVENTURE LIFT KIT 1.5 INCHES

WHEELS & TIRES: BLACK RHINO BOXER WHEELS 15X7, BFGOODRICH K02 ALL TERRAIN 215/75R15

ACCESSORIES: LP ADVENTURE BIG BUMPER GUARD, LP ADVENTURE SKID PLATE, THULE CROSSROADS RAILING RACK, THULE CANYON XT BASKET, 1 UP USA QUIK RACK SINGLE BIKE RACK, KC HI LIGHTS RALLY 400, LED LIGHT BAR, DTE SYSTEMS PEDALBOX, YETI 45 TUNDRA COOLER