Kinship

Some news!

My folks have joined the scarlet ranks by updating their wheels to a 2026 Subaru Crosstrek in eye-popping 'Pure Red' (as the Subaru website calls it)!

Not only have they lined up their colour selection with my 718, but I'd be remiss if I didn't recall the fact that engine-wise, the Subaru has long been a proponent of the 'boxer' engine - in this case in four-cylinder guise. Further kinship! (although to be fair, their previous Subie also had a flat-four).

I remember test driving the Boxster back in 2020 - the one with the turbo flat-four - and thinking to myself how similar it sounded to the Subaru motor. Well, apart from at idle that is, where somehow the Porsche was more VW Beetle than it was WRX!

The Crosstrek is a great choice for our winters: aimed at someone who’s had to dig their car out of a snowbank at 6 am while questioning as to why they live in this part of the world! If you spend a third of the year buried in snow - which, if I'm brutally honest, is basically the Canadian experience - something like the Crosstrek fits right in. Lots of ground clearance and an excellent, proven AWD system. Being Impreza owners, it won’t feel alien to my folks, but sitting up a little higher, and with a bit more clearance for deep NB snow, it’s just the ticket for them. It won’t shovel their driveway, but it’ll get them through winter without drama, and that’s saying something.

And did I mention it’s RED?

Nice to see another brightly-coloured car in the sea of blacks, whites and silver/greys out there. Those all match the look and feel of the cold, grey winter we are in the midst of right now for sure, but a little bit of cheer on the highways and byways is a welcome sight and has me harkening for spring. 

Of course this means some NB detailing work is in the offing - gotta get that paint popping! I shall have to load the frunk up with gear for my next road-rip out there!

Congrats mum and dad!

~ Luke