THE BIG UGLY BLACK BOX ON THE WINDSHIELD

[rclark]

We just sold my wife's 2018 Crosstrek to my elderly folks as their old PT Cruiser was on last legs. The Crosstrek is easy to get in and out of which they/we really liked. And will do them well in winter driving. Was/is a great little car. Anyway, was thinking about getting a 2024 Crosstrek to replace. But now... 1) Don't care for the mandatory eye-sight junk, but could 'iive' with it. 2) Don't like the on/off feature of the motor when stopped. Don't like the Starlink junk... But what really turns us off after checking it out on-line is the big honking eye-sore in the middle... The touch screen. And it looks like there is no manual controls (knobs) for the environmental settings like on the 2018. No shelf to set little things on above the screen. They have went backwards here in my opinion. I think we will be looking at a used pre-24 Crosstrek now if we run onto one... Or just do without. To bad to, as we really like the Crosstrek otherwise for winter driving and in the hills. Just go just about anywhere with it. The 'car' features are great (AWD for example). Just the unnecessary electronic infotainment stuff is such a downer.

Note we do have a new 2024 Forester, but I by-passed the stupid engine start/stop feature with an aftermarket part so default mode is off. And it has nice manual knobs for heat/ac/defrost at least. Screen stays 'blanked' as never use it, Starlink and Sirius disabled (I hope as you can't tell if they are listening in) .... Still don't like these extraneous electronic features in a car that we would never use. Should be optional.

Added thought. To bad the screen isn't like what we have in our server room at work. You pull a tray out, and lift the display to work on the system. Close the lid and push back in the cabinet. Save a lot a room in that area...

Thought I'd put in my two cents for a 1st post .

 

[Michael Hart]

I just took delivery of a 2024 fully loaded Subaru Crosstrek.. I find the huge black box attached to the top of the windshield quite obnoxious as it steals a good part of the view of the road. I assume the box contains housing for various safety features, etc. But let me ask you, what could not be more unsafe than taking up a large chunk of the the view of the windshield from the driver?!! Maybe it’s just me! Maybe I’ll get used to it! But I doubt it. Does anyone else feel the way I do?!

I just test drove a 2025 Crosstrek. I kept saying I love driving this, but, kept my eye kept looking at that black box. As I was getting out of the car, I said to myself I can't live with this. The Crosstrek's ADAS system box seems larger than most, but, they all are obnoxious. The Forester is praised for its view. I'm going to look at that.

 

[Rick23]

I just took delivery of a 2024 fully loaded Subaru Crosstrek.. I find the huge black box attached to the top of the windshield quite obnoxious as it steals a good part of the view of the road. I assume the box contains housing for various safety features, etc. But let me ask you, what could not be more unsafe than taking up a large chunk of the the view of the windshield from the driver?!! Maybe it’s just me! Maybe I’ll get used to it! But I doubt it. Does anyone else feel the way I do?!