[alamosa bob]

Mine was the first Crosstrek XV shipped to Louisiana. When I bought mine it was still in Japan... I bought it knowing that I would soon be moving to Colorado and wanted a good mountain car. So I bought my Premium/DRB and have been a happy Subaru owner ever since.
Too bad that Louisianans had to wait for the next one to arrive to see what they had missed out on!

I am in a area where there is a deep sand road that leads to a mountain pass. It is the Medano Pass Primitive Road in Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve. Does anyone know if this road should be off limits to the Crosstrek XV and in particular one with the Lineartronic Continuously Variable Transmission?

I am use to driving these kinds of roads, but in larger 4WD trucks, so I am not new to deep sand.

Subaru went to this area (Jan Thomas in her Outback) and as far as I can tell they didn't try going onto this road? She did mention that the park advises that you use a high clearance 4WD vehicle on this road and on the parks web page they describe a section of the road as being a truck eater.

So, has anyone been on this road and maybe with a Crosstrek XV? Or, does anyone have any experience with the Crosstrek XV in deep sand somewhere else?

I am glad to have found this web-site and look forward to hearing back from you folks.


Thanks,

Alamosa Bob

 

[AWDfreak]

With 8.7 inches of ground clearance, the XV does have a little bit of off-road credibility, but airing down is really the only thing I can tell you.

If you have experience in sand already, I have confidence in your ability to drive your XV through it, though like any time you go off-road, you're going to have to bring recovery equipment just in case (shovel, tow strap, recovery strap, and something like a maxtrax recovery device)

and this is a recovery device in action with the XV
http://youtu.be/WccVTmtneaM


As for CVT, the fact that it has a torque converter could actually prove to be an advantage (the USA doesn't get low-range like other markets).

 

[Poego]

I would just go for it, it's fun to try new things and see how far you can push it!
But certainly have some recovery options available to you, to include a friend you can call to pull you out if need be...

 

[ClubCrosstrek]

I wish I could tell you. I bought my XV in North Carolina right before I had to head back to California. I wanted to take it out on the beaches there but didn't have enough time as I was preparing to move. The sand on the NC beaches is really deep so I was hoping to give it a good test.

If you feel confident in your driving ability, as well as your ability to get unstuck, I say give it a try. Just let us know the results!