Compare the2026 Jeep CherokeeVS 2026 Subaru Crosstrek

Both the Cherokee and Crosstrek have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Cherokee has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Crosstrek’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Jeep Cherokee Overland’s optional 360-degree camera is equipped with washers for its front and rear cameras, ensuring crystal-clear visibility in any weather condition. Conversely, the Subaru Crosstrek only offers a rear camera washer, which may not provide the same level of all-weather performance.

The Cherokee has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Crosstrek’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Cherokee has standard Rear Cross Path Detection, helping the driver avoid collisions. Subaru charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Crosstrek and it’s not available on the Base.

Compared to metal, the Cherokee’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Crosstrek has a metal gas tank.

Both the Cherokee and the Crosstrek have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all-wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available around view monitors.

The Jeep Cherokee weighs 618 to 999 pounds more than the Subaru Crosstrek. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

There are almost 4 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Cherokee’s warranty.

The Cherokee’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 30 more horsepower (210 vs. 180) and 52 lbs.-ft. more torque (230 vs. 178) than the Crosstrek’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Cherokee’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 16 more horsepower (210 vs. 194) and 230 lbs.-ft. more torque (230 vs. ) than the Crosstrek Hybrid’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

On the EPA test cycle the Cherokee gets better mileage than the Crosstrek:

			MPG
Cherokee
	AWD	1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	39 city/35 hwy
Crosstrek
	AWD	2.5 flat-4 Hybrid	36 city/36 hwy
		Sport/Limited 2.5 DOHC flat-4	26 city/33 hwy
		Wilderness 2.5 DOHC flat-4	24 city/29 hwy

The Cherokee has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better stopping power the Cherokee’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Crosstrek:

	Cherokee	Crosstrek	Crosstrek Hybrid
Front Rotors	13 inches	12.4 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	12.6 inches	11.2 inches	11.2 inches

The Cherokee stops much shorter than the Crosstrek:

	Cherokee	Crosstrek
60 to 0 MPH	122 feet	140 feet	Motor Trend

For better traction, the Cherokee Overland’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Crosstrek (235/50R20 vs. 225/60R17).

The Cherokee Overland’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Crosstrek Sport/Limited’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Cherokee Overland has standard 20-inch wheels. The Crosstrek’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The Cherokee has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Cherokee’s wheelbase is 8.1 inches longer than on the Crosstrek (113 inches vs. 104.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Cherokee is 3.2 inches wider in the front and 3.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Crosstrek.

The Cherokee’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (58.6% to 41.4%) than the Crosstrek’s (60% to 40%). This gives the Cherokee more stable handling and braking.

The Cherokee Overland handles at .79 G’s, while the Crosstrek Wilderness pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Cherokee uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Cherokee has 6.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Crosstrek (107.4 vs. 100.5).

The Cherokee has .4 inches more front headroom and .8 inches more front shoulder room than the Crosstrek.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Cherokee’s rear seats recline. The Crosstrek’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Cherokee has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Crosstrek with its rear seat up (33.6 vs. 19.9 cubic feet). The Cherokee has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Crosstrek with its rear seat folded (68.3 vs. 54.7 cubic feet).

The Cherokee’s cargo area is larger than the Crosstrek’s in almost every dimension:

	Cherokee	Crosstrek
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	38.4”/74.8”	32.1”/63.9”
Max Width	50.8”	53”
Min Width	43.4”	43”
Height	33”	29.3”

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Cherokee Limited/Overland has a standard power cargo door, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or on the Cherokee Overland, by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer a power liftgate.

The Cherokee’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Crosstrek’s (3500 vs. 1500 pounds).

The Cherokee uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Crosstrek uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Cherokee Laredo/Limited/Overland has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

When different drivers share the Cherokee Overland, the memory system makes it convenient. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position, outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Cherokee’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Crosstrek does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The power windows standard on both the Cherokee and the Crosstrek have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Cherokee is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Crosstrek prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Cherokee’s standard Keyless Enter-N-Go allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from pocket or purse. Keyless Access and Start standard on the Crosstrek doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear doors.

The Cherokee’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Crosstrek’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Cherokee’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Heated mirrors cost extra on the Crosstrek and aren’t offered on the Crosstrek Base.

Both the Cherokee and the Crosstrek offer available heated front seats. The Cherokee Overland also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Crosstrek.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Cherokee Overland keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

Both the Cherokee and the Crosstrek offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Cherokee has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Cherokee Overland has a 115-volt a/c outlet, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Cherokee Overland’s Automated Parking System can parallel park by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Crosstrek doesn’t offer an automated parking system.