[chrs]

The 2012-2013 Impreza is, I think the highest EPA MPG rated AWD vehicle available at a reasonable price, 36 hwy. But here in hilly snow country, people who worry about ability to get around in snowstorms think that high ground clearance is important too. So they look to the Crosstrek variation on the Impreza, which has 8.7" ground clearance. It has the same drivetrain and pretty much the same body is rated 33 mph hwy.

As far as I can tell, the differences are:

1) Suspension height about 2" higher on the Crosstrek.
2) Tires: Yokohoma Avis S33 P195/65R15, which seems to be a LRR tire, on the Impreza, vs. 225/55 R17 Yokohama Geolandar G95 on the Crosstrek. That provides the other inch in clearance, and presumably a bit of rolling resistance.
3) Wheel styling: the structure is different, though neither looks optimzed for aero. I tried to post a link to pictures but as a new user I'm not allowed to...
4) A little bit of a fender on the rear of the crosstrek, for a little more drag there.

Anyone care to speculate on:
A) How much of the 3 MPG/10% difference is due to which of the 4 items,
B) How easy it would be to do some mods on the Crosstrek to get back up to the Impreza performance (staying conservative, based on it being a new car!)
C) How easy it would be to mod the Impreza for variable suspension height to boost it up for winter use (the easy mod being putting on bigger diameter snow tires, but what if you wanted the additional two inches?)

Thanks!