Two-Minute Test Drive: 2016 Subaru Crosstrek (02:32)

A friend called Two-Minute Test Drive host Russ Bond with a problem.

With $30,000 to spend on a new vehicle for the family, he and his wife couldn't come to an agreement on a sports sedan or an SUV.

So Russ suggested the most fair solution.

"Hey, both of you take $15,000 each," according to Russ, "and buy whatever you want used."

But then he started to think more about it.

"There must be something that they both can be happy with," Russ says, "and maybe that's it.

That, of course, is the 2016 Subaru Crosstrek, a vehicle that blends the space an SUV with the peppy performance of a sports sedan.

"Nobody's going to confuse the performance of this (Crosstrek) with something like a (WRX) STI," Russ says.

"But when you're out ... in the deep snow ... you can have a lot of fun."

This segment originally appeared on Episode 12 of Motoring 2016.