Hero colour but is new Subaru XV superman?
The Subaru XV was conceived to attract youthful buyers to the Subaru brand, apparently. That used to be the sole purpose why cars like the WRX and WRX STi existed but those cars are niche and Subaru wants something mainstream and able to compete in the burgeoning crossover market.
Subaru XV in Hyper Blue
Let’s start where no trustworthy car review should…the colour. Four years ago when the Subaru XV arrived in South Africa it could be ordered in a ghastly hero tangerine orange. Now Subaru has a new hero colour called Hyper Blue and it’s so magnificent I bet Mermaids and Sea Horses swim in it. Contrasted with black wheels, new clear LED taillights (as on the hybrid version), latest version bumpers and clumps of protective gear to shout family rally car. As an aside, Subaru SA might be offering new 2017 WRX in this new Hyper Blue… Yes Please!
Subaru has tempered those streetfighter looks with the 2.0-litre normally aspirated boxer engine with 110kW and 196Nm – two sets of numbers obtained by keeping your foot buried in the rev range for a long time. Subaru SA does offer XV with a manual gearbox but ours came with the CVT which at 7.9l/100km is marginally more efficient but with a 10.7 second 0-100km/h time, slightly slower.
New Subaru XV in Dark Pearl colour
Subaru XV performs lazily and while we’ve praised the Lineartronic systems in the past, with this small engine it never settles into a low rpm cruise and even though Subaru has added steering paddles, we could rarely muster the enthusiasm to use them.
If the engine had some zest, Subaru XV could potentially be a fun car to drive. Steering feel through the new leather wheel is sharp and accurate and even with a commendable 220mm ground clearance XV doesn’t wallow like other soft roaders. It grips with Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel drive which helps XV fly down gravel roads or that donkey trail but around town, on a dry day, carries a lot of unnecessary moving parts.
For some reason stitching around the seats is still tangerine orange and not Hyper Blue but passengers get a lot of space and a hatchback’s-sized 310 litre boot, expandable to 1270-litres. The leather seats are soft, XV comes with a comprehensive sound system and although the cabin has a lot of straight lines and dark tones, it knows what drivers want and how to give it to them quickly. The touchscreen is fast but isn’t the only way of scrolling through in-car systems and Apple device holders can use Subaru’s new Siri Eyes-Free setup. It works, I presume because I have android, by linking all Siri’s functionality into the car: call up a web page, make a phone call, play music. Those without Siri enabled phones can still use the car’s voice recognition.
Active safety features include a full complements of seven SRS airbags; Subaru Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) with ABS, BAS and EBD. Passive safety features include a number of reinforced areas such as the toe board to protect against the rearward movement of the pedal in a case of collision as well as at the base of the A-pillar to strengthen the joint between the pillar and the upper frame ensuring that impact energy produced by a frontal collision is efficiently passed from the frame to the pillar.
The new XV is now on sale countrywide, with Subaru Southern Africa offering the XV with a 3 year / 75 000km full Maintenance Plan.
XV possesses better handling behavior and a superior all-wheel drive system to its soft roader corssovers, not to mention a beguiling style. Just a pity the drivetrain is a bit dull and for R419 000, XV isn’t quite as sophisticated, frugal or clean as rivals.
