Though enthusiasts might associate Subaru with cars such as the old Impreza Turbo and outgoing WRX STi, the brand makes far more money out of SUVs these days.
They make up 87 per cent of its European sales, in fact, keeping the Japanese firm in rude health as it celebrates both its 100th anniversary and the first year it has achieved over one million sales worldwide.
Cars like the XV have played a pivotal role in that success, which is why the second-generation model is one of the first cars to benefit from Subaru’s new billion-dollar global architecture. After our pre-production drive of the new XV earlier this year, we’re driving a showroom-ready model in Latvia before it arrives in UK dealers in January.
The XV is an all-new car, but at first glance you might write it off as a mild facelift. Its profile and design is broadly similar to the old car, but the look has evolved slightly, with a more steeply raked windscreen, more prominent grille, lower roofline and slightly wider body. Details such as the C-shaped lights front and rear help distinguish it, and overall the styling remains attractive and modern to our eyes.
It’s the same story inside. The general layout, with its dual-screen central stack and conventional instruments, is recognisable from the old car, but quality is markedly improved. Most of the materials you come into contact with are now soft to the touch, and in typical Subaru fashion the fit and finish is very good.
The new, more responsive eight-inch touchscreen now features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the graphics are a lot cleaner. Yet rival systems from the Volkswagen Group are intuitive and more responsive. There’s also very little flair or elegance to the cabin – while it’s certainly functional, it’s all rather characterless.
The new XV has grown slightly in length, too. It’s 15mm longer than before, and while that’s only a modest amount, we’ve no issue with the space on offer inside. Four tall adults can travel in comfort, which is more than can be said of rivals like the Mazda CX-3. The Subaru’s 385-litre boot is useable enough, though by no means the biggest in this class.
There are big advances under the skin, as well. That new platform means the body is 70 per cent more rigid, benefitting handling, refinement, and safety. In fact, Euro NCAP currently ranks the new XV as the safest family car in its segment, with particularly strong child occupancy protection ratings. Subaru’s two-camera Eyesight active safety system plays a part, and is standard fitment to the XV, bringing the full suite of driver aids that are often optional at this price point.
Further benefits include a lower centre of gravity, while Subaru has also worked to improve straight-line stability and steering response. Indeed, it feels more composed and assured in the bends, with greater resistance to roll than the old car. Ride quality is notably better, too; where the old car was jostled about over bumps like the dampers were made of wood, the new car feels controlled and compliant even over Latvia’s scarred tarmac.
Road noise was noticeable on our test route, but we’d expect it to be more isolated on UK surfaces. And with permanent four-wheel drive, standard hill descent control and 220mm of ground clearance (40mm better than a Skoda Karoq) it’ll go further in the rough stuff than most of the latest breed of road-biased crossovers.
But there’s a fly in the ointment, and it’s difficult to ignore. Subaru has dropped the 2.0-litre diesel engine from the XV’s line-up, meaning the only engine choice for UK buyers at launch will be a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol. A 1.6 will be added at a later date, but with just 114bhp that’s likely to be rather sluggish.
It wouldn’t be as big of an issue if it wasn’t for another limiting factor in the XV’s range – the sole gearbox on offer is Subaru’s Lineartronic CVT automatic. It’s the only way the Eyesight system can be fitted as standard, say engineers, while the marketing guys tell us historically, Subaru sells more autos than manuals, anyway.
That’s fair enough, but while the CVT box works well enough with the diesel, it isn’t as convincing here. It’s fine around town and when cruising, where the lack of physical ratios makes for smooth progress, but anything above half throttle sees the revs soar.
And because there’s no turbo to dampen the sound, the more you rev this unit, the noisier it gets. Under full throttle it’s quite uncouth, and while you can use the paddles on the steering wheel to mimic the stepped changes of a conventional auto, engine response is lacking when really required.
Existing Subaru buyers might be used to the transmission’s quirks, but combined with the so-so fuel economy and emissions, it’s unlikely to win over many of the new buyers the brand so desperately needs to grow its small market share in Europe. And although equipment is generous in both trim levels, there’s an awful lot of desirable SUV competition at the price point offering more range choice.
- Model: Subaru XV 2.0i SE Premium
- Price: £28,495
- Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl petrol
- Power/torque: 154bhp/196Nm
- Transmission: CVT automatic, four-wheel drive
- 0-62mph: 10.4 seconds
- Top speed: 121mph
- Economy/CO2: 41.0mpg/155g/km
- On sale: January
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