2017 Subaru XV Overseas Preview Drive | A More Mature Crossover For the Young At Heart
The 2017 Subaru XV promises to be a genuine freedom machine when it arrives in Australia, born from a long line of all-wheel drive vehicles that have forged a reputation for reliability and off-road capability.
After all, just look at it. With bright shades of orange, red, or a subdued but serious steely blue (oddly called khaki by Subaru) fill the colour palette contrasted by chunky black wheel arch protection, butched-up bumpers, and raised stance all make the XV look like one tough customer.
Of course beneath the tough-guy looks the new XV has a more sensitive side: Based off the newest Impreza hatch, the XV also carries over Subaru’s smart new interior design and the built-in refinement and handling improvements of the company’s Subaru Global Platform chassis structure.
As an introduction, Subaru invited TMR to the town of Karuizawa, in the mountains near Nagano, Japan, to put the new XV through its paces before it arrives in Australia around the middle of this year.
Vehicle Style: Small SUV
Price: $30,000-$38,000 (estimated)
Engine/trans: 115kW/196Nm 2.0-litre 4cyl petrol | CVT automatic
OVERVIEW
In Australia the Subaru XV is somewhat unique in the small SUV segment as it is essentially a high-riding version of the Subaru Impreza hatch rather than a re-bodied soft roader.
Unlike the outgoing model the new generation ditches a manual transmission in the wake of falling sales, and long-time Subaru fans might be dismayed to hear that a low-range transfer case won’t be making a return either.