Subaru fits all-new XV into $40k sector
New small-suv aims to be a giant in the hottest segment in the country. By David Linklater.
Managing director Wallis Dumper says Subaru ‘‘had SUVS before anybody else even knew what they were’’.
Fair call. Subaru helped invent the modern crossover/suv concept with the first-generation Outback in 1994. It was also a pioneer of the small-suv segment with the Impreza RV in 2010 – essentially a jacked-up version of the standard Impreza, with some chunky body addenda.
When the first ‘‘proper’’ XV appeared in 2012, it had strong market share in New Zealand because there wasn’t a whole lot of small-suv competition.
‘‘That share has been eroded by a huge number of competitors coming in,’’ says Dumper. ‘‘But at the same time, the market has grown so if we can get some of that share back, we’ll still be selling more cars.’’
The hot segment in New Zealand is sub-$40k SUVS: Mitsubishi ASX, Mazda CX-3, Toyota C-HR, that kind of thing. What we sometimes colloquially call ‘‘baby SUVS’’.
Subaru NZ has decided it’s a case of hot-or-not-at-all for the allnew XV, so it’s slashed up to $5k off the price to ensure the whole range fits into that sub-$40k sector. That’s something of a show-stopping move when you consider the size and specification of the car.
Call it a baby-suv at your peril, of course. The XV is not only a larger car than its small-suv rivals (and on a 25mm-longer wheelbase than the previous XV), it’s also exclusively AWD and boasts decent off-tarmac ability: there’s generous ground clearance of 220mm and the new model comes with Subaru’s pushbutton X-mode, which adjusts the powertrain to better handle slippery/off-road conditions and offers hill descent control.
The lineup has gone from three to two models: a Sport at $34,990 and the Premium at $39,990.
The Sport comes as standard with torque vectoring by braking, eight-inch touch-screen with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, 17-inch wheels and the Eyesight twin-camera active system, which enables functions such as collision alert, autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and new lane-assist feature, which will gently guide the car back on line if the driver strays out of the lane.
The Premium adds 18-inch wheels, automatic headlights, satnav (although the Sport already has that through phone projection), sunroof, leatheraccented trim, adaptive LED headlights and a more extensive suite of active safety features: the so-called Vision Assist package has blind-spot warning high-beam assist, lane-change assist, rear cross-traffic alert and something new for Subaru called Reverse Automatic Braking (RAB).
RAB detects obstacles behind the car (1.5-15kmh) and first warns the driver of a potential impact, before automatically applying the brakes.
The Premium is a lot of car for under $40k. Little wonder Subaru reckons it’ll account for at least 50 per cent of sales (the previous Premium was more like 25 per cent).
Subaru is adamant that the Impreza and XV are two different models that happen to be on the same platform. That’s a stretch, to be honest: the XV is still is as it ever was, a jacked-up version of the Impreza with extra equipment and body addenda.
That’s a good thing as far as we’re concerned. The latest Impreza is a already a revelation: the first model on the new Subaru Global Platform and an extremely polished and well-equipped model for $29,990. An SUV version of the same has got to be good.
XV has the same new 115kw/ 196Nm 2.0-litre direct-injection boxer engine as Impreza, matched to a Subaru Lineartronic Transmission (which the company still refuses to call continuously-variable, but it is). Combined fuel consumption is 7.0 litres per 100km. It’s a Euro 6 engine.
It’s no ball of fire and the SLT/ CVT is still an acquired taste to be sure, even with a seven-step mode on offer (it’s not that convincing). But SLT is still arguably the world’s best CVT. Well, we’ll argue with you about it.
The XV is such a complete dynamic package you immediately look past a slight lack of performance verve and simply enjoy the drive. The new platform provides a tremendously rigid structure and you can always count on Subaru for responsive steering and a chassis that communicates through any kind of corner.
The smart new interior (with apologies to Impreza of course) also has the right stuff to compete with that trendy bunch of smallsuvs. It’s still fairly conservative, but impressively well-finished and several generations away from the dowdy, cheap-feeling cabin of the previous Xv/impreza.
It certainly sports an Suvappropriate look in the XV, with layers of padding and a pop of colour though some bright stitching. Go for the Premium and you even get power driver’s seat with heating for the front two chairs.
The previous XV accounted for around 400 sales per year. Subaru NZ sees this one clocking up 500 this year when it goes on sale from mid-july, 800 in 2018 and four figures the year after.