The revised SUV that is full of surprises . . .
just the first of a number of pleasant surprises.
It really is a nice car, although you will be hard pressed to spot one on UK roads - another surprise as the XV sits squarely in the booming compact crossover class.
Even more surprising is that a similarly equipped XV, which also all come with four wheel drive as standard, is some £3,000 cheaper than the class leading Nissan Qashqai.
Subaru launched the XV in 2012 but it has never managed to gather much traction so they refreshed the model in 2016 although a concept of the nextgeneration was unveiled at last year’s Geneva Motor Show with a more robust and aggressive appearance including new elements like body cladding, roof rails, a chunky front bumper and 19” alloy wheels, all giving it a more muscular stance.
The 2016 upgrade featured minor tweaks to the engines, chassis, interior and exterior as well as an improved infotainment system.
There were also subtle styling changes including plastic extensions for the wheel arches and sills, a new look front end with a lower grille and revised bumper, headlight and foglight clusters along with new ‘diamond-cut’ black and silver alloy wheels and two extra paint colours. The rear end has revised LED tail-lights and a tweaked boot spoiler.
Engine choice is between 2.0litre, four-cylinder petrol or diesel Boxer units. The facelift also brought improved fuel economy and emissions figures with economy for our test car rising to a claimed 52.3mpg combined (61 extra urban) and CO2 emissions falling to 141g/km.
Prices start from £21,995, with just two trims. We had the lowerlevel SE, still generously equipped with a rear parking camera and a touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth and voice control, but sadly no sat-nav.
Full leather is standard on SE Premium cars only, along with a sunroof, sat nav, keyless access and start and electric driver’s seat but you will pay an extra £3,000 to upgrade.
The 2.0-litre diesel has an unpleasant rattle at low revs but does quieten down at higher speeds and gives impressive performance with 147 bhp, a 0 to 62 time of just 9.3 seconds and 123mph top speed.
Subaru’s legendary full time Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive means grip and handling are excellent and, as the XV has 220mm of ground clearance (the same as a Freelander and much more than Qashqai) going off road is no problem.
Downsides? Well the engine sounds like london taxi on start up and tickover, the doors feel a bit tinny and it took me three days to find the heated seats switches.
But a big upside is exclusivity. During a week behind the wheel I did not see a single other XV on my travels - especially not in the striking bright blue of our test car - so you will have a bargain SUV that stands out in the crowd.
More info at www.subaru.co. uk.