Subaru XV Review (2012)

The Subaru XV was launched in the UK in 2012 and is their first real entry into the crossover market, which is currently dominated by Nissan’s QASHQAI.

Where the majority of Subaru’s older models have been favoured by ‘country lifestylers’, the XV is targeted at the leisure market, and the younger family buyer.

Pretty much every Subaru features all-wheel drive, and the XV is no exception, currently the BRZ sports car is the only model that doesn’t.

The XV is a crossover lifestyle vehicle, a blend of SUV and car; it competes with the likes of Mitsubishi’s Outlander and Nissan’s QASHQAI.

We tested the middle of the range Subaru XV 2.0d SE priced £26,295 at the time of testing.

There is a choice of three ‘boxer’ engines a 1.6 (114 ps) and a 2.0-litre (150 ps) petrol and a 2.0-litre (147 ps) diesel and three transmissions (five and six-speed manual and a six-speed CVT automatic).

We chose to test the 2.0-litre (147ps) Boxer diesel with a six-speed manual gearbox. The engine outputs147ps at 3,600 rpm and 350Nm of torque between 1,600 and 2,400 rpm. This equates to a 0 to 62mph time of 9.3 seconds and a top speed of 120mph.

The official NEDC - fuel consumption figures are quoted as combined 50.4 mpg with CO2 emissions of 146 g/km. Touring we were averaging around the 42 mpg mark - this dropped to 34 mpg with more urban use. With careful motorway driving we were seeing just over 50 mpg, which was quite commendable.

We found the six-speed gearbox a little mechanical and unlike the Forester the XV does not have a high/low ratio gearbox, so off-roading might be a little more challenging.

We liked the diesel engine it combines plenty of power and torque with good fuel economy but you need to keep the revs up or you are left floundering - in summary nothing really to complain about.