Page 35 - issue19.04.2019

Royal Air Force News Friday, April 19, 2019 P27

Subaru XV Motoring

Subaru

need to

NO CHOICE: It’s automatic or nothing for the XV MUD LOVER: Motor comes into its own off-road

TIM MORRIS The XV comes with a clever twin-camera
Motoring step up ‘Eyesight’ system as standard. This looks for
indications that the driver may not be fully
Correspondent alert and responds accordingly. Reactions
range from warning bleeps to automatic

I discovered.
If you happen to be a loyal Scooby a gear..
When a motorist ahead changed lanes
SUBARUS HAVE been known as Scoobys braking and the latter can be quite sharp, as
for many years now and it’s a nickname unexpectedly and almost caused a collision
of which their owners have become very with the vehicle in front the car took over
fond. and stood itself on its nose. The computer
had come to the conclusion that my pressure
This is the latest ‘Scooby Doo’, Subaru’s
‘small’ SUV, the XV. It’s actually a facelift on the brake pedal was insufficient and took
but it’s being hailed as a brand new car due evasive action. As a result the van behind
to an extensive makeover. almost ploughed into the boot.
The XV also sports adaptive cruise
enthusiast you will marvel at its increased control, blind-spot assistance, keyless entry,
length and width. You’ll also appreciate LED headlamps (that follow the steering)
its new nose, wheel arches and upgraded and an 8in touchscreen infotainment
interior. system. The graphics could be sharper but it
it still has all the essential ingredients that Lineartronic auto box a letdown does what it says on the tin.
More importantly, despite the changes,
On base models you don’t get sat nav as
make a Scooby a, er, Scooby. standard but the SE Premium and anything
The symmetrical 60/40 all-wheel drive above will fix that. It will also give you
system and the classic flat-four engine leather and a decent-sized sunroof.
remain, so it has a familiar feel. There’s also
techy stuff going on that will interest the Pricing
engineers amongst you.
The XV now sits on a brand new Henry Ford once famously said ‘you can
platform and Subaru says this is what have any colour you like, as long as it’s black’
will underpin new models in the future. and Subaru has a similar line with the XV.
Possible variants include hybrids and EVs, You can have any standard colour you want
so a lot of thought has gone into future- as long as it’s white, anything else will cost
proofing this car. you £550 extra.
It has a more dynamic, safer underside The entry level model will set you back
that channels energy better in the event of £24,995 but with options you’re looking
a crash and results in the car feeling slightly nearer to £28,000. That might not sound like
sharper. a big deal but when it’s your own money and
you’re looking at the XV against its nearest
Handling rivals detail often becomes a biggy.
Subaru has tinkered with the XV’s Subaru XV
steering, which makes it a little more
sophisticated than the previous car. Pros
It’s now surprisingly precise for l Good looks
a car with this sort of ground l Well-equipped
clearance and will hold a line LACKS OOMPH: l Decent handling
through corners pretty well. The XV is a sheep l Class-topping off-road
Don’t get me wrong, it’s in wolf’s clothing l Five-year warranty
not outstandingly good
fun to drive but in relative Transmission If you do everything with a feather-light Cons
terms it is pleasantly agile right foot and wait for a BIG gap you’ll get by l Gearbox lets it down
on tarmac. Put it around a This car has many positive but any attempt to give it some welly simply l Not great value
winding country road in the points but in my book it has one makes the XV sound like it’s got a badly- l Not particularly economical
wet with a bit of enthusiasm major Achilles heel, it’s only available slipping clutch.
and you soon appreciate that it’s as an automatic. On open roads this makes you think twice Verdict
far more precise than a big SUV and That’s a problem because the marriage before attempting to overtake anything, which The soft-roader market is a feeding
reassuringly sure-footed in comparison to between the 1.6-litre boxer petrol engine and really frustrates the heck out of me because frenzy and although the Subaru XV is
most crossovers. Lineartronic CVT box is only really effective I want to like this car. It has so many things head and shoulders above the rest off-
Off-road, in a spooky wood, Scooby’s for geriatric pottering. As soon as you ask the going for it and is otherwise so well thought road, it’s let down on-road by that Lin-
X-Drive system comes into play. This XV to get you out of a mess in a hurry it all out that such an oversight is glaringly obvious. eartronic box.
becomes invaluable when you push off the goes south sharpish. It has a lot going for it and Scooby
track and into the thick stuff (presumably Attempting to slot yourself into tight gaps Equipment enthusiasts will, I’m sure, learn to live
to escape the Black Knight Ghost or in fast-moving, rush-hour traffic raises your with the auto.
something similar). It’s only available at blood pressure a bit because the lethargic Inside there’s plenty of space, with nicely- For the rest of us it’s a closer call and
low speed but it really is pretty effective response takes you by surprise. You slam your stitched seats and a stylish dashboard. Japanese the XV is fighting for attention against
(the X-Drive not the ghost). foot down expecting the same kind of punch cars, for many years, tended to present a sea Volvo’s XC90 and Skoda’s Karoq, where
It’s essentially a package of electronic that we’ve come to expect from Subaru but of cheap plastic in the cabin but the XV is it really needs an edge. I want you to
diff-locks that will keep you moving as long what you actually get is the kind of response miles away from that bland heritage. You won’t pay attention Subaru, because you’ve
as at least one wheel has traction. It also you’d expect from an invalid scooter. be entirely convinced that the leather hasn’t got a great little car here. Just give us
has hill-descent control so it will easily get There are obviously designers out there been harvested from an acrylic bovine but the a manual or a full EV version and you’ll
over terrain that would stop most pretend somewhere who think this is a good idea, but cabin is a comfortable environment with more have a winner.
4x4s in their tracks. trust me on this, they are WRONG. headroom than the previous model.