Subaru Vortex Reviews

The man who went upside-down at Bathurst at 280km/h has landed on his feet for the 2012 V8 Supercars season. Coulthard was lucky to escape unharmed as his Commodore barrel rolled at The Chase in 2010 and has survived another near-miss with Walkinshaw Racing. This time he has parachuted into the fast-improving Brad Jones Racing, which has picked up a $1million-plus deal with Lockwood for the new season, after he was left standing when the music stopped at the Holden factory operation. Coulthard lost his spot when Russell Ingall arrived with Super Cheap Auto cash for 2012 and his own backer, Bundaberg Rum, stepped down. "There were four drivers for three cars. Someone was going to be left with nothing," Coulthard revealed to News Limited yesterday. "Credit though to Walkinshaw Racing and Ryan Walkinshaw, as they've put this in place for me. They've honoured everything they said they would do. I'm basically on loan for a year. "I've got no hard feelings. At the end of the day motorsport is a business and you have to run it like a business." Coulthard joins a BJR operation that continues with three cars, with Jason Bright on point and David Wall joining as a rookie. The transplanted New Zealander is confident he will turn his career around and deliver on the promise he showed with Paul Cruickshank's under-funded effort before winning a spot with Walkinshaw Racing. "I've had a tough couple of years. I was looking to become one of the top five. It wasn't just me that didn't perform, we all struggled. "My goals and aspirations haven't changed. I go into every race wanting to win. The fact I haven't done it makes the will and the hunger even more desirable." Coulthard said his next step comes at the official V8 Supercars pre-season test at Sandown on February 11, when he will drive his Lockwood Commodore for the first time. "I want to pick its brains and get familiar with it. I don't want to throw my input into BJR until I've driven the car. Until the test day there is no point. I'm pretty keen to just do that phase and see what the car's stregnths are, then go from there." Coulthard is now 30 and past the 'young gun' stage of his career, but still taking every race and season at a time. "I do one year at a time. I'm not going to look to next year because there is a lot to achieve before 2013 even gets here," he said. "If we have strong year and get results then it will look after itself."

IT was two degrees in the Blue Mountains when Kate and Gerren Hawkins broke down in their "old Holden" a few years ago. That's when they decided they wanted a new and more reliable car. "We always liked Subaru and didn't consider any other car," says Kate, 29, a sales manager. So they bought a 2008 Liberty 2.5i Luxury Wagon to fit Gerren's musical equipment. "It was important to fit all his music gear and the seats fold down flat," she says. "It doesn't matter what you put in there, it always fits, so we hardly ever pay for delivery of things; we just pick it up ourselves. I also like Subaru's style. They have quite a sporty look without being a sports car and are quite rugged." Safety was also very important. Kate says they were aware that Subaru has a five-star safety rating and all-wheel drive for all its vehicles. "I used to snowboard a lot when I as younger and I know a car handles icy conditions better with all-wheel drive," she says. Now they have moved north to Queensland and traded snow for sand with planned trips to Stradbroke Island. They've also traded the Liberty for a new tangerine-coloured Subaru XV 2.0i-S with CVT which is due to arrive in the next few weeks. "Our trade-in price was just under what my payout figure was for the hire purchase which is pretty good given the state of the economy at the moment and how low second-hand car prices are," she says. "I thought we would get a second-hand car this time but there wasn't much difference in price so we went for the new one. We may as well get brand new and have all the warranties. Subarus don't seem to drop thousands of dollars in value the moment you drive out of the dealership." Kate says she was attracted to the new XV by a host of features such as "extra airbags and the look of the dashboard". "We bought the S model because it has the touch-screen satnav, digital radio, USB with iPod connectivity, Bluetooth stereo adjustments on the steering wheel and dual aircon which is really important for us as I'm always whinging it's too cold and my husband is always whinging that it's too hot so it will be handy when we do car trips together." Kate will mainly drive the car to work Monday to Friday with occasional weekend trips away to the beach, so fuel economy was important. "We are downsizing from a 2.5-litre engine to a two-litre engine with stop-start which we hope will make a difference," she says. "Even if it's saving just a little bit of petrol, it's also handy to get the extra mileage from the tank. "I hate filling up the tank. It's always a hassle. I'd rather drive around for two weeks than have to fill up every four days, even if it ends up costing much the same. You pull over when you have to, not when you want to."

Actors are always warned not to appear on stage or screen with children, because they steal the limelight. But Subaru should have taken the opposite approach and warned the newest addition to its family – the incoming XV compact SUV – not to work with the most senior member in shooting the latest TV ad.The little Subaru 360 that launched the range in 1958 nearly steals the scene, and stole the hearts of the film crew behind the ad. “Everyone on location fell in love with the 360,” Subaru national marketing manager Toby O’Bree says of the tiny rear-wheel drive, with its two-stroke 360cc two-cylinder engine. “This is an original version of the Subaru model first released in 1958. It has only a few miles on the speedo, and despite its age, performed strongly throughout the three days on location at Lake Bathurst. It didn't miss a beat. But I have to say as cute as it is, the XV was the star - ably supported by the rest of the Subaru cast.”And the full family was there, with the entire bloodline of Subaru acting out a storyline that sees them all disappear into a bizarrely mobile retro 50s carwash – from which emerges the XV.“I believe it’s the first time we’ve used them all together,” O’Bree says. “We have used Rally cars in other TV commercials for models such as Outback and Impreza but we have never had a TVC with the whole family of Subaru models depicted.”And those who have a special affection for the Brumby – our chief reporter Paul Gover among them – will be applauding its strong supporting role.The ute wakes up from under a pile of hay and dirt and scampers through the landscape to catch the rest of the crew already in the carwash.  And not all the grunge came from the props department, O’Bree says.“The special effects crew on location applied dirt to the Brumby and several rally cars but it quickly become apparent that the natural environment would take care of that,” he says.The commercial was created by the Disciple agency and produced by Revolver Production, with filming in a number of locations during last October.Disciple creative partner Peter Buckley says "The new XV is the culmination of so many great Subaru ideas that we thought that a good way to communicate this was to show all that technology and heritage being distilled before our eyes -- and a carwash seemed like a great way to do this.We wanted the spot to feel like an event, as this is a big moment for Subaru, but be fun too, so we thought that having the carwash moving was a great idea."We set the action on a dry lakebed and filmed from tracking vehicles and from a helicopter which gives a sense of epic scale. The cars themselves are the thing that adds charm to the spot and we tried to capture's each's unique character by the way each arrives at the carwash."The carwash itself has a retro look and if you look closely you'll see we've incorporated the Subaru stars into the sign. We also thought the spot would feel better if we don't see any drivers. So we paintboxed them all out - sorry if you were one of our stuntdrivers."The interior carwash scenes were shot at a new carwash in Narellan (south-west of Sydney), where several glass panels were removed to accommodate camera and lighting, O’Bree says.“The rural location for the driving sequences was Lake Bathurst near Goulburn in NSW - chosen for its flat expanses – while the rural town scene was shot in Tarago near Lake Bathurst. The retro carwash was actually a model just 2m long, which was shot at a studio in Homebush and digitally added later.“However the scenes of the various Subaru models driving into the back of a moving carwash were genuine shots. It was accomplished by dressing a car transporter to appear like a car wash then driving the Subarus up the loading ramps as the transporter drove along. Obviously it was all done in a controlled environment with professional drivers.”O’Bree says the key aim of the ad was to communicate “that Subaru has a heritage of making All-Wheel drive SUV's dating back to the 1970s. And that when combined with our experience in developing sports performance passenger cars, the new XV offers both genuine SUV ability and genuine car-like ride and handling. The line ‘All the best from Subaru’ sums up the proposition,” he says.But it might also have another intended effect. We’ve seen a run of car ads that boost the popularity of featured songs, including Mitsubishi with New Radicals’ Get What You Give, Ford with New Order’s Slow Jam and Holden with Accadacca’s Thunderstruck – the last of those only until the Pedestrian Council of Australia had it pulled off the air.So the Subaru ad could do the same with the Russell Morris classis – The Real Thing – which became a massive hit overseas in 1969, despite lacking the kind of promotional juggernaut available to today’s musos.“The song has struck a chord with a wide variety of age groups,” O’Bree says. “For music buffs it might be of interest to know that the version appearing in the new XV TV commercial was recorded in Sydney using the same drum kit as the original 1969 version.”

The 100 per cent commitment to all-wheel drive started in a tent at Daring Harbour in 1997. A then nervous marketing manager, Nick Senior, had sweaty palms as he waited to tell the assembled Australian Subaru dealers the "bad news" that they were about to become an all-boxer-engine and all-wheel-drive company. At that time, 50 per cent of sales and two of the top three models were front-wheel-drive vehicles. "We were ready to duck for cover," Senior says. "Just as I got up to tell them the news a big southerly wind came through the tent and I thought the noise was someone shooting me." Senior had the idea to go all-AWD after the US made the decision 12 months earlier, but it was still going to be a radical hard-sell proposition for Australia. "The dealers had always struggled with sales people who tread the path of least resistance; that is, selling the cheaper front-wheel drive," he says. "Now we were taking that away from them." Senior didn't expect what happened next. "The dealers all applauded us," he says. "It was a unique selling proposition for them. No one at the time was selling all-wheel drive cars. "But we expected most of the market to be AWD by 2002 and we would just be a 'me too' brand. When Magna AWD came out we thought that was the start of the avalanche, but they still had front-wheel-drive models, so that's what they sold." Senior now looks back and feels vindicated by the decision. In 1996, Subaru sold 8500 vehicles. In 1997, that increased to 14,000 and 20,000 the following year. "We halved the number of top-selling models, but we more than doubled the sales in a couple of years," he says. Understandably Senior sticks by his decision and emphatically rejects any suggestion they will add front-wheel drives to their fleet. "Now there are more and more luxury and performance brands with AWD," he says. "All-wheel drive is not just about safety, it's also about fun."

Looking into our crystal ball we can already declare this the year of the compact SUV. In fact, it is the year of the sub-compact SUV as car companies realise customers are downsizing. Just after VW has launched the Yeti, now comes the new Subaru XV delayed from last year because of the tsunami effects, with Mazda's much-lauded CX-5 arriving soon after.Subaru has owned this class with its classy and versatile Forester for years now and this smaller version, based on the Impreza RX wagon, is bound to help it retain that class dominance. But the XV is up against stiff opposition and competitive pricing.VALUEThis is the first hurdle and it's complicated by the fact that all Subarus only come with four-wheel drive, so the XV instantly cedes the price advantage to competitor models with front-wheel drive options. Prices start at $28,490 for the six-speed manual which is several thousand more than the entry price of two-wheel drives from Nissan, Mitsubishi and Hyundai.The Lineartronic continuously variable transmission (CVT) adds $2500, which is also a bit steep compared with other brands. While emphasizing that Subaru will never deviate from all-wheel drive, Subaru Australia boss Nick Senior points out that the XV with CVT has lower fuel consumption and emissions than its front-wheel drive competitors. "All-wheel drive sets it apart from many faux SUVs," the former rally driver says. "It's an SUV in a traditional sense with clearance more than 200mm (220mm) and all-wheel drive. It's not confined to the suburbs. The horizon is your limit."It's also better equipped than its cheaper rivals. Even the base 2.0i model comes with Bluetooth, cruise control, seven airbags, reversing camera and is the first in its class with stop-start engine technology across the range. Marketing general manager Andrew Caie says it will make customers "question the value of getting a front-wheel drive".The L model adds satnav, dual-zone airconditioning, sunroof, privacy glass, leather gear shift and steering wheel, and sliding centre armrest, while the S gets leather trim seats, electric driver's seat, HID headlights with washers, alloy pedals, heated front seats, wing mirror indicators, chrome door handles and silver roof rails.Senior admits the XV is not bargain-priced, but points out the whole-of-life costs are low because of high retained values. "Whole-of-life costs are becoming increasingly important in today's cost-sensitive society," he says. Subaru is also one of the few car companies that does not charge extra for metallic or pearlescent paint.TECHNOLOGYXV product manager Akihide Takeuchi claims the stop-start function can save as much as 5 per cent on fuel. Together with a lighter body, longer-stoked boxer engine tuned for economy and high-geared manual and CVT transmissions, fuel savings are up as much as 20 per cent on 90RON unleaded petrol. The CVT is actually better than the manual sipping only 7 litres of fuel per 100km. "It will debunk the theory that all-wheel-drive cars aren't fuel-efficient,'' says Takeuchi.Stop-start automatically switches off the engine in 0.5 seconds when the car is stopped and restarts in 0.35 seconds when the brake pedal is released in the CVT or clutch is engaged in the manual. The new 2.0-litre engine has the same power and torque as before but now has a longer stroke for more torque at lower revs, which translates to better acceleration. The manual now has six speeds, with a taller top gear that reduces engine revs from 3000rpm at 100km/h to less than 2500rpm, which is not only more economical but also quieter. The inadequate and outdated four-speed auto has been replaced by CVT with paddle shifters and six presets. There are screens in the centre of the instruments, in the centre stack and a third on the dashboard. The larger multi-function display has up to eight displays, which can be personalised to show a range of useful information and can even send you a happy birthday message. The upgraded audio has USB, MP3 and iPhone connectivity and there is a new satnav system with voice control and predictive text when entering an address. It will even read out your text messages.DESIGNThe XV is based on the new Impreza due next month with a 25mm longer wheelbase, better aerodynamics, a slightly fastback look, sharper headlights and a reserved attitude to style. No pompous macho posing here. The guards aren't flared and there are few chunky bits. Perhaps that is due to the high proportion of female buyers Subaru is hoping to attract.The XV has the same high ground clearance as the Forester but a lower body height than most compact SUVs for a rakish, sporty crossover look. The longer wheelbase translates to greater interior legroom with scalloped backs to the front seats providing more rear knee room.Rear passengers will also welcome the move from anchoring the centre lap-sash in the ceiling to the C pillar. Child seat tether anchor points are now integrated into the back of the seats, not the cargo floor. Head room remains limited, especially in models with a sunroof. The doors are light and a little flimsy, but they open out very wide for easy access. Forward visibility is aided by the A pillar being narrower and further forward providing the cabin with an open, airy feel.Storage bins and cup holders are seemingly everywhere while the door pockets will take a water bottle and an A4 folder or laptop. The centre console has a handy clip-holder for a notebook and a pen. The boot is flat with a low-loading lip and flat-folding rear seats. However, cargo space is limited because the floor is raised to accommodate a space-saver spare tyre wide enough to still permit towing for a short distance. SAFETYSubaru regains its perfect record for five-star ANCAP safety ratings with the XV which has seven airbags, including full-length curtain airbags and a kneebag for the driver. They also come with a reversing camera as standard, AWD and a brake override system that is biased to the brakes if the driver hits the brake pedal and accelerator at the same time.Driver vision is improved not only by a slimmer A pillar, but also higher front seats and 20 per cent bigger sing mirrors. The body and chassis are 20kg lighter but also 10 per cent stiffer.DRIVINGThere are more Subarus sold in Tasmania per head of population than any other state, so the company chose north-west Tassie to launch the XV this week. The route included city streets, highway, lumpy back roads, gravel forest tracks and the scarily but spectacular ascent to Ben Lomond. It's called Jacob's Ladder and it is highlighted by sheer drops and dangerous hairpins with names such as Hanging Corner.XV came through the acid test with full marks for its road handling, grip and predictable manners. At the same time, ride and cabin noise have not been compromised. However, the wheel arches could do with more sound dampening if you are traveling over gravel frequently.The steering doesn't have a lot of feedback, but there is no kickback either and on the lumpy country roads of this route, that was a blessing. Technical manager Derek Ashby claims the XV performs the standard obstacle avoidance test or "elk test" at 72km/h which is the same speed as the BMW X1. Brakes have a fair bit of initial bite which makes the car twitchy on gravel, but confidence-inspiring on Tassie tar.Inside, there are simply too many screens. You don't know where to look. There is just too much information available including a graphic representation of all four wheels and what they are doing. It's distracting for the driver when they are flashing orange while the driver's hands are crossed up and the vehicle is heading for the shrubbery on a tight forest fire trail. Thankfully, the stability control keeps it all on track and you can't even turn it off; only the traction control. The manual transmission is disappointing with a wide spread of gears designed for fuel economy, but not performance. Second is too high and there is a huge gap from fifth to the too-tall sixth which won't accelerate and dies on hills. Senior confirmed that the gearing was high to maximize fuel economy "in line with customer expectations".The shifter also feels notchy and you can easily grab third instead of fifth on the way down and fifth instead of third on the way up. The CVT doesn't scream like most, but it does whine a bit and to keep momentum in a slippery corner you need to use left-foot braking which is somewhat overruled by the brake override system.Cabin comfort is good with supportive seats although the leather trim in the S model is slippery when taking hairpins. There are plenty of soft-touch rubbery surfaces inside providing a feeling of quality while the controls and door handles feel firm and assured. The overall feeling of quality is broadsided by the flimsy doors, usually your first point of contact with any car. However, some people may like the equally lightweight tailgate.VERDICTSubaru is boxing with one hand tied behind its back thanks to its dogged commitment to all-wheel drive only. It is also hampered by the lack of a diesel option and too-tall manual transmission. Advantages are the quiet and well-mannered ride, high safety standards, features galore and impressive fuel economy. Caie expects to sell 500 a month to younger buyers and empty nesters alike, and claims it will not cannabilise Forester which he says is a bigger car.

It has a giant job, firstly in drawing newbies to the brand and secondly as one of the three legs of Subaru's new global small-car attack. The Subaru XV comes to Australia first, but will soon be followed by an all- new Impreza and then by a WRX that moves much further away from its humble small-car roots. It must also win buyers to a baby SUV category that's in its infancy in Australia, just as the Forester did. "We are creating a category killer with the XV," says Nick Senior, managing director of Subaru Australia. It blends all the key elements of what a small car can do with some of the great charcter of an SUV. It's got increased ground clearance and improved visibility, but it's a great drive." Senior recognises the importance of the car and says it's a crucial car for the company's future growth and customer base. "I think it's very important. It's not only important but a big opportunity," he says. "It's ground breaking and in the SUV segment it will be like the OUtback and Forester." Senior describes the XV as a morph job on a variety of existing classes. "It's a hatch or sedan for small-car buyers, but with the ingredients of SUVs. It's got the versatility to deliver lifestyle choices. It's got the lowest centre of gravity of any of its competitors but also the highest ground clearance." But he distances Australia from Subaru's three-pronged small-car push.  "I see it more as a three-SUV strategy. We've got the XV to appeal to singles and younger couples, the Forester is more for families and people with a few kids, then we've got the Outback. I think it's more about covering the bases in the SUV category." Apart from the XV, the biggest Subaru arrival for 2012 is the new Impreza. "We are now literally trickling cars into dealers in the next few weeks but major stocks don't arrive until March," Senior says. "The new Impreza and SV are important to get us back to our rightful place in Australia, which is not 34,000 cars a year but 40,000. That's ambitious but what we'd like to achieve this year."

Toyota Camry Atara and Subaru Liberty Premium go head-to-head in this comparative review.

Subaru will rattle some cages with the new XV compact Sports Utility Vehicle.Why? Because it has priced the angular, all wheel drive, dirt demon at roughly the same point as most of its competitors front wheel drive models.Faux-wheel-drives are all the rage in this class because people are buying basically a people mover with more attitude than a "mum bus." And simply, many buyers don't need or want all wheel drive capability. But they'd have it if it was "free."All three versions of the Sooby XV are all wheel drive, all have engine stop/start technology and all have some light weight components to aid fuel economy, particularly the CVT auto. The manual is a six speeder.HOW MUCH?Pricing starts at $28,490 for the XV 2.0i manual with Lineartronic CVT auto adding $2500. The L model adds dual zone climate control, satnav, electric sunroof sliding centre console and rear privacy glass for a $3500 premium while the leather equipped S model is another $2500 up the scale.UNDER THE BONNETThere's a new 2.0-litre, petrol, boxer, four cylinder engine in XV with 110kW/193Nm output. It features dual active valve control and is a long stroke design to optimise fuel economy and minimise emissions. It passes Euro 5 exhaust regulations. Engine internals are lightened and there's a timing chain instead of belt for longevity. Internal friction is reduced and the engine runs on regular 91 RON petrol.It does not have direct fuel injection nor auto decoupling ancillaries. That will come with the BRZ sports car later this year and presumably other Soobies later on.No diesel is available.WHAT YOU GETIt's broadly based on the new gen' Impreza but is actually a different car with a slightly shorter wheelbase and other detail differences. XV has an impressive 220mm ground clearance which leads the class and the all wheel drive system is constant 50/50 unlike the on-demand systems in its competitors.The auto stop/start system on all models both manual and CVT helps reduce fuel consumption in city driving. There's a new multi-function display in the middle of the dash which itself is a quantum leap in terms of materials, look and function compared to other Soobies. XV is a five seater with folding rear pews for more load space. The body and chassis structure is strengthened for rough roads and heavier than normal use.SAFETYLike all Soobies, XV has a five star crash rating thanks in part to its seven air bags and stability control system. All variants have reversing cameras and rugged new 17-inch alloys with robust tyres, wide field of vision and retractor pedals.FEATURESThere's plenty of kit inside with Bluetooth phone and audio, multi media connection box, comfortable seats, multiple storage areas, 12-volt plugs, a security blind, hill start assist, cargo hooks, remote central locking, cruise and plenty more.UNDERNEATHThe suspension is strut front and double wishbone rear. It has some STi technology and the dynamics have been locally calibrated to offer the best compromise between sporty on road and safe, comfortable rough road driving.THE DRIVEWe'd go for the CVT model every time because the manual falls readily into a torque hole delivering dull engine response. The CVT (with wheel paddles) flicks between "ratios" and masks any lack of response while also aiding fuel economy rated as low as 7.0-litres.100km.We were really impressed by theXV's dirt road ability and its level of comfort on a searching drive through Tassie's back blocks. It's smooth and quiet and can eat distance with minimal fatigue.But the manual is too slow, particularly when overtaking. The interior is a revelation compared with earlier Soobies. There's plenty of room inside and generous level of standard equipment. We even like the look of it better than the Impreza.VERDICTShould sell its socks off given the all wheel drive, stop/start, genuine soft road capabilities oh and super sharp pricing. We prefer the CVT.SUBARU XVPrice: from about $28,490Warranty: 3yrs/unlimited kmService: 6 months/12,500kmEngine: 2.0-litre, 4-cyl petrol boxer, 110kW/196NmTransmissions: 6-speed manual, CVT; AWDEconomy: 7L/100km (man) 7.3L/100km (CVT) CO2 168g/km (man) 168g/km (CVT)Safety: 7 airbags, stability control, ABSDimensions: 4450mm (L), 1780mm (W), 1615mm (H), 2635mm (W)Fuel: 60L tank, 90RONTurning Circle: 10.6mSuspension: independent McPherson struts (front), independent double wishbone (rear)Tyres: 225/55 R17 97V Yokohama GeolanderTowing: 1400kg (brakes), 750kg (unbraked)

SUBARU'S Impreza XV (remember that one?) is no more. Instead, and as early as from January, a revamped version of the compact crossover will be sold in Australia simply as the Subaru XV. Despite the dropping of the Impreza prefix, the new stand-alone XV retains very much of the small car's DNA, using the same platform and drivetrain, which includes stop-start technology.It's a cleaner design than the existing Impreza XV, itself still a `new' vehicle, and has new generation touches such as `hawk-eye' headlights and a wide hexagonal grille. In the family pecking order it will sit just below the Forester and set its sights on rivals such as Mitsubishi ASX, Hyundai ix35, Kia Sportage and Nissan Dualis.But unlike the opposition it will not offer a 2WD version. All models will run on Subaru's all-wheel-drive system.THE LINEUPXVs will come in three spec levels: 2.0i, 2.0i-L and 2.0i-S  all with soft-touch finishes, uprated instrumentation, new interiors and seven airbags. The 2.0i has a reversing camera, comprehensive multi-function display, cruise control, steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters for the CVT variants, Bluetooth connectivity and audio streaming, auto air-con and black roof rails.The 2.0-L adds an electric sunroof, dual-zone air-con, SatNav with SMS voice text and voice control, and rear privacy glass and the premium S model has the luxury of leather trim, eight-way adjustable driver's seat, heated front seats, alloy pedals, silver roof rails and HID Xenon headlightsPRACTICALITIESThe XV, at 220mm, has more ground clearance than most, which makes it easy to get in and out of and allows it adventurous owners to clamber over rough terrain. It's also quite sleek, with its roofline just 1615mm from the ground, making it more aerodynamic.It seats four, five at a squeeze, and there's generous head and legroom. But cargo room is a bit tight  even smaller than in the Impreza hatch. There's just 310litres of space if all seats are occupied. If the back ones are folded flat, cargo room increases more than three-fold.Outside, there's neat, thin plastic wheel-arch cladding, which one engineer described as `comparing sports shoe trim with a wet weather boot' in reference to the chunky cladding of some other brands. The XV also has a set of funky wheels: 17-inch machined black alloys. And the body colours include an in-your-face tangerine, which would probably make Dutch drivers delirious.TECHNOLOGYThe motor is the same 110kW/196Nm 2.0-litre as used in the new Impreza, which will arrive in Oz about two months after the XV, and transmission is a choice of six-speed manual or stepless CVT. The hi-tech' all-new boxer engine uses lots of light materials, variable valve timing and peripherals like electric power steering and a stop-start system to cut fuel use by around 20 per cent. Subaru says the XV will average 7.0 litres/100km, (7.3 for the manual) which will give it a cruising range of about 850km.DRIVINGWe drove an XV on Subaru's tight varied-surface track and also on its long, banked circuit at its secure proving grounds two hours from Tokyo. The stylish SUV runs on a MacStrut front and double-wishbone rear set-up, which, with the constant all-wheel-drive, gave it impressive handling.The body stayed flat at 150km/h on the banked circuit and on the tight course it easily absorbed the lumps and bumps, steered around the twisty bits sans dramatics and felt very much like an Impreza hatch with a better view. It's not the world's fastest machine, but gets along at a brisk-enough pace and we think most owners will agree with the maker's `fun to drive' claim.We like CVT and the Lineartronic version that Subaru uses has paddle shifts for folk who like to play at being Dean Herridges. In that mode it becomes a six-speed shifter. Bottom line is that CVT is super-smooth and super efficient. Trannie of the future, so get used to it.XV pricing has not been finalised, but Subaru expects the current Impreza XV's sales of about 80 a month to leap to about 500 a month when it becomes just XV in January.

At the close of 2011, the Subaru Forester and Toyota RAV-4 were separated by just 17 sales with Nissan X-Trail in third, just 1000-odd vehicles behind on 12,089. Forester has taken the title for the four years, but Subaru is not the biggest brand in the category with just the one model. That title goes to Nissan with its X-Trail and Dualis selling 21,303, followed by Subaru's Forester and Outback on 18,912 and Mitsubishi's ASX and Outlander on 14,029. The inclusion of XV, targeted at a younger market, should lead to a battle for category dominance between Subaru and Mazda with the CX-5 this year joining the larger CX-7 which sold 9714 in 2011. Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior says the XV will appeal to people who enjoy "expansive lifestyles". "People who are active and enjoy new experiences," he explains. "They don't want to drive a large SUV, instead they demand car like ride and handling, and convenient cutting edge technology, to enable a fast paced adventurous lifestyle with comfort. XV is a clear indicator of what's to come from Subaru in terms of new technology and design, so it's fair to say we're very excited about our future." Compact SUVs account for almost half of all SUV sales and 12 per cent of all new vehicle sales. They increased 5.8 per cent to 121,387 last year while the whole market dropped 2.6 per cent to 1,008,437. This category features a strong line-up of 27 international vehicles with one each from the US, UK, Thailand, France and Germany, two from the Czech republic, three from China, six from South Korea and the rest from Japan.