Subaru XV vs Mercedes-Benz Esprinter

What's the difference?

Even years on from its initial launch and with only subtle changes to its main range, it’s really to Subaru’s credit that the XV feels just as capable and modern as any of its rivals.

This is not to say it’s perfect. We can’t recommend the base model, the maths don’t really work out on the hybrids, the only available engine is breathless, and it has a small boot.

But the XV’s excellent safety suite, driving dynamics, all-wheel-drive capability, quality finish and comfortable interior mean it’s hard not to be charmed by this little lifted hatch.

Our pick of the range? While the 2.0i-L is great value, we’d recommend you splurge to the 2.0i-Premium to get the full safety suite and extra garnish.

With the convenience of back-to-base charging the eSprinter would be well suited to last-mile logistics or other urban delivery roles, as its driving range is ample for many of these urban tasks with the added benefit of zero tailpipe emissions. However, at more than $100K it is a big spend (like its full-electric rivals) so only a thorough cost-benefit analysis can decide if it’s the right choice for your business.

The key to the XV’s fun and adventurous appeal is perhaps the fact that it’s not really an SUV at all. It’s rather obviously a lifted version of the brand’s Impreza hatchback, and this is to its credit.

It’s simple but tough, cute but capable, and really everything many consumers are looking for when it comes to a small, all-wheel-drive SUV. Not only does this design philosophy (of lifting wagons and hatches rather than creating bespoke “SUVs”) match Subaru’s family of products, but the ride height, plastic claddings, and tough-looking alloys offer hints of the all-wheel-drive capability that lies beneath.

Little has changed for the 2021 model year, with the XV most recently receiving a tweaked grille, updated front bumper, and a new set of alloy wheels. The XV range is also available in a fun array of colours, which Subaru hopes will help it win more of a youth vote. As an added bonus, none of the colour choices carry an extra charge.

The interior of the XV continues the fun and adventurous theme with Subaru’s signature chunky design language noticeably different from its rivals. My favourite element of this has always been the bumper-car steering wheel, which feels great in your hands in its leather-clad finish, but there are also nice soft claddings throughout the doors and big seats with nice bolstering and design.

While we like how big and sharp the main 8.0-inch screen is, if there’s one thing Subaru gets wrong it’s how busy the whole cabin package is. The visual assault of three screens seems unnecessary, and as much as I like the wheel, it is also completely adorned in somewhat confusingly labelled buttons and toggles.

Still it’s an attractive, fun, and unique design amongst its small SUV peers. Subaru fans, at least, will be sure to adore it.

This is a substantial vehicle riding on a 3665mm wheelbase and spanning almost 6.0 metres in length (5932mm) and more than 2.0 metres in width (2020mm without mirrors), yet it has a tight kerb-to-kerb turning circle of only 12.4 metres.

And with the optional High Roof as fitted to our example it stands almost 3.0 metres tall (2867mm), so drivers need to be conscious of this extra dimension when accessing underground loading zones, driving under height-restricted bridges etc.

Its rear-wheel drive unitary chassis features simple and rugged McPherson strut front suspension paired with a De Dion-style rigid beam/leaf spring rear axle, along with four-wheel disc brakes and electrically assisted power steering.

There’s prominent use of unpainted dark grey plastic in external areas where bumps, scrapes and wear are usually inflicted, including the grille, front bumper, hubcaps, doorhandles, door mirror shells, side bump-strips and rear bumper.

The cabin design is spacious, neat and functional, with unique instrumentation which replaces the traditional tachometer with a gauge that monitors driving efficiency. There’s also a digital info screen that displays average energy consumption, battery charge, estimated driving range, gear selection and more.

In some ways the XV is very impressive when it comes to its interior practicality, but in other ways it disappoints.

The front seats offer heaps of room for adults with good adjustability, and while the seating height is very high by default, there’s still lots of headroom and adjustability, with the added benefit of a very commanding view of the road for such a small SUV.

As mentioned, the doors, dash, and transmission tunnel are all clad in soft materials, and front passengers also benefit from no less than four USB ports in every grade except the base 2.0i, a huge centre console box, comfortably large bottle holders in the centre with a removable divider, a small bay under the climate unit that also houses a 12v outlet and auxiliary input, and a single large bottle holder in the doors with a small adjoining bin.

A surprise comes in the rear seats, which offered enough head and knee room for a particularly tall friend of mine. It’s rare for the small SUV segment to offer such space, but behind my own (182cm tall) seating position I had ample airspace for my knees and decent airspace for my head too, even despite the Premium and S grades having a sunroof fitted.

Rear passengers get a flip-down armrest with bottle holders, a small bottle holder in the doors, and pockets on the backs of the seats. The seat cladding is just as good as it is in the front, and the width in the rear seats is notable, however the centre seat suffers from the existence of a tall transmission tunnel to facilitate the all-wheel-drive system, and there are no adjustable air vents or power outlets for rear passengers either.

Finally, one ongoing weak point for the XV is the amount of boot space on offer. Boot capacity is 310-litres (VDA) for non-hybrids or 345 litres for hybrid variants. This is decent when compared to smaller light SUVs but definitely leaves room for improvement when it comes to the XV’s main small SUV competitors.

Space can be boosted to 765L in non-hybrid or 919L in hybrids with the seats down (again, not great), and the hybrid model loses the underfloor space-saver spare wheel, instead leaving you with a very compact puncture-repair kit.

With its hefty 2727kg kerb weight (largely due to the battery) and 4250kg GVM, the eSprinter has a sizeable 1523kg payload rating. It’s also rated to tow up to 2000kg of braked trailer but with its 5000kg GCM (or how much it can carry and tow at the same time) that big payload must shrink to only 273kg to legally tow its maximum trailer weight.

That’s only enough payload capacity to cater for the weight of a two-man crew and little more so it’s important to be aware of these numbers if you’re planning to tow this heavy (although we suspect few if any owners would do so).

The cargo bay with the High Roof option is enormous, with 2009mm from floor to roof allowing even tall people to stand without stooping. Its load volume is a cavernous 10.5 cubic metres.

The load floor, which is protected by a hard non-slip surface, is 3375mm long and 1732mm wide with 1350mm between the rear-wheel housings. This allow up to two Aussie pallets or up to four Euro pallets to be carried, secured using a choice of 10 load anchorage points which fold flush with the floor when not in use.

Cargo bay access is through a sliding kerbside door with a big 1260mm-wide opening and a pair of rear barn doors which can open to a full 270 degrees on each side to optimise access to forklifts and loading docks.

The walls and sliding door are neatly lined to roof height and large handles inside both door openings assist access. There’s also bright LED lighting plus handy storage pockets in each rear door.

Its spacious cabin provides a comfortable and efficient workspace. The fabric-trimmed bucket seats offer generous head and legroom for driver and passenger and the ample open floor space between them features a sturdy cradle in which to carry the charging cable (see image).

There’s also ample storage including a large bottle-holder and multiple bins in each door plus a full-width overhead shelf with a key-lockable security box and a central glasses holder.

The top of the dash has two cupholders on each side (so, four in total) plus a large compartment with clamshell lid in the centre equipped with a 12V socket and three USB-C ports. There’s another shelf in the lower dash on the passenger side, a quartet of cupholders in the centre console and yet another compartment hidden beneath the passenger seat.

The local eSprinter range, which does not include a cab-chassis variant, offers a choice of van-based models comprising the MWB (Medium Wheelbase) with 81kWh motor for a list price of $104,313 and LWB (Long Wheelbase) with 113kWh motor for $121,041. This six-figure pricing is in the same ballpark as full-electric large van equivalents from Ford (E-Transit) and LDV (eDeliver 9).

Our test vehicle, finished in standard 'Arctic White', is the smaller MWB/81kWh model equipped with the optional High Roof (option code DO3) which adds almost half a metre (489mm) to its external height and $2392 (ex GST) to its price.

Its work-focused standard equipment includes 16-inch steel wheels with 225/75 R16 tyres and a full-size spare, DRLs and side marker lights, sealed cabin bulkhead with central window, electric-adjustable truck-style exterior mirrors, heated driver’s seat and exterior mirror, prestige leather-rimmed steering wheel with multiple remote control functions, colour 5.5-inch driver’s information display, reversing camera, front/rear parking sensors and tyre pressure monitoring to name a few.

The cabin also has an electronic parking brake, electric air-conditioning and heating plus multiple USB ports and 12V sockets. The latest 'MBUX' multimedia system features a large 10.25-inch touchscreen as central command offering voice activation, digital radio, wireless Apple/Android connectivity and more.

The XV now has two drivetrain options in Australia. One is the carryover 2.0-litre petrol engine, now with a smidge more power, and a hybrid version of the same layout with an electric motor housed in the continuously variable transmission. There is no manual variant in the XV range.

The 2.0i models produce 115kW/196Nm, while the hybrid produces 110kW/196Nm from the engine and 12.3kW/66Nm from the electric motor. All variants are all-wheel drive.

The hybrid system is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack under the boot floor, and in practice functions a bit differently from Toyota’s popular system.

We’re sure Subaru die-hards will be dismayed to know a version of the XV packing the larger Forester’s 2.5-litre petrol engine (136kW/239Nm) will not be making it to Australia for the foreseeable future.

The eSprinter is powered by a single electric motor producing 150kW of power and 400Nm of torque. It’s mounted under the rear floor where it drives the rear wheels through a single-speed transmission.

This compact motor-trans unit shares underfloor space with an 81kWh lithium-ion battery that provides the motor’s energy. This battery occupies most of the underfloor between the front and rear axles and features a slimline design to optimise ground clearance.

Drivers have a choice of three drive modes comprising 'Comfort', 'Economic' and 'Max Range', plus different levels of energy recuperation using steering wheel-mounted paddles that adjust the intensity of regenerative braking.

The electric motor also features a ‘boost’ function which temporarily increases power output when fast acceleration or overtaking is required. The eSprinter’s maximum speed is capped at 120km/h.

It’s not such a great story for the hybrid variant here, as even on the official numbers it only saves a tiny amount of fuel.

The official/combined number for 2.0i variants is 7.0L/100km, while the hybrid variants trim this to 6.5L/100km.

In practice it only got worse on my test. Over similar driving conditions consisting of several hundred kilometres over the course of a week, the 2.0i-Premium non-hybrid produced 7.2L/100km, while the hybrid actually used more fuel at 7.7L/100km.

It’s worth noting we’ll be holding on to the hybrid for a further three months as part of a long-term urban test. Check back in to see if we can trim this number down to something closer to its claim in the coming months.

All XV variants can drink base-grade 91RON unleaded and 2.0i variants have 63-litre fuel tanks while hybrids make use of a 48-litre tank.

Mercedes-Benz’s official driving range for the 81kWh eSprinter, based on combined WLTP testing, is up to 264km. When we collected the vehicle for our test, the battery was fully charged but the estimated driving range displayed was only 234km, or 30km less than the official figure.

The eSprinter’s towering height also stopped us accessing local charging infrastructure (located inside multi-storey car parks) so our test was conducted using the initial single charge. This included a mix of suburban and city driving best suited to electric van use and covered a total distance of 190km.

At the completion of our test, the dash display claimed average energy consumption of 29kWh/100km, with 25 per cent battery charge remaining and 63km of estimated range. So, based on these figures, the official WLTP range of up to 264km is credible.

The eSprinter comes standard with a Mode 3/Type 2 charging cable and the charging port is in the centre of the grille behind a spring-loaded flap displaying a three-pointed star badge.

Mercedes-Benz claims 11kW AC charging of the 81kWh battery from 10-80 per cent takes around eight hours while 115kW DC fast charging reduces that to around 32 minutes.

No matter which XV you choose, you’ll be getting a very comfortable and easy-to-steer small SUV, and the drive experience has only improved with this year’s updates.

The XV’s newly re-worked front suspension and tall ride height make for a package more than capable of dealing with anything the suburbs will throw at it. This is the kind of car that scoffs at speed bumps and potholes.

The steering is light enough to be comfortable, but provides just enough feedback to keep it engaging, too, and the always-on all-wheel-drive system provides a sense of constant security in corners and even on loosely sealed or wet surfaces.

The XV has better SUV cred than almost every other car in its class on the capability front, enough at least to make it a decent companion for seeking those unsealed campgrounds or vantage points.

Where it’s not as good is its engine options. We’ll get to the hybrid in a moment, but the standard 2.0-litre engine is underpowered for a relatively heavy small SUV, with the added burden of all-wheel drive, and it feels it. This engine doesn’t have the follow-through of its turbocharged rivals and is very thrashy when much is asked of it.

This experience isn’t really helped along by the rubbery-feeling continuously variable automatic transmission, which is at its best in stop-start traffic. It strips the fun out of trying to drive this car with a bit more vigour.

Unlike Toyota's hybrid alternatives, the hybrid XV isn’t a significantly different experience behind the wheel. Its electric motor doesn’t really have enough strength to get it up to speed, but it does assist when it comes to acceleration and coasting to help take the stress partially off the engine. The XV also doesn’t provide a hybrid indicator like Toyota does, so it’s much harder to understand the effect your accelerator input is having on the motor.

The centre screen does display the energy flow, though, so it is good to have some kind of feedback that the hybrid system is helping on occasion.

Hybrid variants also add something called “e-Active Shift Control”, which uses input from the car’s sensors and all-wheel-drive system to better tune the hybrid assistance to the CVT. In general driving terms, this lets the electric motor pick up the slack of the petrol engine when it's most needed in the corners and in low-torque instances.

On a final note, all of these moments of electrical assistance do make the hybrid versions notably quieter than the non-hybrid ones. I still wouldn’t recommend choosing the hybrid on its driving experience alone, but it will be interesting to see how Subaru can build on this technology in the future.

There are large handles on the front door window frame and overhead shelf to assist climbing aboard, where you’ll find a comfortable and commanding driving position.

This is thanks to supportive seating (albeit with no lumbar adjustment), ample steering wheel height/reach positioning and a spacious footwell, combined with a clear rear view through the bulkhead window and along the sides thanks to large truck-style mirrors.

The leather-rimmed steering wheel feels nice in your hands, all major controls are easy to see and operate and the electric air-conditioning and heating systems are effective.

It’s a pleasant vehicle to drive as the most noise you hear is the tyres, given the near silence of the rear-mounted motor and drivetrain. The underfloor location of the battery also creates a low centre of gravity, which optimises handling with minimal body lean when cornering.

Unladen ride quality is excellent, enhanced by the weight of the battery which helps the suspension iron out bumps. And the electric motor’s 400Nm of torque provides energetic performance, with acceleration delivered in a smooth liquid-like surge.

Selecting the strongest regenerative braking not only optimises energy harvesting for the battery but also creates enough retardation to ensure mostly single-pedal driving (accelerator only) as the brake pedal is rarely required. This mode is also handy on steep descents.

To test its payload rating we forklifted 975kg into the cargo bay, which combined with our two-man crew equalled a total payload of 1155kg that was still comfortably below its legal limit.

The rear leaf springs compressed less than 30mm under this loading, leaving ample bump-stop clearance to ensure no bottoming out on our test route. The e-motor’s response was more subdued as you’d expect but it still hauled this payload with apparent ease.

Overall, the driving experience was hard to fault, apart from the vertical pillar between the fixed and sliding glass in the driver’s door blocking the outer third of the exterior mirror’s view, at least with the driver’s seat positioned far enough rearwards to suit my 186cm frame.

We also noted, when travelling at highway speeds on a windy day, that our test vehicle was prone to being moved within its lane by strong crosswinds, even though ‘Crosswind Assist’ is included in the active safety menu.

We suspect the High Roof option was responsible for this given the larger bodysides it creates and is something to be mindful of when driving in high wind conditions.

There’s no ANCAP star rating for commercial vans above 3.5-tonne GVM but the eSprinter did score the maximum Platinum grade in ANCAP’s Commercial Van Safety Comparison in 2024.

It comes standard with six airbags, active distance assist (can automatically brake and accelerate in traffic), lane-keeping, multiple blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, tyre pressure monitoring, reversing camera, front/rear parking sensors, crosswind assist and many more.

Subaru remains on par with other Japanese automakers, with a five-year and unlimited-kilometre warranty promise. There’s 12 months of roadside assist included, and the XV is also covered by a capped-price servicing program for the life of the warranty.

Services are required once every 12 months or 12,500km, and while this is a welcome improvement on the six-month intervals this car used to have, these visits are far from the cheapest we’ve seen with an average price of nearly $500 per year.

Then eSprinter comes standard with a five-year/250,000km warranty including 24/7 roadside assist for the same duration. There’s also a separate eight years/160,000km warranty covering the lithium-ion battery.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/40,000km whichever occurs first. Capped pricing applies to the first five scheduled services totalling $1920, or an average of $384 per service. Pre-paid service packages offer additional savings.