2018 Subaru XV vs 2017

What's the difference?

Subaru has always been the little brand that could and it’s always fit well into the Australian motoring landscape thanks to slightly unusual designs and particularly practical features. 

The company has moved more into the mainstream by eliminating things like manual transmissions but the quirk is still strong, and the XV is a great example of a small, practical, compact SUV that has just a little bit more, particularly when it comes to off-road ability. It's no LandCruiser, sure, but it will certainly get you further than many of its contemporaries and it'll have a great time doing it.

Is the Subaru XV the standout small SUV, or is it too quirky for its own good? Tell us in the comments below.

The Subaru XV remains a solid pick in the small-car segment, especially for those looking for something just a little different to the norm. And while the top-spec 2.0i-S isn't particularly cheap, you'll want for little in terms of technology and safety, and you won't be required to splash out on the option list, either.

This is the latest XV, which was released in 2016 although you wouldn't know it if you owned the old one. When viewed side-on, in fact, both cars look absolutely identical. Even the wheel designs are similar. It's only when you get to the front and rear bumpers that you notice the difference in the tail lights and headlights as well as the signature Subaru grill. 

Well, when you're on a good thing ... If anything, the XV has grown into its design over the years. When it was first released in 2012, a lot of people really didn't know what to make of the XV, but it's since grown in stature - and sales - to become one of the Subaru's most popular cars. 

That external design really points to the XV's quirky yet practical nature with low overhangs at the rear and front, a decent ride height, and black plastic trim to help protect its extremities. The external language carries on through into the interior, which has been lifted from the all new Impreza, which shares its platform with the XV. Funky vertical vents in the centre while the outer vents mimic the design for the air intakes at the front. 

The interior also echoes that of the new Impreza, with sweeping lines, well disguised cheaper plastics and a large multimedia touch screen, that's the heart of the car. This top-shelf version comes with leather seats which are offset with a well executed orange contrast stitch. Alternative stitching doesn't always work in more affordable cars, but in this case, it really gives the XV's cabin a lift.

It's more of the same, this new XV, with the 2018 model retaining the ready-for-action looks of its predecessor. Highlights outside are the 3D-effect, black-on-silver 18-inch alloys, and the black-cladding that runs along the entire bottom half of the car, giving the XV a kind of toughness.

It still has that angrily cubist design theme, and it can feel a bit plasticky in places, but it looks powerful and capable from just about every direction. Side-on, it's still more wagon than SUV, and the silver roof rails are a little reminder that you can actually use this car for more than city transport.

The interior is great, too. The doors are a mix of perforated and smooth soft-touch materials, with a sprinkling of faux carbon fibre and elaborate cross-colour stitching throughout the cabin. And if that sounds a little busy, it somehow just works in the new XV.

Based on a medium-sized sedan, the small five-seat XV isn't the biggest car inside, but neither is it the smallest. Up front, the driver and passenger are well looked after with nicely bolstered leather seats that perhaps could drop a little bit lower in the car. 

However, a cleverly designed head lining that incorporates the sunroof means there's plenty of space up top, and a steering wheel with a great deal of reach adjustment also helps taller drivers get comfortable. 

Our drivers of shorter stature are well catered for as well, thanks to a good deal of vertical adjustment in the front seat, which allow them to get close to the wheel without having to arch their ankles too far to get back to the brake and accelerator. 

Despite the addition of a large, simple-to-use and attractive touchscreen multimedia system, Subaru still insists on scattering buttons in and around the driver's area almost at random. The steering wheel, in particular, has 15 buttons - and that doesn't include the horn - and there are more controls down toward the driver's right hand as well as on the centre console. 

Front seaters have access to two USB ports, an auxiliary port and a 12-volt socket as well as two cup holders side by side and bottle holders in the doors with dividers

Moving into the rear seat again, that clever head-lining means that the sunroof doesn't steal too much headroom away from taller rear passengers. The 60/40 split-fold rear seat also features an armrest with two cup holders, and small bottle holders also exist in the doors. Unfortunately, there are no vents for rear-seat passengers, nor are there any provisions for charging devices. 

The cargo floor sits very high in the XV, which our less tall testers quite liked; they felt they didn't have to reach in and down to lower bags of shopping or suitcases into the XV. At 310 litres, it does compromise on total volume of space although with the seats down, it offers 765 litres, which is enough to swallow a couple of larger mountain bikes with the front wheels removed. 

There are no levers to flip down the front seats, but it's not much of a reach to get in and do it yourself. There's a space-saver spare wheel sitting underneath the boot floor, though Mrs Robbo did question the lack of a powered tailgate in this top-spec car.  

Overall, the XV is a practical four-seater for the average family, though if you had to ram in five bodies, it might be a little bit crowded. Babies are well catered for with ISOFIX baby seat mounts on the outside rear two seats, but that centre middle seat is a little bit bulbous, while the centre sash belt is incredibly awkwardly placed back over in the right-hand C pillar.

Pretty damn practical. The XV 2.0i-S, with its wagon-cum-SUV shape, strikes a best-of-both-world balance between on-road dynamics and load-lugging practicality.

To put its 4465mm length, 1800mm width and 1615mm height into some sort of perspective, the segment's best-seller, the CX-3, measures a diminutive 4275mm, 1765mm and 1550mm respectively, and you can feel the extra space at work in the XV.

Up front, the orange-stitched seats are big and comfortable, though they could be more figure-hugging around the hips. There are two cupholders that separate the front seats, and there's room in the front doors for bottles, too.

The auxiliary, power and dual USB connections live in a little storage space under the climate controls, and the central storage bin between the seats is big and deep, and home to another two USB connection points and a 12V power source.

Climb into the backseat and space is ample. Sitting behind my 174cm driving position, there is miles of room in front of my knees. Head space is good, too, with a strange kink in the roof that dips between the first and second row of seats, but climbs again to give backseat riders plenty of clear air.

Better still, you can definitely fit three humans across the rear - although the middle rider will be splaying their legs over the central tunnel. If you choose to go two-up, the backseat divider houses two extra cupholders, joining room in the back doors for bottles.

There are no air-con vents back there, though, and while backseat riders don't get easy-reach USB or power connections, they can use the set in the central storage bin that separates the front seats. There are two ISOFIX attachment points, one in each window seat in the back.

Step around to the boot and you'll find a useable enough space (310 litres, seats in place, and 765 litres with the rear seats dropped) along with a space-saver spare hidden under the flat-bottomed storage area.

The $35,240 2.0i-S is the top-of-the-tree choice in the XV family, sitting above the 2.0i-Premium, the 2.0i-L and the entry-level 2.0i in the range.

And it's plenty well-equipped for the money. The seats are a leather-trimmed cloth (and heated in the front), and technology is covered by an Apple CarPlay/Android Auto-equipped 8.0-inch touchscreen in the centre of the dash. It pairs with a six-speaker stereo, and sits below a second, 4.2-inch LCD that can be configured to display everything from the safety systems at work to navigation (also standard) instructions. It takes a moment to get used to looking at different screens, but when you do, the setup works brilliantly.

Elsewhere, expect 18-inch alloy wheels, remote unlocking with push-button start and automatic lights and wipers, as well as dual-zone climate control and a sunroof.

The XV uses the same 115kW, 196Nm naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder boxer engine that's in the Impreza. It's been reworked from the oil pan up, netting an amazing 12kg weight saving in the process over the previous generation engine.

It's linked to a continuously variable transmission to Subaru's front-wheel-biased all-wheel drivetrain. Subaru has also added what it calls its X Mode System that’s been plucked from the Forester, which gives the XV a modicum of off-road ability that's not very usual for cars in this category. 

The X Mode System incorporates a low-speed hill descent mode, for example, which interestingly also works in reverse. Basically, set a speed up to 25km/h with the cruise control, take your foot off the brake and accelerator, and let the car do its thing. 

X Mode is essentially providing a low-range mode, and it also gives the XV as much 50/50 traction front-to-rear as is required for the conditions it finds itself in. If you head to the snow or the sand quite regularly, for example, you'll find this feature quite useful.

There's just the single engine on offer in the XV range, including in the 2.0i-S, and that's a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder "Boxer" engine that's good for 115kW at 6000rpm and 196Nm at 4000rpm. It's paired with an automatic CVT, sadly, and sends its power to all four wheels.

Over 320km, the XV returned a dash-indicated figure of 9.1L/100km, against a claimed combined fuel economy figure of 7.0L/100km. Only a handful of these kilometres were done on gravel.

With a fuel tank capacity of 63 litres, the 1462kg XV can travel a theoretical 780km on a single tank. It’ll accept regular unleaded, as well.

The XV 2.0i-S will sip seven litres per hundred kilometres on the claimed combined cycle (though we were using 11.3L/100km at the conclusion of our test). Emissions are a claimed 159g/km of C02.

The XV's 63-litre tank accepts the cheaper 90RON fuel.

The little XV stands out from the crowd when you're stuck in the commute, especially in the brighter colours that Subaru seems to sell quite a few of. Our bright orange test example really made its mark in a sea of grey and black on the daily run to work. 

The roomy cockpit for the driver is a boon, especially for taller testers who are able to get very comfortable in the car pretty quickly. Apple CarPlay works very well, while the clever Eyesight system allows the adaptive cruise control to basically drive the car through stop-start traffic with minimal input. It will take the car right down to 0km/h from whatever speed you have set, while a gentle prod on the accelerator will wake it up again to keep it going with the traffic. It's a very clever system, let down only by its reasonably conservative nature when it comes to maintaining gaps between vehicles. 

Even at its lower setting, other drivers were very tempted to fill that space left by the Subaru to the car in front. The system also like to illuminate the brake lights quite a lot, which can irritate drivers behind.

Calling something a Jack of all trades is one of those things that sounds like a compliment, but actually rarely is. In short, it means something does lots of things adequately, but nothing truly spectacularly. Take a Porsche 911, for example; it's good at exactly one thing - going very fast - and it does it with an uncompromising focus, so taking one to Bunnings would be a very silly idea.

But the exception to that rule is the XV 2.0i-S, which is a Jack of so  many trades we lost count, some of which it's really very good at indeed. It is super practical, will swallow humans and cargo with ease, it's well equipped, and offers plenty of safety stuff. Better still, it's dynamically pretty sound, too.

Yes, practicality is the main game here, but drivers won't feel like they're swapping space for fun in the XV.

The XV is riding on Subaru's new global platform (the same that underpins the Impreza), which injects a little small-car athleticism. There's a lovely weight to the steering, too, but it doesn't feel quite as sharp as some of its smaller competitors, feeling a little top-heavy through corners.

Downsides? The engine feels a little anaemic up hills (though you wouldn't accuse it of feeling under-powered, necessarily), and like most CVT setups, it gets noisier with every push of the accelerator. So if you have a heavy right foot, you'll create a drone that drains the cabin ambience.

Yes, practicality is the main game here, but drivers won't feel like they're swapping space for fun in the XV. Well, not all the time, anyway.

The standard safety kit on this top-spec XV is truly impressive, and starts with the dual front, front-side, curtain and driver's knee airbags, as well as a reversing camera.

But the 2.0i-S then steps it up with Subaru's EyeSight system, which adds adaptive cruise, brake-light recognition, lane-departure warning with lane-keep assist and AEB that works in both directions.

The most expensive XV is also the only model to receive Subaru's Vision Assist pack, which includes blind-spot monitoring, lane-change assist (which warns you if a car is accelerating into the space you're about to lane-change into) and rear cross-traffic alert.

All of which adds up to a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Subaru offers a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the XV as well as roadside assistance for the first three years.

Fixed-price servicing is also offered for the first three years or 37,500km. It costs  $348.50 for the first and third services and $601.59 for the second, which totals nearly $1300 over three years.

It’s not the cheapest service deal on the market, especially considering the relative simplicity of a non-turbocharged engine and CVT transmission combination.

Service intervals have increased from six months to 12 months or 12,500km, whichever comes first – but don’t neglect them! Thanks to that unique boxer engine design, Subarus need regular oil changes to prevent sludge building up in the cylinder bores.

Subaru regularly offers a bonus two-year warranty on top of the standard package.

The XV range is covered by a three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, and requires servicing every 12 months or 12,500kms. Subaru's capped-price servicing program sees maintenance costs limited to between $348 and $757 per service for the first five visits to the dealership.