2020 Subaru XV vs 2019

What's the difference?

The idea of a hybrid version of Subaru’s small XV SUV seems to make complete sense – this is a car that probably spends most of its time in traffic but is owned by people who might like to head down a dirt track occasionally. And if it can somehow manage to give off a green glow as well,  that could only be a bonus.

But can it actually do all those things? That's the question I’m here to answer, with a bit of real-world testing.

The answer is not a simple yes or no, I'm afraid, because the experience was mostly positive, yet in some ways, I was left wanting more.  Allow me to explain.

Subaru landed on a winning format when it turned an Impreza variant into a small SUV.

A simple and elegant solution to its small-SUV problem, the XV slots so naturally into the Japanese brand’s chunky SUV line-up, you’d be forgiven for thinking it has existed since the ’90s.

Now in its second iteration in Australia, the XV has its own fleshed-out four-variant family. But does it have enough of that unique Subaru charm to set it apart from a crowded field of competitors? I spent a week in the top-spec 2.0i-S to investigate.