Best Motorbuys: July 14, 2017

Subaru Impreza XV
Price: Subaru Impreza XV,
$34,990
Dimensions: Length, 4465mm;
width, 1800mm; height, 1615mm
Configuration: Four-cylinder,
four-wheel-drive, 1995cc, 115kW,
196Nm, continuously variable
automatic.
Performance: 0-100km/h, 9.6sec
Fuel usage: 7l/100km
By Ross Kiddie
I'm often asked if I would like to take a
long road trip to form a media vehicle
evaluation.
That was the case when I eagerly
accepted an opportunity to drive
the new Subaru Impreza XV back to
Auckland after last week’s media launch
in Napier.
I’m so pleased I did, for it was a fabulous
drive and one which really proved how
capable the XV is on the highway. I can
also report it is a competent vehicle
off the seal - the launch provided the
opportunity to tackle some shingle
roads - and on the long haul back to
Auckland I stopped at a friend’s home
south of Hamilton who has a driveway
that is steep and muddy, the XV was
in its element with 220mm of ground
clearance and four-wheel-drive.
The new XV was a long time coming,
it’s roughly been a five-year life cycle
and that’s about as long as you would
expect a manufacturer to produce a
variant in today’s market. Nevertheless,
the newcomer was worth the wait, it
arrives here in two levels – Sport and
Premium – both are keenly priced at
$34,990 and $39,990 respectively, which
by my reckoning are the bargains of the
mid-size crossover/sport utility vehicle
market.
The XV is a compact SUV, it’s not a
big car but there is adequate room for
five, and given increased underhatch
proportions there’s enough room to pack
the tent and camping gear for the highcountry
fishing trip.
The XV certainly hasn’t lost any of its
X-factor, it is a stunning looker with
chunky, bold and almost aggressive
styling. It has an in-your-face wheel
design which promotes a can-do look,
and it has a wilful driving feel.
Under the bonnet sits a 2-litre,
horizontally-opposed, four-cylinder
engine, both models drive through
a continuously variable automatic
transmission with a seven-step, paddleshift
function.
The XV’s engine is rated with 115kW of
power (6000rpm) and 196Nm of torque
available at 4000rpm. The way the
engine works through CVT is uninhibited,
and it is dynamic in the respect that it
pulls happily no matter what point the
engine revolutions are operating at.
Response to throttle request is decisive.
I kept at a steady pace which meant
several highway overtakes, and the
power comes in freely without strain nor
much sound in total.
If you listen hard you can detect the
harmonics which accompany the boxer
engine design, but it is well isolated and
far from intrusive.
The engine is free-revving and
responsive, but the beauty of the flatfour
engine is its ability to work low
down, and with the inclusion of CVT it
quickly settles into a low revving pattern.
Against the stopwatch the XV will launch
to 100km/h from a standstill in 9.6sec
and will make 120km/h from 80km/h
in 5.8sec. These are satisfactory figures
which will give peace of mind.
Page 44
Subaru claims a seven-litre per 100km
(40mpg) combined cycle fuel usage
average, development work on the
boxer engine to keep it fuel-friendly
has been ongoing and that certainly
showed during my long highway haul.
At 100km/h it sips fuel at the rate of
just 5l/100km (56mpg) with the engine
turning over slowly at just 1550rpm. My
entire Napier to Auckland average was
7.7l/100km (37mpg) which I thought was
most impressive.
Through lack of familiarity and the threat
of ice, I didn’t push the XV too hard
into the tight and twisty sections of the
Central Plateau, but I can report that it
steers with precision and has accuracy
and balance which seems quite unnatural
for a vehicle which is over 1.6m tall. Even
though it sits high, the centre of gravity
is still low, that’s a by-product of the
flat-four engine, the weight sits low in
the engine bay and that has a beneficial
affect against the force of gravity.
Subaru has upspecced the new
generation model. There’s a raft of new
gear including Eyesight – a computerguided
safety technology – Apple Car
Play and Android Auto are fitted, along
with the clever X-mode drive system
which improves driver control on rough
roads, steep terrain and slippery surfaces
through integrated control of the engine.
On the downhill slope at my friend’s
home, hill descent control kept the XV at
slow, steady speed.
All of these inclusions sit over and above
the normal features you would expect in
today’s modern car and, of course, the
XV gets a five-star Australasian New Car
Assessment Program safety rating.
The new model will be in showroom
floors later this month which is just in
time for the winter ski season. I know it’s
been a popular car on the skifield access
roads since its inception, and with Subaru
sales buoyant in the South Island I can
see its value and capability tempting to a
large cross-section of buyers.