Across the Valley
With off roading being irrelevant for the most part, this car is still best seen as the handsome and practical creature that it is


What didn’t make it to the new XV is the Levorg’s lively power train.
The old 1.6l boxer engine still sits in this car, paired to the Lineartronic CVT which makes for a flat and pretty underwhelming drive. There are only 114 horses and 150 torques from that engine, which aren’t going to make for an afternoon tea conversation.
What they will do is get you to the afternoon tea spot without grumbling if you drive like a normal person and not the maniacs behind the wheels of STIs. Also, you can’t argue with the fuel economy figures of a CVT and a small engine, nor the fact that you don’t pay for Category B COE like in the Levorg. What it does need is a manual gearbox for you to extract the most of the engine performance yourself, but in these times the third pedal has gone the way of the dodo so it’s unlikely we’ll see one here.
To boost things a little, or rather dampen should I say, Subaru has taken the liberty to add sound-absorbent material in the car to reduce the typical car noises. And so it’s also refined and comfortable.
The XV’s suspension is also not tuned to Levorg levels of sportiness, but retains enough firmness to keep things in check when you get a little bit bored on an empty winding road. The signature all-wheel drive also keeps your traction in check while keeping that definitive road holding prowess that’s confidence inspiring and fun to drive quickly.
So for a little more money ($1,000 more at 28 Mar 2016) than a 5-door Impreza, you could have something a bit bigger and meaner looking with more space to stash your kids and their stuff. And if you’re going to ferry the family a lot, I doubt you’d be overly concerned with the lack of power.
Credits: Story and Photos by Alvan Sio








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