Subaru XV 1.6i-S Review
Crossover for Change

And finally here it is, the 2017 Subaru XV.

There is much buzz with this car, as it is the second Subaru in their line-up to utilise the new Subaru Global Platform (SGP).

Boasting added stiffness and passenger safety, will the new XV, be good enough to entice the buyer in a now very crowded Crossover/SUV friendly market?

Exterior

There is no escaping its Impreza hatch roots, added plastic wheel arch trim and a raised ride height well disguises the vanilla car looks, and rims are unique to the car as well. Lower quarters of the car features slightly hard-wearing black plastic guards, and bumpers too are restyled to suit its SUV-ish image.

Head and tail lamps share the same angular design, where the edges almost makes the Subaru rectangular in shape when viewed from the top. There is however a considerable bit of frontal overhang when viewed from the side.

In addition to interior utility room, the XV also comes with roof rails for longer items like canoes which will not fit into the cabin.

Singaporean Connection

We caught up with Mr MotorImage himself, Glenn Tan during the regional launch of the car in Taiwan a while ago, and learnt from him, the involvement he had in with product people at Subaru itself in subtly tweaking the looks of the XV. A new grille might not be much, but it does form the face of a car, and between the styled headlamps, with the “C” shaped daytime running lights, the honeycomb-like design, together with the chromed strip across stylistically brings the XV slightly closer to the Forester.