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twisty undulating roads, dodging road hazards.
How did Subaru dodge the negatives associated with a high ground clearance car? The answer lies under the hood. Unlike conventional cars, Subaru’ s trademark“ boxer” engine configuration has two pairs of pistons firing away from each other, length wise rather than vertically.
This allows the 2-litre naturally aspirated FB series engine to be mounted lower, granting the XV a lower centre gravity, which pays dividends in greatly improved handling and stability.
Tight roads and heavy traffic limited our driving speed but in between short spurts of acceleration, with four adults on board, the XV gave us enough confidence that it could bring us through any power demanding situations.
The Lineartronic continuously variable transmission, like all
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CVTs, requires some getting used to. Shifting was smooth with some of the characteristic rubber band effect noted, but it didn’ t respond very well in throttle over-runs, even on a flat surface. Coming off a descent, lifting off the throttle to moderate speed, there was a tendency for the transmission to hold its ratio a little longer than necessary, resulting in some jerking.
At one point, our group stopped at Sanur beach. Save for a small group of surfers at another end, the volcanic black sand covered beach looked inviting for some adolescent hooligan driving, made under the pretext of a photo opportunity shoot.
Looking at the tarmac biased 225 / 55 R17 Continental Conti Max Contact MC5 tyres fitted to our test cars, we weren’ t too sure about climbing ourselves down the steep incline leading to the beach, but one group was brave enough to try it anyway.
A few sprints up and down the beach later, it was time to return to the tarmac. Climbing up the exit stretch, one of the cars had its front wheels dug deep into the soft hand.
The vehicle was quickly freed by momentarily rocking the car into reverse, mashing the throttle and letting the Subaru Symmetrical AWD system sort the traction out.
Power was transferred away from the offending wheel to the rear that still had traction, some manly clanking mechanical noise from the locking differential later and the XV was roaring up the sandy incline.
It was not the drama that we had hoped for but unless you are planning an assault on the Rainforest Challenge, using the system is a no-brainer, but is more than capable to deal with
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light off-roading.
Inside, our Indonesian specifications car comes with headrest mounted rear entertainment system that is not available in the Malaysian market models.
The reason for the omission is because cars in this category are typically chauffeur driven in Indonesia. The feature is less appreciated by Malaysian customers and frankly, we think customers are better off saving on the extra cost and buying themselves a pair of iPads and a set of mounting accessories instead, which are far more flexible and practical.
Inside the cabin, there is a good mixture of soft-touch materials lining the dashboard and upper door panels, and durable harder resistance plastics at the lower sections. It is a good combination that would survive many years of abuse by irritable pre-schoolers. Other minor attention to details like dampened action
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glovebox release and a very well put together interior lend it a hint of upper-class ambitions to the XV.
Our only major gripe is the relatively small boot space, however Motor Image assured that Malaysian models will come with a slightly bigger boot, courtesy of a space saver spare wheel.
Our test cars were retrofitted with a higher boot floor to accommodate a full size spare wheel, in anticipation of the poor road conditions that we were likely to encounter.
Kitted with an extensive list of features, excellent cabin space and ride comfort, with a price tag that undercuts many other traditional favourites, the XV deserves to be at the top of your consideration list.
The Subaru badge may need a little bit of convincing to buy into, but rest be assured that it is a very well established Japanese brand with over 55 years of history.
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