Subaru XV

Subaru XV at a glance

Subaru never made the XV a separate design: it is an Impreza five-door lifted for gravel tracks and snow, with body cladding and roof rails. That keeps the dimensions compact, about 4.45-4.49 m long, while the ground clearance matches many larger SUVs. More models of the brand are in our Subaru catalogue.

Generations

First generation (GP, 2012-2017)

Subaru showed the XV as a concept at Auto Shanghai in 2011 and unveiled the production car at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2011. ADAC lists German versions from March 2012. A facelift came in 2016. Europe had three engines: a 1.6i, a 2.0i and Subaru's 2.0-litre boxer diesel with a six-speed manual. The petrol engines were offered with a manual gearbox or the Lineartronic CVT, and 17-inch wheels were standard.

In Japan and North America there was also an XV Hybrid with a 10 kW (14 PS) electric motor in the gearbox; it was not sold in Germany. Tan Chong Motor started assembling the XV in Malaysia from kits in December 2012.

Second generation (GT, 2018-2024)

The second XV was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2017 and moved to the new Subaru Global Platform. German sales started in January 2018. The 2.0-litre petrol engine was dropped there in August 2018, leaving the 1.6i, and in March 2020 the 2.0ie e-BOXER arrived: a 2.0-litre boxer with a small electric motor in the CVT. Subaru first showed the European e-BOXER at Geneva in March 2019. A facelift reached Germany in January 2021, and ADAC lists the last XV versions until July 2024.

Engines, transmissions and performance

All European XVs have permanent all-wheel drive. The e-BOXER's electric motor gives 66 Nm and is fed by a 0.6 kWh battery; it can move the car on its own up to 40 km/h, but the system output stays at 110 kW (150 PS). In the United States the second generation added a plug-in hybrid in 2019 and a 2.5-litre engine in 2021, neither of which was offered in Germany. Our power converter translates kW into PS or hp.

Dimensions, space and boot

The e-BOXER loses 45 litres of boot space and 15 litres of fuel tank to the hybrid battery. Ground clearance is 220 mm (8.7 in) in both generations.

Fuel economy and running costs

Official figures reflect the permanent all-wheel drive. The first-generation 2.0i CVT was rated at 6.5 l/100 km and 151 g/km CO2 on the old NEDC cycle, the 2.0D at 5.4 l/100 km and 141 g/km. The second-generation 1.6i CVT was rated at 6.9 l/100 km (NEDC, 157 g/km). The e-BOXER, measured on the stricter WLTP cycle, is rated at 7.9 l/100 km and 180 g/km, so the hybrid system does not make it the economical choice. Our fuel cost calculator shows what that means per year.

Trims and equipment

German trims for the second generation were Trend, Comfort, Exclusive and, for the e-BOXER, Active and Platinum. List prices from ADAC:

Safety

The second generation's 94% for adult occupants was a large improvement over the first. Ratings for other cars are in our safety section.

Reliability and known issues

We have not found model-specific fault statistics for the XV in the sources used for this article, so we do not list typical faults here. As with any CVT car, a used buyer should ask for the service history of the transmission.

Rivals

Permanent all-wheel drive on every version remains the XV's main argument. Use our comparison tool to set them side by side.

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