Day-by-Day Review: 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek

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2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

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I’m sure you have seen the commercials. If you don’t watch TV, this is probably one of the funnier commercials in Canada at the moment. A young guy painting the town in his Subaru Crosstrek banters back and forth with his outdoorsy alter-ego in a series of well-written quips. The car is orange and it really stands out—cue my black tester of the same model, the 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek.

What is this exactly? Subaru will tell you it is a groundbreaking new design, a game-changing compact crossover! Let’s call it what it really is, though, a Subaru Impreza wagon with larger wheels, a jacked up suspension and some plastic panels. Wait—I think I’ve seen this before.

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Subaru has sent me a base model tester, what they call the “Touring” edition. This is good in my books as it doesn’t give me a false sense of what most Canadian buyers will end up with. Priced competitively at $24,495 with a rather large delivery charge of $1,695, this Subaru seems well equipped.

Of course, you get Subaru’s legendary and standard symmetrical all-wheel drive, along with power windows, power door locks, keyless entry, cruise control, heated seats, automatic climate control, and more. The Crosstrek is powered by a 2.0-litre boxer four-cylinder engine that produces 148-hp and 145 lb-ft of torque, and Subaru offers the Crosstrek standard with a manual transmission—yes! Unfortunately, my tester is optioned with the automatic (CVT) transmission for an additional $1,300.

MSRP as tested (including destination): $27,490

For more information on Subaru and the XV Crosstrek visit Subaru Canada

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Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

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Since the XV is based on the Impreza, not much has changed in the interior, either. But it is well laid out, if not a little sparse and boring. If you like black, you’ll like it in here too, as the monotone treatment is key here, and although the feel and function are better than in Subarus of the past, I feel this company still has a long way to go.

What used to make Subaru interesting in the market was its quirkiness. This is mostly gone, as they turn each of their cars into just another player with all-wheel drive (although, arguably, the best system around). The XV is not quirky or different, despite the marketing try-hards; it’s a jacked up wagon that is rather… boring inside.

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The steering wheel controls are intuitive and the climate control and radio are easy to reach and use as well. A large junk bin located just in front of the shifter is a great storage space, door pockets allow for water bottles and extra storage and a smaller bin under the armrest if you slide it back for more. The heated seat controls are underneath the armrest; a little oddly-placed, but okay once you get used to it.

Cargo space is good, as it should be in a wagon / crossover. The Crosstrek offers 631 L of cargo capacity; what Subaru perhaps doesn’t want you to know though is that their less expensive Impreza actually offers slightly more at 637-litres, and with the seats folded those numbers increase to 1470 and 1480-litres, advantage Impreza.

The rest of the figures are identical. Of course, the Crosstrek offers larger wheels, bigger tires and more weight — can you tell I’m not a fan of this concept? You do get 7.5 cm more ground clearance and lower fuel economy for your troubles though!

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One owner has already commented on this article with his take on the XV. After a few months of ownership, his feelings about the XV Crosstrek pretty close to my own after just a few days. The number one thing I have noticed is that it is loud on the highway; around town, of course, noise isn’t really an issue. But out on the highway where I spend most of my time, road noise, wind noise and other mechanical seem to be rather abundant. As a result, you end up cranking the radio to drown out the noise, and then when you come to a stop, you realize the radio is blaring.

There have also been comments about the 148-horsepower engine being fairly weak for this vehicle. Although the car is no rocket, it is not horrible in everyday driving. The CVT keeps the revs down in the 1,500-1,800 rpm range when accelerating, and the torquey engine (for its size) offers up good response. If you do step on the accelerator to get moving in a hurry, though, lots of noise is made but not much progress happen, so a fully loaded Crosstrek in a hilly situation may be a problem.

The CVT is a little whiny (yet another noise added to the myriad of others), and it is extremely slow to shift from reverse to forward and vice-versa. (It’s even worse in cold temperatures. The engine also idles quite rough when it is cold, and almost feels like it is stuttering.

What is good is visibility: the XV is easy to park and easy to get out of parking spaces or crowded parking lots. And the seating position is comfortable, as are the seats themselves; in many vehicles, I fiddle with the seating position for a few days, but in the Crosstrek, I set it and forgot about it pretty much right away.

I’m still not convinced, but if you feel you need the Crosstrek’s extra ground clearance, I suppose it may be worth it to you. Those wheels, though — they have got to go!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

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What did come through for the Subaru this week was its fuel consumption, or perhaps I should say fuel economy. I averaged 7.8 L/100km for the week, which is pretty good for a four-wheel-drive vehicle. But that’s about the only praise I can give it as I found it too loud and harsh to drive, and certainly not exciting.

I had my significant other take it to the library on Saturday and asked her opinion. She said she liked the turning circle but found the windshield was “wonky” (this could explain the headaches and sore eyes I had all week), and she found it very loud inside as well, which is not good when you consider she normally drives a Yaris.

Unless you really need the ground clearance and crave some uniqueness in your vehicle, I would personally pass on this car.

*Rating out of 5: