Topic: Test Drive: 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek

[Mike]

Jonathan got unbelievable mileage in the camry hybrid when he had it too

[jyarkony]

Take a look here.  Real world ratings listed from our testing. http://www.autos.ca/car-test-drives/comparison-test-five-compact-cuvs/5/

Since you probably won't click - CX-5 = 9.6 L, CR-V = 10.9 L in early spring GTA driving.  Our long-term XV after a week is sitting at 9.6 L

These numbers are all really high because of the loop and driving style we had... We had the CX-5 in the 7s in the fuel efficient cars comparison with more highway driving, though it tends to be noisy and slow, much like the XV. But in general, I agree with Chris that these slow cars are entirely sufficient, even if I don't much like listening to them wail on a highway merge, CR-V included.

Camry hybrid seems to get better efficiency and gets it done smoothly, so an Avalon, or better yet, a RAV4 with that powertrain would be a gem.

[bombastic]

I'm sure Subaru fans would laud the company. This car is nothing I could desire about. Pass for me.

[magtogoek]

I just recently purchased the XV and have about 2000km on it right now.  My driving is 70% highway, 30% city.  At the moment, with winter tires (Nokian Hakkapelita 7's) mounted, I am averaging 8.3L combined.  Highway trips tend to be driven at 100km/hr (90km limit on our rural roads) and at that speed, on my typical mildly rolling routes I tend to average between 7.1-7.4 on my highway drives.

Pros - storage space, flat fold down, towing capacity/performance that is very surprising, interior styling and instrument placement (subjective of course)

Cons - lack of immediate power response when accelerating to pass (not surprising and nowhere near a deal breaker for me, I am trying to be efficient), the lag between neutral/drive or neutral/reverse, lack of automatic engine kill at full stops as on european model.

I am tickled pink thus far and do not regret my purchase in the least.  As a first time subie owner I am very happy.  Coming from a Ford Ranger FX4 and Jeep Wrangler before that, I am in a totally different ball park so nothing to compare it to in my recent previous vehicles.

For my rural, heavy snow-covered roads this vehicule seems like it is a great fit.  I pretty much fit one portion of the demographic they are trying to hit (outdoors guy often hauling 250kgs of kayaks around for work, early 40's).

Really looking forward to reading your long-term review as we are basically on the same mileage and will be discovering the vehicle in the same type of conditions (though I'll be getting much more cold and waaaaay more snow that you will!)

cheers

michael

[redman]

I'm sure Subaru fans would laud the company. This car is nothing I could desire about. Pass for me.

Somehow I was able to deal with the leaky head gasket and cold engine piston slap, on what was otherwise a stellar vehicle, but the lack of effort by Subaru to empress or maintain current or future buyers is disheartening.  This re marketed impreza outback does nothing for me a current owner of a Subaru Forester. I will seek my next set of wheels from a manufacturer with more inspiration for the Canadian consumer.

[dirtyjeffer]

I will seek my next set of wheels from a manufacturer with more inspiration for the Canadian consumer.

to be fair, most (if not all) manufacturers don't "tailor" their vehicles for the Canadian consumer (in more than just naming some "packages")...Canada is a tiny market on the global market.

[redman]

I will seek my next set of wheels from a manufacturer with more inspiration for the Canadian consumer.

to be fair, most (if not all) manufacturers don't "tailor" their vehicles for the Canadian consumer (in more than just naming some "packages")...Canada is a tiny market on the global market.

Maybe I should have said for the N.A. market. Either way Subaru has better offering in both Europe and Australia than offered in N.A.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Lady Osis has mentioned the XV a number of times now. She loves the look and size. We both want to get another manual and find the consumption of the 3.6R difficult to justify. Plans that we had for camping are out the window at this point so that opens up a number of smaller vehicles.

Our 2.5i Outback had a 0-60 in the 9.5 second range. I doubt we'd have any issues with the new drivetrain.

[dirtyjeffer]

i read a comparo yesterday (can't find it for the life of me, or i'd post a link to here, perhaps others with stronger google prowess can find it) where the Escape, XV and CR-V finished in the top 3 with only 3 points between them...don't quote me, but i think the CR-V finished first, the XV 2nd and the Escape 3rd...as much as people want to rag on Subie for making this vehicle, i like it, and for the most part, so did the reviewers, even with its lack of power...it also finished 2nd for best fuel economy.

[dirtyjeffer]

ahh...here it is...Escape finished first, XV finished 2nd and CR-V finished 3rd (others listed as well).

http://www.autonet.ca/auto-news/automotive-industry-news/2012/11/11/ajac-best-suvcuv-under-35000/