GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Subaru XV unveiled
Japanese car maker shows off small SUV replacement due to arrive Down Under before year's endSubaru has revealed its XV replacement at the Geneva motor show.
Based on the Subaru Global Platform that also underpins the new Impreza, the high-rider takes inspiration from the XV concept shown at the 2016 Geneva motor show.
Retaining that car's rugged looks, the production XV is set to go head-to-head with the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Toyota C-HR and upcoming Hyundai Kona when it lands in Australian showrooms later this year.
Helping to distinguish the XV from the pack will be its standing as the safest, most fun-to-drive offering in its class, Subaru claims.
Engineers validate that claim with the new platform's lower centre of gravity and increased rigidity - owed in part to a greater proportion of high tensile steel.
A new torque vectoring function, meanwhile, will help boost agility in corners.
All XV models will come with the firm's trademark asymmetrical all-wheel drive system. Under the bonnet is the same 115kW/196Nm 2.0-litre flat-four that powers the recently-launched Impreza.
Like that car, the XV will be offered with either a six-speed manual or a CVT transmission that's claimed to mimic a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.
Later on, the XV could gain new hybrid technology.
Set to be the second Subaru in the range to receive the firm's Eyesight autonomous emergency braking, following the Outback, the new XV will also come equipped with blind spot monitoring and rear-cross traffic detection.
Adaptive cruise control is also set to appear, although there are currently no plans to introduce semi-autonomous cruise control.
The XV is to arrive in Australia before the end of the year, priced from about $30,000.
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