 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek. Click image to enlarge |
Review by Mike Schlee, photos by Mike Schlee and Jonathan Yarkony
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2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Odometer: 4,932 km
Observed Fuel Consumption: 9.4 L/100 km
Costs: $485,60 (gas)
Now that we have two months seat time behind the wheel of the 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek from Subaru Canada, its true colours are beginning to shine through. The more time spent driving this little crossover, the more obvious its pros and cons become. Luckily for us, it’s beginning to appear that the pros outweigh the cons.
 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek. Click image to enlarge |
This is our second update on the XV and it has been busy; during the past month, as the late Hank Snow would say, our XV “has been everywhere, man.” Early in the month we packed up the Tangerine Orange Subaru and headed on a trip south of the border to Buffalo, NY. During this 250 km round trip the XV proved to be a comfortable highway cruiser that tracks straight and does not require constant steering inputs to keep within its lane. Keeping up with the flow of traffic is no problem for the little 2.0L flat-four engine and we observed an average economy of 7.8 L/100 km during this highway trip. Remember, it is winter so XV is hampered by high friction winter tires, winter fuel, and winter temperatures.
Overall we have put just over 4,200 km on the XV since receiving it and are still averaging 9.4 L/100 km even with the dropping temperatures. Our average speed has risen from last month’s 39 km/h to a breathtaking 40 km/h.
Since our last update, we have really focused on the cargo carrying capacity of the XV Crosstrek. Senior Editor Jonathan Yarkony spent a week behind the wheel of the vehicle and appreciated the ride height of the XV, which helped when securing his three-year-old daughter in her forward facing child seat as well as his newborn son in his rearward facing child seat. Jonathan also appreciated the back doors that open very wide as well as the fact that a shorter passenger could sit in the front seat, ahead of the rear facing child seat, in relative comfort, though he wasn’t daring enough to try it himself.
  2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek. Click image to enlarge |
While I had the XV, I was on doggie-sitting duty one day and used the affectionately nicknamed ‘Subaru Pumpkin’ to pick up my relatives’ Rottweiler. With the rear seats folded down, she was able to stand up inside the XV and seemed to like the extra space of the hatchback (as she moved from window to window). My wife and I also used the vehicle for our family Christmas at my parents’ house – a 76-km trek across the city to their house in Markham. We were a little dismayed at the real-world cargo carrying ability of the XV as we could only put gifts in the hatch while other items like overnight bags, snow gear and computer bags had to occupy the rear seats. This may be a reflection on us spoiling our niece with too many gifts as much as the limitations of the cargo hold itself.
Jonathan Yarkony also found the rear hatch space to be a bit cramped, but more than adequate enough to haul all the gear associated with a day trip to the relatives for his family of four. He also appreciated that his daughter’s stroller can fit in width-wise and I found myself also thankful of the XV’s cargo width that was able to swallow up a 30-inch long chandelier purchased on Boxing Day, er, week.
