 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek Touring. Click image to enlarge |
Review and Photos by Mike Schlee
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2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek Touring
Odometer: 6,024 km
Observed Fuel Consumption: 9.6 L/100 km
Costs: $694 (gas)
It is funny how quickly time flies. It feels like just last week we picked up our long-term 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek, affectionately referred to as ‘pumpkin’. But no, it has been three-plus months since we first brought the high-riding Subaru crossover into our fleet and it is time to say good-bye.
Those following our monthly updates on the XV Crosstrek will know how much we appreciated it in the snow and how it differs from the Impreza. For the final month, I thought I would focus more on its abilities in day-to-day life. It was used for a weekend getaway up north, to transport a medium-sized piece of furniture, and of course the daily nightmare that is my and my wife’s Greater Toronto Area commute.
 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek Touring. Click image to enlarge |
Shortly after the new year rang in, we took the XV up north to a weekend getaway at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario. For those unfamiliar with this area, it is known to be in the heart of the Ontario ‘snow belt’ and receives more than its fair share of the fluffy white stuff. Although the drive up was drama free, Huntsville lived up to its reputation and dumped a thick layer of fresh powder on the resort the day we were to leave. The drive home proved to be filled with a wintery mix of slush, sleet, snow and rain. No problem for the Crosstrek, though, as sensible driving, light weight, winter tires, good weight distribution and, of course, all-wheel drive made short work of this weather.
I know we have focused a lot on the all-wheel-drive, messy-weather abilities of this crossover, but perhaps equally as impressive is the way it drives on clear days. The XV Crosstrek seamlessly operates in dry weather too. Put a non-car person in the XV, have them drive it for a week, and then ask them which wheels are powered, and I would wager their response wouldn’t be much more than a guess.
 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek Touring. Click image to enlarge |
In spite of being a vehicle with permanent all-wheel drive, the XV did its best to achieve decent fuel efficiency. We ended up creeping back up to 9.6 L/100 km during our 6,042 km of driving. This is not great, but it was winter, we had winter tires installed and our driving conditions/habits are not the most efficient. For reference, we achieved the exact same average with another XV Crosstrek, this one in Limited trim, during a 5 vehicle mini-crossover comparison. The next closest vehicle was a whopping 1.5 litres worse per 100 km. The XV Crosstrek also handily won the whole comparison and no, it had nothing to do with the fact we were driving one long-term; we had four other writers evaluating those mini-crossovers as well, none of whom had driven it more than a week, and all five of us ranked the XV first on our individual scoresheets.
