SHORT TEST DRIVE: ’19 SUBARU XV

Photo/Gambar Hiasan: USDM Crosstrek (XV) by Motor Trend staff

Not too long ago, my wife and I decided to go test drive something from the entity formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI). We picked “Subaru Kuala Lumpur” AKA Motor Image Lorong Medan Tuanku 1. The new SK Forester wasn’t in yet, so we checked out the SJ Forester, XV 2.0i-P and the XV GT. The SJ Forester seemed roomy, lots of glass to see through, and the hip point was low so it was easy ingress/egress for both the Forester and the XV.

Alas, it seemed pretty pointless to test drive the SJ as we were interested in the SK so I thought why not test the XV instead? I think the last Subaru I drove was the 1.6L Impreza around 2003/04. I didn’t like it. So, the XV (AKA Crosstrek in the US) would be our Subaru ambassador for the day.

Subarus have been known to have rather simple interiors but the new ones are pretty alright. The XV especially has a steering wheel I really, really like. Lotsa controls. Very ‘Playstation-like’. Instruments are more than adequate. It’s basically a high-rider Subaru Impreza 2.0 NA 5dr hatch. Sorta. Kinda.

One gripe – the ‘carbon’ door panel inserts. None of the reviews seem to cover this but the fronts are gloss finished while the ones on the rear door panels are matt. Whassup with that? The dash has orange stitching which appears to be real thread and not moulded on fake stuff like I have on my ’16 Hilux. I really don’t like fake, non-functional stuff. Downside ... you get that orange stitching on whatever exterior colour you choose. What the!?

The salesman was pretty convincing because he was a passionate Subie fan. He drives a Legacy Wagon and his father drives a ’13 Forester. He told us about how the bodyshell was really safe and rigid, lotsa high tensile steel, very strong A, B & C pillars. But Subarus are not ‘sold’ in the showroom, you need to get people’s butts planted in seats and get them to drive those things.

So off we went in the XV test unit out of that tiny showroom which could only hold 3 cars. There was an XV GT in there but to be honest it didn’t interest us. The wheels didn’t feel right design-wise and the aero kit wasn’t STI. If I were to slap on anything it would HAVE to be STI or nothing. OK maybe K&N.

Driving out I felt the turning circle was pretty good. Great for tight alleyways and urban driving. The suspension soaked up bumps pretty well. Steering feel was erm, not applicable? Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad but from our very short drive, I felt that it’s not the type of steering that gives you ‘feedback’ but it’s more of a CONTROL tool.

Roadholding was great, and by that I mean that it just holds the imaginary line in your mind you steer it onto. That permanent AWD just gave us the feeling that it grabs the tarmac, limpet-like. Great confidence booster. Going around a tight U-turn was when all that salesman talk about drivability and ‘handling’ hit my wife, and hit her hard. BOOM! She ‘got’ it.

Just before that U-turn was when it started raining, and that meant the XV showed off its skills in giving drivers the confidence they get when driving in the wet.

Brakes are ventilated front and rear and felt pretty progressive. Not jerky, spongy or grabby. Pretty nice! Diameter-wise, I wasn’t impressed so I don’t know how they’d hold up coming down Genting or doing some laps around SIC.

Luggage space is perversely small at only 345 litres, but only if you're benchmarking the Honda HRV (448 litres). The Mazda CX3 costs RM135k and gives you around 350L, so it is what it is, an urban runabout B-SUV albeit on a C-Segment platform. I suppose if I needed to pick folks up from the airport I'd have to splurge on a Thule roof box and cross bars. Budget? RM5k-ish?

Finally, the party trick at the end was jumping the kerb once we got back to the showroom. Grace did it and … no scraping the side sills or anything underneath. We got out and went into the showroom so the salesman could repark inside and that meant hopping OFF the kerb. Party stunt for the finale thanks to 8.5” ground clearance, YO!

So the Malaysian-assembled 2.0i-P will cost you RM124,788 and that includes registration and R/Tax (RM438) but not insurance. You could get a one year old for around RM110-115k provided the dealership you visit has one in their inventory. Colour-wise I like the Sunshine Orange, but it’s kinda loud. Cool Grey Khaki is awesome and so is Pure White. They’d look great paired with all the STI bits.

What keeps potential buyers up at night? Aftersales service. Subaru doesn’t sell that many cars compared to other Japanese makes with CKD assembly plants locally or in the ASEAN region. Despite having 7 models in the Malaysian line-up, I feel sales is driven mainly by the XV and Forester.

Why bother talking about this? Well, sans prejudice if your sales drops after a rapid network expansion, it CAN affect your ability to bring in sufficient gross margin to go around for every dealership to maintain their outlets, pay salaries, retain skilled staff, buy tools and equipment or even buy inventory be it new vehicles or parts.

There are naysayers who call Subaru ‘troubled’ or the XV a ‘lemon’. Are they absolutely correct about the units being sold here in Malaysia? Are their conclusions based on anecdotal evidence, small sample sizes? I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with them here for now. There was a recall for valve springs but I believe it affected 2012-2014 BRZs, XVs and Imprezas.

One issue that keeps coming up when Subarus are discussed in Malaysia are the wheel bearings. Apparently they get noisy around 50,000-60,000km in hot, humid and often very wet Malaysia.

No prizes for guessing – Fuji Heavy uses SEALED or shielded bearings on the XV. These aren’t really designed to be repacked and receive no lubrication from say … transmission fluid. Combine pot holes, jumping kerbs (side impacts), water ingress, heat and dirt and you’ve got a recipe for a short service life. If you really want to read a scary sealed bearing story google "Porsche IMS".

Anyway, long story short (I could go on and on about wheel bearings but it’s best if you google), Subaru replaces what’s actually a wear-and-tear item under warranty if you complain and ask nice-nice. Malaysian (and well, most of the ROTW) mechanics typically whack wheel bearings in with a hammer and a pipe (brass drift if you’re lucky) so the bearings won’t sit perpendicular. Small particles, burnt-on dirt in the bearing housing and you get the same result. Outcome – bearings which don’t sit perfectly perpendicular means accelerated wear and damage = shorter life.

Clever Subaru sells OE NTN bearings in their little turret housings for something like RM900 for the rears and RM700 for the fronts. So get around RM1600 ready inclusive of labour every 55,000km or so. Installation is easy, pop off brake caliper and remove speed sensor (I think!) and undo four bolts from the rear, bolt on and TORQUE new turret wheel bearing housing things and you’re done.

A few drops of blue Loctite on cleaned, dust-free bolts prior to torquing wouldn’t be too much to ask from a caring Subaru dealer, right? Any other issues? Have YOU heard of anything? Lemme know. Oh and don't bother trying to buy Timken bearings for your XV. Apparently Timken buys NTN OE sets and repackages them. Urgh. 🙁

I wouldn’t categorise Subaru as being very quirky or niche, but it certainly is a left-field choice in a sea of Hondas, Mazdas and Nissans. Toyota finally started selling the RAV4 here but it's super expensive ... so what’s Miss Toyota gonna do? Look at Subarus of course.

Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section below.

Favourite Dealer: Subaru Setapak - Karrus Automotive Sdn. Bhd. T: 03-4032 3602

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