Subaru's New City SUV

XV concept previews Japanese brand's latest soft-roader that's smaller than a Forester. Subaru will expand its range of SUVs with a city-sized soft-roader based on a new concept vehicle unveiled today at the 2011 Shanghai motor show.
The XV concept is shorter and lower than the Japanese brand's most popular SUV, the Forester, and it will become its smallest SUV when it goes into production as expected.
As the baby SUV in the Subaru family, the all-wheel-drive XV is powered by a 2.0-litre version of the company's horizontally opposed 'boxer' engine rather than the 2.5-litre unit employed in the Forester.
It is linked to a step-less continuously variable transmission that started life in Subaru's Liberty/Outback models and is gradually replacing outdated four-speed autos throughout the brand's range.
The stylish concept - which looks close to being production ready - suggests Subaru is set to respond to criticisms that its vehicle designs, such as the Impreza and Liberty, are too polarising.
The XV features the hexagonal grille design that is central to Subaru's new family face and makes its production debut on the new Impreza also being revealed this week - at the New York motor show.


A clamshell-style bonnet sits over blue LED "hawk-eye" headlights with yellow LED indicators, with the main lamps colour-matched by small round fog-lights in the sportily styled lower bumper.
Black contrasting plastic for the side sills and wheel-arches is a classic off-roader styling cue, and the front end also gains underbody protection.
An all-glass roof allows plenty of light into a cabin that seats five people on leather upholstery and could potentially offer slightly more space for rear passengers than the Forester.
Although the XV is 110mm shorter than the Forester, its wheels are pushed slightly further away from each other to create a 20mm-longer wheelbase. The production version will sit on smaller and less fancy-looking wheels than the concept's 19-inch alloys that feature black rims and silver spokes.
Expect the real XV to also adopt conventional side mirrors rather than the micro-sized, windscreen-pillar-cited cameras that have become something of a recent concept-car trend.
Apart from those few little things, it will take little work to turn the XV into a production-viable model (though timing for the arrival of the production version of the XV is not yet known). Subaru Australia is certainly keen to get its hands on the model.
"The XV concept clearly flags Subaru's intentions to capture even more of the crossover market in the future and this stunning new design no doubt provides some clues as to what we may expect," says the company's boss, Nick Senior.
"Sub-compact SUVS are growing opportunity and [the] XV concept is the type of vehicle that will attract even more customers."