Subaru XV GT Edition Review: A Car I’ll Spend My Own RM 130,000 On

Joshua Chin March 8, 2025

0 1,568 8 minutes read

Old? Yes. Less cool than its contemporary Chinese competitors? Yes. But just read on to understand why this writer would still buy a Subaru XV today.

The Subaru XV was once a rather popular choice for Malaysians considering a small SUV, but unfortunately many currently see that time as being oh so long ago…

And who could fault them, really? Even this second generation of XV has technically been around for over 7 years already after all, with it having first landed locally (to replace the admittedly really similar-looking predecessor) back in 2017.

What’s more is that, with this new tsunami of Chinese cars currently flooding the market, many prospective buyers would likely see this aged Scooby as really being too old and too bland relative to its trendy and tech-filled competition. In fact, this is pretty much what this writer had thought when he agreed to take the XV for a review.

But having lived with it for over a week, this writer came away with the surprising conclusion that the XV could still very much be a consideration in this day and age. And perhaps even more surprisingly (to himself, of all people), his affinity for this Scooby got to the point that — especially at its current promotional price that starts from RM 126,000 (RM 133,000 for the GT Edition tested here)— he really couldn’t see where else would he put his own money into any other new car!

Delightfully Old School

Now in understanding why this writer is actually currently in the midst of seriously considering spending his own hard-earned money on an XV, one of the reasons is simply because of how delightfully old school it is inside.

Of course, this writer understands how daft the above statement might sound. Anyone who even takes a cursory glance into the admittedly dark cabin of this Scooby will immediately get the impression that its interior is a relic of the 2010s, and is completely outclassed by the trendy and tech-filled cabins of all its more contemporary counterparts.

But spend a little bit more time in it, and one will soon realise that, from the blessed presence of dedicated knobs for its audio and climate settings, what this Subaru does have — instead of all the snazzy tech and glitzy screens — are good-quality physical buttons to control pretty much everything. And really, for day-to-day liveability, having any adjustment be exactly one tactile reach away is actually a far greater luxury feature than things like massaging seats or central displays the size of TVs.

Also, while the native infotainment UI on the XV is as basic as it can get, it does nevertheless come with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration, which is pretty much all the infotainment tech one will ever need anyway. It is not even too big a bother for it being a wired connection too, as that just means one’s smartphone actually charges while connected up to it!

Confidence In Motion

Another major reason meanwhile as to why this writer has grown so fond of this Scooby comes from this XV just offering the sense that it really can through anything that the world can throw at it, without so much as breaking a sweat.

Now, it is actually quite hard to pin-point what exactly contributes to this feeling. Perhaps it has something to do with its properly weighted steering and firm pedals, which give it a solid driving feel. Or maybe it’s Subaru’s highly capable symmetrical all-wheel-drive system actually doing its thing?

But basically, what this writer can say is for the XV to be one of the most sure-footed and stable cars he has driven to date. And during his time with it, he really did have the utmost confidence behind the wheel, even when traversing through the sketchiest of weather conditions and roughest of terrains.

Driving down the windy backroads from Fraser’s Hill in the pouring rain? The XV made it feel like the tarmac beneath its wheels were bone dry. Needing to cross a flooded field because that’s the only way out of the glamping site? Simply engage in X-mode and this all-paw Scooby will claw its way through the mud bog without even spinning a wheel once!

Seriously, this writer really can’t emphasise enough how no other soft-roader on the market thus far — even those that tout themselves as “ready for adventure” — offers the same sense of security and invincibility on (and off) the road that this Subaru provides. In fact, this writer can honestly say that the only other cars that have given him a similar feeling of confidence in motion were the Range Rover and the Toyota Hilux, which is high praise indeed for this small Scooby.

And while on the topic of size, the XV’s comparatively compact dimensions does see for this sturdy SUV to feel rather nimble and manoeuvrable when the situation demands it. What more is that despite its jacked-up stance, the XV still retains a very car-like driving position within, which pretty much enables the driver to drive it like one as well — instead of feeling like they’re helming a ship in some SUVs.

Admittedly, though, the XV is not the fastest car in the world. The 2.0-litre naturally aspirated boxer four under its hood, after all, musters only a modest amount of power, with said oomph also being delivered in a rather old-school linear (and leisurely) fashion.

So, for those who wish to properly wring out their XV, momentum is really your friend. But hey, that’s no bad thing, because with the aforementioned sure-footedness inherent to the Scooby, one could really chuck it into any corner at way too fast a speed and then just marvel at how its all-wheel-drive system slingshots it out the other end.

Just a little something for those who prefer to let their cars drive themselves as well, the XV actually comes with decently-capable adaptive cruise control system too. There is however no auto-steer functionality for it though, but perhaps more sorely missed in terms of safety kit on this Subaru are a blind spot monitoring system and an auto-dipping rear view mirror…

Remarkable Refinement

Now in continuing a little bit more here on waxing lyrical about how this Scooby drives, one of the other stand-out features with the XV is just how remarkably refined its ride is.

The suspension setup in the XV is really just so composed that while one knows they’ve hit a bump, it nevertheless feels like it is taking place in the background far away somewhere. And especially when comparing against these recent raft of Chinese cars, this aging Subaru still somehow is pretty much in a different league when it comes to how comfortable it goes down the road.

It has to be said however that while the XV excels in the H part of NVH isolation, there is to be more than a bit of roar from its chunky tyres, especially when cruising above the legal limit. A more premium set of rubber should be able to alleviate this issue though, or one could equally just turn up the volume on this Subaru’s rather good sound system to drown out the drone.

Oh, and on cold starts at least also, the sonorous (read: rather loud) boxer burble could be considered somewhat agricultural… But in what is perhaps considered the writer excusing some of this XV’s flaws from him just really liking the car, he somehow could rationalise this as the XV just expressing its “Subaru rally heritage”.

What is in any case harder to explain away though is that the XV has a cabin feel that is not exactly plush nor posh, as most of it is to be lined in either shiny leather or hard plastic. Then again, while admittedly a far cry from premium, everything within the Subaru is superbly well screwed together. This particular test car for instance had zero squeaks or rattles to report, even as it had endured over 16,000 km of hard media use (and abuse).

Moreover, precisely because of all the shiny leather and hard plastics, one could even reasonably hypothesise that all the materials within the XV’s cabin will be more than capable of still looking and feeling the same 10 years down the line as it does on day 1!

Practical Touches Galore

In addressing a few of the XV’s other initially perceived shortcomings, too — while, yes, its kit list is skint relative to its feature-filled Chinese counterparts — the XV does nevertheless make up for it by having a few neat practical touches that didn’t make it into the brochures.

One such rather neat touch for instance is how the XV’s central screen shows the side views along the doors when the vehicle is initially switched off, to help better see if there are anything incoming before opening the doors. Its side mirrors also dip themselves when reversing for a better view of the curbs, while its admittedly lacklustre ADAS suite still somehow provides lead vehicle departure alert too.

And finally, saving for last what perhaps most pleasantly surprised this writer about the XV — the surprising amount of practical space within what appears from the outside to be a smaller SUV than most. The rear in particular was shockingly spacious, with its deep foot wells further adding to the sensation of roominess when seated behind.

What more too is that while this writer does freely admit that the XV’s boot space is a tad pathetic for an SUV, it redeems itself somewhat by having a decently low load lip. Also, while having conveniently parked it next to a Proton X70 one time, he discovered for there to not be much difference in practical volume between the two SUVs.

Conclusion

Now for the cynical, you might be wondering if there isn’t a bit of rooting for the underdog going on here with this XV review. And honestly, this writer had that exact thought on whether he was giving this Subaru crossover a bit too much praise when putting pen to paper for this review.

But having recently gone and driven some of its current competitors again, this writer actually somehow found himself being drawn further by the honest charm and wholly capable character.

Best of all too is that while its original RM 150,000+ price tag is steep, its current promotional price of RM126,000+ actually makes it seem like he’s getting a real bargain for a do-anything and go-anywhere vehicle that he would genuinely getting in and going for a drive with every time.

Yes, it’s old. Yes, it does not have all the snazzy bells and whistles found in its more modern competition. But just go drive it, and you will likely be singing the praises of this Subaru too!