Shooting Times & Country – 17 July 2019

Vehicle test

SAWDtogiveit itsfullname;I’llcome

backtothatina bit.

Therewasquitea bitofplastic

underneath,makingit verysleek

andflat.AsI slidoutfrombelow

I couldn’thelpbutnoticetheground

clearance.It’snotasobviousfrom

thefrontbecauseofitscontoursbut

fromthebackit lookedpromising.

It was220mmworthofpromising,

whichis prettygood,soit looked

capableofcoping with the odd rut

if needed.

Plentyofroom

WhileI wasat theback,I poppedthe

bootandtooka peek.Asa standard

ShootingTimesmeasurement,bymy

guesstimation,it wouldprobablyfit

halfa dozenfullbags of wheat in the

backif it hadto.

If you’replanninga sporting

adventure,there’sprobablyenough

roomfora smalldogbox.Intermsof

width,a 30in-barrelgunintheslip

fits snugly,butwith32inbarrelsyou

mightwanttoconsiderthebackseat.

That said, it has enough room for all

I

wasn’tsurewhattoexpect
asI waitedfordeliveryofthe
SubaruXV1.6SEPremium
compactcrossover.Subaru’s
reputationinthecountrysideis good
butcolourful,shallwesay.
Regardlessofcolourfuluse,
Subaruhasformoff-road,notching
up 47 winsintheWorldRally
Championshipbeforeit withdrewin
2008.TheForesterandtheOutback
havealsoprovedtheirworthbothon
andoff-road,soI remainedhopeful
thattheXVwouldtick a few boxes
forShootingTimes.
Asit pulleddownthedrivewayit
lookedimpressive,whichwasfitting,
givenitsPremiummoniker.Slightly
sleekat thefrontandmodern with
anglesat theback.
Formsweresigned,thedelivery
driverleftandI didthefirstthing
wealwaysdidonaShootingTimes
test— I tooka lookunderneath.Fully
independentsuspensionat theback
anda glimpseofthediffwithitsbit
ofelectronicwitchcraft— permanent
R. FAU L KSsymmetrical all-wheel drive, or

Themarquehasa great off-roadreputation,but could theXVcrossover

be as good on country tracks as the open road? Ed Coles fi nds out

50 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Kingofftheroad—the

SubaruXVcrossover

makes it look easy

SUBARUXV1.6SE|PRICE£27,325

PROS:PERMANENTALL-WHEELDRIVE,GOOD

GROUND CLEARANCE, HANDLES WELL

CONS:PRICEY,ENGINENEEDSMOREGRUNT,

AUTO-ONLY, NO LUMBAR ADJUSTMENT

Thereis plentyofspaceinthebootofthe

Subaru XV for guns and other kit and dogs

Thedashdisplayincludesaninclinometer

and shows the Hill Descent Control status

INC. VAT