Electrified versions of the XV and Forester Subaru Australia will be launched in March 2020 which is expected to be priced from $35,580 before on-road costs.
The XV Hybrid e-Boxer AWD will compete with the just-released Toyota C-HR Hybrid and will have a price difference of $860 when it launches in March.
The Forester Hybrid will be launched in two versions: L AWD and S AWD, priced from $39,990 and $45,990 before on-road costs respectively.
The Forester is a natural rival for the Toyota RAV4 GX and GXL hybrids when it comes to low end, and the range-topping RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid at the top end.
It’s power is to send power to all four wheels through a CVT and is powered by an ‘e-Boxer’ system making 110kW and 196Nm power. A 2.0-liter engine gives it Petrol power and is augmented by an electric motor outputting 12.3kW and 66Nm.
When the driver uses the mechanical brake pads it essentially captures energy usually lost as heat during regenerative braking which charges a small battery that is fed to the electric motor. It operates in an electric-only mode between standstill and 40km/h.
The car comes with technology which allows it to automatically changes between electric-only, combined petrol and electric, and petrol-only driving.
When we come to the interior of the XV it includes Subaru’s full suite of driver-assist technologies, leather trim for the steering wheel and gear knob, an auto-dimming rear mirror, LED fog lights, automatic headlamps, folding mirrors, and rain-sensing wipers.
The car takes care of driver safety and is loaded with safety features such as driver condition monitoring, reverse AEB, adaptive high-beam, along with front and side cameras as part of the Vision Assist package atop the autonomous emergency braking, lane-change assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control standard across the range.
The newly added features are leather-look instrument panel, chrome door handles, and black rear garnish. It comes with an electric sunroof, an eight-speaker sound system, leather seat trim, and a full-sized spare wheel which fulfill the spec of the petrol-powered S.
In the Forester, the driver gets option of two different calibrations for the system: Intelligent and Sport. The most exciting feature of it is that the car’s X-Mode off-road system has been maintained, with hill-descent control.
