What's the news?

Subaru has made some improvements to the XV compact crossover. Changes have been made to improve refinement, sharpen the steering and enhance crash protection. Prices start at £21,995 and the updated XVs go on sale later this month.

The petrol powered XV benefits from the most significant changes with suspension modifications to improve the ride and alterations to the engine to reduce noise. Diesel models get extra soundproofing material on the bulkhead too. All versions gain reinforcement at the base of the A-pillars and reshaped front suspension lower arms to improve crash protection.

To improve stability and steering feel the electric power assistance has been fine tuned. Subaru claims the system now has improved weighting, greater straight line feel and more linear response. There is also a new inflating dynamic damper system to reduce steering wheel and column vibration.

Revisions to the interior include adding the blue Subaru logo to the centre of the steering wheel. The heater controls get silver surrounds and gloss black plastic is used for the air conditioning controls. Two new items have been added to the standard equipment: tyre pressure monitoring and a gear shift indicator.

Anything else?

Subaru has rationalised the range, discontinuing the 1.6-litre petrol engine. Customers can choose 2.0-litre petrol power with manual or automatic transmissions, while the 2.0-litre diesel engine is available only with the manual gearbox.

John Lambert - 17 Feb 2014