Subaru Malaysia introduces Eyesight equipped XV Crossover

KUALA LUMPUR: Just in time for Christmas and ready to offer Malaysians next level safety equipment in an all wheel drive Crossover. Subaru’s brand guardian in Malaysia, Motor Image this afternoon unveiled their popular XV with a full suite of safety features, called Eyesight.

Also Read: 2022 Subaru XV launched in Malaysia, check details

Subaru’s Eyesight was first introduced in the larger and more advanced Outback SUV in July 2018 at a selling price of RM246,188. This fully imported from Japan SUV did not sell all that well in Malaysia due to its high selling price which was too close to its German rivals and with no regional or local assembly being done, the asking price could not be reduced.

Then later in August 2019, Motor Image launched the Forester 2.0i with Eyesight which was being assembled at the state of the art all-new Subaru factory just outside of Bangkok, Thailand. With an AFTA agreement in place, the selling price of this well-equipped Forester was just RM159,788.

The Forester has been a global favourite SUV with numerous awards under its ‘belt’, including Motor Trend SUV of the Year in 2009 and 2014. The Forester has also been an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick for 14 years running. Renowned for its reliability, 97 percent of Foresters sold in the last ten years are still on the road today.

Now comes the youngest Subaru with this industry best safety feature, Eyesight. Priced at RM139,788 for the 2.0i-P Eyesight and RM146,788 for the 2.0i-P Eyesight GT Edition (which is the sportier version) this latest version of the XV is locally assembled with a little more than 40 percent of local content.

Also Read: Subaru introduces new Advance Style Edition for its XV crossover

This XV EyeSight's key features are Pre-Collision braking, Pre-Collision Throttle Management, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lead Vehicle Start Alert, Lane Departure Warning and Lane Sway Warning.

This latest XV also offers a variety of driving styles, SI Drive that allows you to customise your driving mode. “Intelligent” adds an economical driving cycle. Save more fuel and when the ‘Sport’ mode is activated the system adjusts the acceleration to make your driving more enjoyable.

The newly developed Dual X-Mode complements Subaru’s symmetrical 4WD system for a more challenging adventure by distributing the 4WD system’s torque.

The front design has been reworked with projector headlights with LED bulbs, along with a geometric square grille with a pattern showing strength. Suitable for extreme driving with a sporty modern look.

This XV is equipped with new 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels and a set of newly design front and rear bumpers. The XV is still powered by a naturally aspirated 2-litre flat-4 Boxer engine that produces 154hp and 194Nm. This 1995cc 16-valve engine works with a CVT to deliver a top speed of 194km/h and a standstill to 100km/h acceleration time of 10.4 seconds.

Its current nearest selling price rival is the very popular Proton X50 which sells for RM103,300 (the Flagship model with all the necessary competing features). However, the X50 is currently having a 5-6 months waiting list and since its launch, there have been numerous after-sales and spare parts issues being shared by owners on the X50 Facebook pages.

With the Subaru XV there have only been a handful of issues, mostly due to its fuel consumption against 2-wheel drive Crossovers which should be ignored as the Subaru XV is a 4x4 vehicle and so its fuel consumption will obviously be a little more.

Also Read: Subaru XV Eyesight vs Proton X50 Flagship