2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid

The butler announcing arriving guests to the hybrid party has just called Subaru's name, at long last. The XV Crosstrek wasn't even supposed to come to the US, but the 2014 XV Crosstrek Hybrid endows it with a suit tailored for our regulatory dress code, adding all that weighty battery goodness to the Impreza-turned-compact-crossover. Subaru didn't want to say why it sent the XV Crosstrek to the hybrid party first, but the original car itself was an opportunistic play for the European market that has worked out surprisingly well over there and over here. In areas represented by the American flag it's doing about 4,000 sales per month and on pace to hit 50,000 units for all of 2013; that's just another happy chapter in Subaru's generally awesome year that sees it outpacing Volkswagen through the end of October, 347,890 units to 342,962. The XV Crosstrek Hybrid is the opportunistic play for the 25 percent of Subaru buyers that will be looking for a hybrid as their next vehicle, so sayeth Subaru, and for those outside the fold who are determined to include the word "hybrid" in their purchase but also want some extra ride height, space and all-wheel drive. After heading to Iceland to give it a workout, what we can tell you is that it certainly is a hybrid and it is also, certainly, a Subaru. What we can't tell you yet – and we'll explain why not below – is that it makes perfect sense beyond the dictates of market research and the oft-used alibi, 'the government made us do it' (our words, not Subaru's). What we also know is that if someone tells you there's only a 10-percent chance of snow on your hinterland, trans-volcanic drive route, pack a parka and a lunch. Other than the 196.5-pound battery pack, there's been no great, singular lump of change made to the XV Crosstrek Hybrid; rather, it is about lots of little alterations intended not only to maintain the gas-powered XV Crosstrek's dynamics, but improve on them and identify the dual-motored beast among the herd. You'll find the same center-of-gravity and 8.7 inches of ground clearance as its non-hybrid counterpart. That Panasonic-sourced, nickel-metal hydride battery is a 13.5-kW pack with a capacity of 0.6 kwH. Why not lithium-ion? Because that would drive the cost up, and that's not the Subaru way. It provides juice to a 13.4-horsepower electric motor built onto the car's Lineartronic continuously variable transmission. The battery and electric motor add 230 pounds to the curb weight while the ancillaries, stiffening and improvements to noise, vibration and harshness quelling add another 74, the total being 3,451 pounds for the base trim and 3,484 pounds for the Touring. In case you're wondering, the entire system was developed in-house at Subaru and doesn't have any Toyota components. The battery, drive motor inverter and DC/DC converter sit in a space under the slightly raised rear floor where the spare tire used to go, which means that the XV …
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