The 2015 Subaru XV Crosstrek was rated the best subcompact SUV by Cars.com.
As Subaru’s return from sales purgatory continues its multiyear trek, one of the reason for that glory was recognized today as it was touted as the U.S.’s top subcompact SUV.
According to Cars.com, MotorWeek and USA Today, the 2015 XV Crosstrek is the best small compact SUV drivers can get, assuming they can find one: sales last month were up 17% and for the year they’re up 23.5%.
For November, the brand’s overall sales were up 2%, setting a new record for November and surpassing its previous full-year high.
(November truck sales set industry up for all-time record. For more, Click Here.)
Subaru pushed out 513,693 vehicles, besting last year’s result and marking the company’s eighth year of sales growth and seventh successive sales record.
The Fiat 500X captured second place in a recent survey of subcompact SUV owners.
“The XV Crosstrek ranked highest with the expert judges and was the favorite of the in-market couple,” said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com’s editor-in-chief. “This subcompact SUV felt like the ‘grownup’ of the group, with an oversized cargo area and a delightfully quiet ride. Overall, it did the best job of packing in impressive, high-tech safety features, ample creature comforts and a great ride for a low price.”
The rest of the best? They include:
- 2016 Fiat 500X
- 2016 Honda HR-V
- 2016 Mazda CX-3
- 2015 Jeep Renegade
- 2015 Nissan Jike
- 2016 Chevrolet Trax
Reigning supreme in this segment is important because it’s one of the fastest growing in the country and it’s unlikely to be severely impacted in the event that gas prices begin to rise again.
(Click Here for details about Subaru’s LA Concept, or a thinly disguised Impreza.)
Subcompact SUVs, a fairly new segment that’s growing in popularity, offer car shoppers a cost-effective alternative to more traditional SUVs.
“Although automakers are largely marketing these small SUVs to millennials, they are a good alternative for any traditional SUV shopper. Despite their size, they pack in nearly all of the amenities of their larger siblings, and buyers are gravitating toward them,” according to Olsen.
The vehicles were just based on a series of challenges and input from potential customers. To compete in the Subcompact SUV Challenge, each vehicle had to come with all-wheel drive as an option and could not be more than $27,000.
(Subaru one of several automakers adding forward collision warning technology. Click Here for more.)
The testing process included: A 205-mile course on varying road types to test each vehicle for real-world MPG; round-robin testing, where multiple experts drove each vehicle back-to-back on the same course to test ride, handling, comfort, acceleration and more; and testing by real-life consumers who are in the market for a new subcompact SUV to evaluate features, cargo space, ride and more
This Subaru is a far larger vehicle than the others listed. It is not a subcompact, but rated by EPA interior volume as a compact at almost 120 cubic feet combined passenger and cargo volume. It is also getting on for a foot longer, and this is why it was not featured in the recent Car and Driver comparison test along with the others.
Any impartial observer when confronted with the cars listed should be able to see this at a glance, or be certified as legally visually impaired.
We can thus reliably conclude that these three publications who are making the Subaru a “subcompact” winner are officially out-to-lunch.