The Impeza name is dead… in South Africa at least. Teased as a concept at Shanghai, and scheduled for official unveiling at this week’s Frankfurt Motor Show, the new Subaru XV is set to replace the outgoing Impreza range in South African showrooms by February 2012.
Designed by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. with the brief of being an “Urban Adventurer”, the XV is a high-riding crossover model set to slot in somewhere between the Impreza range and the larger Legacy Outback. The new vehicle is 4 450 mm long, 1 780 mm wide, and 1 570 mm tall.
The XV will be powered by a naturally aspirated 2,0-litre example of Subaru’s new FB-generation flat-four petrol engines. A choice of either 6-speed manual or Lineartronic CVT transmissions will be offered.
Locally, this new C-Segment crossover will be sold alongside the company’s WRX and STI performance models, each of which has carved out distinctly individual personalities of their own.