Japanese marque Subaru has a lot riding on its small XV SUV, particularly here in Malaysia. While the brand remains left of field, the XV hasn’t, with strong sales numbers suggesting that Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive is not the reserve of rally-aficionados or anoraks. The latest-generation XV doesn’t rock the boat too-much in its gestation from old to new, though after a week behind the wheel, it feels like there’s more to it.

Let me explain by evoking German luxury performance marque, Porsche.

Porsche, like Subaru, is famous for its horizontally-opposed engines. With cylinders arranged flat rather than vertical (or at an angle), Boxer engines enjoy immensely-low centre of gravity, offer impressive balance, and bear a very unique soundtrack to them. While a flat-6 has naturally been the calling-card of the Porsche 911, the flat-four has found its way to the latest-generation 718 Boxster & 718 Cayman. Many have called them Porsche’s with Subaru soundtracks, and rightfully so – flat-fours are something that the Japanese brand swears by, and features in every vehicle they make.

I recall interviewing an engineer from the brand at an event in Bangkok, where he said that Boxer & Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive are such tenets of the brand that without it, it wouldn’t be a Subaru.

I’m bringing up this link between the brands because the XV has, in its way, forced me to. It’s a consummate family car, that’s for sure: Its compact form factor belies a cabin large enough to load up 4-adults comfortably, with adequate storage for all your flotsam and them some, as well as the build-quality that can withstand the abuse of small children long enough to see them into their teens. There’s been an improvement in material quality in the XV too, with adults able to enjoy softer, plusher surfaces throughout. Adults will also like the improved dash aesthetics, refined to the levels we expect in 2018, and featuring a large touchscreen which is simple to use, provided there isn’t any direct sunlight.

But it’s how the XV appeals to the driver that evokes feelings of Porsche. If you’ve ever driven one of Stuttgart’s cars, be it the base 718 Boxster or even a bulky Cayenne, you’ll know that everything that bears the Porsche shield promises and delivers stellar amounts of driver involvement, of chassis rigidity, of sheer driving fun that can transform the experience from near-indifference to total admiration. But with a Porsche, you get what you pay for, and the more money you shell out for a higher-spec or better variant, the more involvement you’re treated to.

Porsche doesn’t compete in the mass-market, but if they made a RM126k crossover, it’d probably feel like an XV.

You don’t get a lovely rotary drive-mode selector on the steering wheel like you do in a Porsche, or the multi-dial setup either. Or a turbocharged mill, as the XV’s 2.0-litre Boxer mill produces 156PS and 196Nm of naturally-aspirated goodness. You also don’t get a double-clutch auto, with the XV instead going for a ‘Lineartronic’ CVT automatic.

But before you groan, hear me out. The engine is unbelievably responsive (really, it is), and the CVT automatic here is the first of its kind that doesn’t feel like a wet noodle. It seems to know near-telepathically what engine speed you want and does its CVT-thing to match it smartly. You still get a consistent-drone if you floor it of course, but at least it matches the noise with shove. It serves up power when you need it, and how you want it.

Adding icing to the powertrain cake is the ride & handling, because my God, is it fun through the twisties. That powertrain has this thing called Active Torque Vectoring, which brakes the inside wheels when you’re going through a corner in order to best maintain your desired trajectory. It sounds a little confusing in theory I know, but on the move, it makes the car feel like you are its pivot point, and it’s entirely at your service. I drove it as hard as I dared through the highlands of Pahang and I didn’t once hear tyre squeal, not even when hooning it round bends that would have probably sent lesser cars into a tree. And it did it all with a suspension so well-tuned that it ironed-out potholes while also not falling over in high-speed corners.

And if you get your kicks on unsealed surfaces, hear here: The XV now gets Subaru’s vaunted X-Mode off-road system, which optimises every aspect of the drivetrain to ensure that wherever you point your XV, you’ll get there. I took it down a logging track after a light drizzle and even when the tyres were caked with mud, I was afforded amazing levels of traction that I simply would not have been able to wrangle with my feet of ham and hands of butter. I really went as far as I dared in the XV, even where trucks had left huge gouges in the track, and the XV never faltered. I suspect Subaru wasn’t too happy about this though, as evidence of my adventures were still dripping out of the wheel wells and onto their pristine driveway when I returned the car a couple of days later.

I’ll admit though, that it wasn’t all perfect. The LED headlights, despite being bright-as-s#!t on the motorway, were basically useless in the rain (thank God for fog-lights). And due to the all-wheel drive system, the boot is both comically-high and surprisingly-shallow. Further, you don’t get the Magic Seat wizardry that Honda’s HR-V offers here either; The Subaru XV has 60:40 folding rear seats, and that’s it.

There are some of you who’ll find that practicality bit a dealbreaker, but I urge you to reconsider. It might be nice that you can haul a palm tree in your crossover but honestly, if you do that often enough, you’d be reading this within view of the keys to your pickup truck. In the week I had the XV I moved house, hauled people, and went on a short holiday, and that boot was sufficient to swallow 5 soft-bags for their accompanying persons and do you know what, I was never left wanting for more. Sure if I had 3 small children, perhaps my priorities would be realigned. But if I had 2 at most, why wouldn’t I go for a car that not only promises to keep my family safer with its all-paw traction, but can also give Daddy a bit of a giggle on the way home from work?

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Technical specifications, 2018 Subaru XV 2.0i-Premium:

• 2.0-litre four-cylinder Boxer horizontally-opposed petrol engine
• 156PS, 196Nm, Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive
• CVT automatic with 7 virtual ratios
• X-Mode all-wheel drive optimisation
• LED headlights with corner-swivelling function
• 6 exterior colour choices
• Dual-zone climate control
• Electric adjustment for the front seats
• Fabric upholstery
• Large central touchscreen infotainment unit
• LED daytime running lights
• LED taillights

• RM125,868 before insurance costs