While generally recognized for their rugged all-wheel drive and crossover vehicles, Subaru will debut its first hybrid at next week's 2013 New York Auto Show. For Subaru, a company with a dedicated following of outdoor enthusiasts and environmentally conscious road warriors, this historical debut is unlike any other.
The XV Crosstrek Hybrid marks Subaru's first go at a gasoline-electric car, after they've played with hybrid concepts for the last 10 years. Most recently we've seen the Viziv Concept, released early this year at the Geneva Car Show, and the Advanced Tourer Concept from 2011. Subaru is yet to officially set a release date for the Hybrid XV, but they've promised to ship before the end of the year.
The new vehicle offers added fuel-efficiency to the super-cool XV Crosstrek, a hatch back that already comes standard with a 2.0-liter SUBARU BOXER® 4-cylinder engine and 33 highway miles to the gallon - not to mention a youthful, sporty body (just in time for the spring sunshine).
Subaru is preparing to take center stage in New York, as they also plan to unleash a concept version of a performance model, something the company has hinted at over the last year.
While Subaru has been relatively quiet about the new hybrid, a press release stated the new model is "based on the popular XV Crosstrek crossover introduced for 2013", and it uses a "Subaru engineered Hybrid system and Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive". We'll have to stay posted for more details.
Drivers can expect the best of both worlds, with the same type of performance as the existing XV Crosstrek and the lowest emissions for an AWD vehicle in America.
