Mild-mannered Subaru has been on something of a concept-car bender lately, first busting out the Impreza 5-door hatch concept last October, which was quickly followed the next month by a sedan counterpart, the aptly named Impreza sedan concept. The latest concept to see the light of day is the Subaru XV, a thinly veiled peek at the upcoming 2017 Subaru XV Crosstrek. Introduced in the U.S. as a 2013 model, the XV Crosstrek is basically a lifted version of the Impreza hatchback, so it makes sense that this XV concept would debut so soon after the other Impreza show properties.

The XV concept’s exterior styling hews closely to the precedent set by the earlier concept cars, replacing the current Crosstrek’s soft edges with angles and creases. Subaru is calling the styling theme its “next-generation DYNAMIC & SOLID design philosophy,” which MAKES us also want to capitalize VARIOUS words. (We’ll skip the ampersand—it ain’t our style.) Hyperbole or not, you can’t ignore the dramatic character lines that run the entire profile of the car, which wears a color called Glacier Khaki. The sculpted profile faintly echoes that of the current Nissan Murano, and the shape of the black spoiler above the rear window also is very on-trend as far as crossovers go. Matte-black cladding runs along the lower sills and the wheel arches to give the XV a butch look. The same matte plastic appears on the front bumper and fascia, which frames sharply honed headlamps. Similar to those of the Impreza concepts, the taillight housings echo the shape of the headlights; in a nod to symmetry, both sets of lamps have tiny, sharpened ends that point to the middle of the car and play directly into the prominent character line. As in the front, a blend of silver, black, and orange (Subaru calls it “Active Orange”) highlights the rear. Nineteen-inch, five-spoke wheels wear 245/50 Bridgestone tires plus some Active Orange accents to tie the color scheme together.

View Photos MARC URBANO, THE MANUFACTURER

Measuring 61.8 inches high and 75.9 inches wide, the XV concept is more than 3.5 inches wider and nearly 2.0 inches lower than the current XV Crosstrek. Its 177.9-inch length spans nearly three inches longer than the current car’s, while the wheelbase is stretched about an inch and a half to 105.1.

Drivetrain details are all but nonexistent at this stage, but there’s little doubt that the XV you’ll be able to buy will get a powertrain plucked from Subaru’s sparsely populated engine lineup. The current Crosstrek runs a 148-hp 2.0-liter flat-four mated to a five-speed manual or a CVT; all-wheel drive is of course standard. It’s likely that the 2.0 will return, although the manual may receive another forward ratio to offer six speeds. A hybrid XV Crosstrek is also currently available, and we expect Subaru to offer it again.

The small-crossover segment is white-hot, and Subaru has leveraged the current XV Crosstrek to its considerable advantage. That success isn’t entirely surprising, as the company’s AWD wagons were charging through Vermont snowdrifts long before the word “crossover” was a glint in the eye of some marketing type. It’ll be interesting to see if the XV concept’s sharp creases make it to the production Crosstrek intact—as well as those on the hatch and sedan, for that matter—or if Subaru gets self-conscious and dials them back a bit.

MARC URBANO, THE MANUFACTURER

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