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Subaru XV Black Limited Edition: Costs from £24,495

The Subaru XV Black Limited Edition Subaru launched their XV SUV – basically a high-riding Crossover Impreza – back in 2012, and it was a decent offering. But by this summer they were looking to add a bit more fizz to sales and decided there was room to make substantial cuts in the list price of the XV, taking it down by a significant £2300 right across the range. Now, with prices cut back and the XV starting from £18,995, it seems Subaru has decided it’s time to shift some more expensive metal, so we’ve got the Subaru XV Black Limited Edition which adds more kit and style and starts at £24,495.

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.

Subaru XV concept preview

The XV crossover os another new car from Subaru, this time set to debut at Shanghai auto show. As with the all-new Impreza, Subaru is being tight lipped on details of the car. However, from what little information is available, it appears that the XV is a small 'lifestyle' crossover, in the ilk of the Ford Kuga.