BrandyXV

For any Worcester area owners, there is a new Subaru dealership opened located just outside Worcester at a small village called Stoulton. They are called Pershore Sports & Prestige. I have yet to visit so cannot say anything about them but it is welcome that Subaru are expanding …and it will save me a fairly long trip for serving etc. :)

Tyre update: The tyres were ordered on the 14th Nov from mytyres. After the order was made they informed me that the expected delivery date was 26th Nov! which I was not happy about (found out later that mytyes is a German company and tyres order in the UK have to come from Germany). They actually arrived on the 19th Nov delivered direct to their local tyre fitting agents but when I went to have them fitted, the tyre fitting company refused to fit the tyre because they needed “vouchers” from mytyres to cover fitting cost! It was left to me to sort out via email and phone calls to get hold of the vouchers to get them fitted a couple of days later!! Based just on price, mytyres could not be bettered but their customer service leaves a lot to be desire (like the German supermarkets!). Personally, I would not use mytyres again; I would rather pay a bit more for good customer service. Back to the most important bit - The Tyres: The Nokian Weatherproof look great on the XV, on driving the first thing I immediately notice was reduced noise levels, the feedback through the steering wheel felt a bit vague at low speed to start with but after they scrubbed in the handling is as good if not better than the Geolanders. I have covered about 1000 miles and I have found them to be very sure footed in the dry and in heavy rain. I have yet to try them in mud and snow but with snow forecast this week maybe I will have a chance to give them a good “snow” test.

Its about the same as other SUVs which I think would be higher than the Forester (not driven a Forester, only been in one in the Subura showroom). You may need a visit to a dealers for a definitive answer.

I love my XV. It proved to be completely reliable (so far!), love the four wheel drive which means it has refused to get stuck wherever I've taken it which, although not serious off road, it has been trough some very muddy tracks and across fields etc. I have the 2 litre petrol with manual transmission, it is 148 horses but can still lack a bit of low down grunt for overtaking so would not advise the 1600 and would probably go for a diesel if I purchase another one. The ride is comfortable enough for all day driving but maybe not up to some of its rivals - this maybe the compromise of having a vehicle with genuine off road ability. I love the looks and the fact that it is a fairly rare vehicle on UK roads. In my opinion it is in a class of its own - a Qashqai, Rav 4, Kuga etc. will not give you the off road ability of the XV and you would have to pay a lot more along with higher running cost for a Freelander, X-trail, Shogun etc.

The standard Yokahama Geolander are a good tyres for general all round use but I have found wet grip and mild off road such as going across grass fields and up muddy tracks etc seem not to provide the performance I expected (very subjective I know) and also, wanted to make sure I had a tyre that would give me a good performance in the snow (and just wanted to try out a different tyre!). Following some research my final choice came down to the following: Michelin Crossclimate £515.60 Goodyear Vector 4 Season £500.40 Nokian Weatherproof £412.40 For ref. Yokahama Geolander G95A £537.20 (all prices are for 4 tyres fully fitted from mytyre.com) The Michelin crossclimate has received some great reviews. They are a summer tyre that have been winterized for use on low temperatures/snow. Because of their performance on dry roads, they would be my choice if I were driving a two wheel drive car in the UK. The Goodyear Vector 4 season is a American equivalent to the Yokahama Geolander and won a German magazine allseason tyre test with their Gen 2 version (the price above is for the Gen 1) but the gen 2 is not yet available for XV size as yet. The Nokian Weatherproof won the Auto Express allseason tyre test, similar to the Michelin but the other way round - it is a winter tyre that has had its rubber compound altered for all year use. Its main attributes are its performance in the snow - as you would expect from Nokian, but also had the best aquaplaning performance and had the lowest noise levels in the German test. The price was not high up on my list of priorities when selecting a tyre but you can see the Nokian is, by a considerable margin, the lowest cost tyre. I have decided to purchases the Nokian Weatherproof for my XV which were ordered yesterday from mytyres. I received an email saying that due to high seasonal demand (despite the still very mild weather in the UK!) that it will be 5 day delay in delivery. I think Nokian are onto a winner with this tyre so I am not surprised they are in demand! Will a Nokian/XV combination work? Will let you know.

ok, let me know what you decide.

Thanks for the tip on Nokian Weatherproof. I've just read the review in Auto Express and they came out top. Will be about £60 cheaper than the Michelin per set so I think I will be giving them a try. Will keep the forum updated.

I am about to buy a new set of tyre for my XV, the standard Geolander G95A seem to be a good all season tyre but I was wondering if anyone as tried any other make of tyre on their XV? I was looking at the Michelin Cross climate which have received good reviews for tarmac and snow use but maybe they would be not up to the standard of the G95A's off road.

I maybe interested in purchasing one of your wheels to use as a spare. Can you let me know if it comes with a tyre, the condition of the wheel/tyre, the price and your location.