Subaru is launching a new and updated version of the XV SUV in the British market featuring revised suspension for improved ride and handling. The new model is said to be a lot more refined than the one that went before, while its safety and cabin quality are enhanced as well.

Subaru’s small crossover vehicles used to tough little mud-pluggers that gave you a sense of invincibility. You can beat on them for years and they’d never go wrong. The 2014 Subaru XV does not look tough. It looks like every other urban crossover out there, which is to say it looks quite boring. It can still cut it when the going gets rough, but it’s not going to like it, and it will let you know it doesn’t like it.

Suspension modification for the new XV is limited to the 2.0 liter petrol models, while the 2.0 liter diesel version gets additional sound-proofing in the bulkhead to reduce the car’s noise and vibration levels. Meanwhile the electronic power steering system in has been revised to improve stability and feel.

Interior upgrades include the addition of the traditional blue Subaru logo on the steering wheel, higher-quality silver surrounds housing the steering wheel buttons and heater controls, and new gloss-black switches to control the car’s air-conditioning system. Not sure if a few extra bits of plastic are going to have a profound effect on the overall feel of quality, but here we are.

As for the safety measures, the 2014 Subaru XV gets a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) that it didn’t have before, as well as a thicker, reshaped front suspension lower-arm and reinforcements around the base of the A-pillar.