Category: Subaru

After the tiny pictures from the Japanese car magazine Best Car, there a new photos of the next-generation Subaru Forester that Subaru will officially unveil on the 27th of December.

Based on the same platform as the Impreza, the Forester will be available with a choice of two engines at launch. There will be the 148bhp 2.0-litre unit and a 230bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. One does expect to see the Forester featuring the Subaru diesel unit in Europe. Its 160bhp will likely help Subaru to increase its sales in our countries.

Bigger in dimension, the Forester will be roomier than the outgoing model and will finally offer decent legroom for the rear passengers.

Source: Autoblog

Subaru finally released a teaser on its Japanese website about the next Subaru Forester. Do not expect to see the overall shape as the website previews the rear end. In the meantime a leaked brochure emerged on some forums.

Despite the small pictures, we can see that altough being based on the new Impreza, the next generation Forester’s exterior styling will be closer to the Tribeca’s. Subaru will unveil the new Forester in 27 days.

Related Post: Unverified sketch of the future Subaru Forester

In this post, I reported that Subaru planned to sell non-all-wheel drive and non-boxered engine models in the future. Actually, Subaru has a long tradition of selling front-wheel drive cars in Europe. Remember the Justy, which a re-badged Suzuki Swift. This time, Subaru is re-badging the Daihatsu Sirion as a Justy model to reinforce the European line-up.

The car will be available with a choice of two versions: the city-driving 1.0E and the sporty 1.0S. The two versions are powered by the same engine, a 1.0 litre 3 cylinder petrol engine, which has power output of 68bhp qt 6,000 rpm and a torque of 63 lb ft at 3,600 rpm. It runs the 0-60mph in 13.5 seconds and the top speed reaches 100mph. With its 118g/km CO2 emissions, the new Justy won’t be excited to drive but will allow Subaru to improve its position regarding the European regulations.

No words on pricing yet from Subaru, but with the Daihatsu Sirion basic model costing £7,460, expect the new Justy to weigh in about £7,500-8,000. The entry-level model includes ABS with EBD, driver, passenger, side and front and rear curtain airbags, alloy wheels, air-conditioning, electric mirrors and reverse sensors.

We all know how the Subaru concept typically works: a car with four-wheel drive, a boxer engine and a dull design. Hopefully, it is a winsome combination, but remove the four-wheel drive and the boxer engine and you have a Toyota. It is a scary thought and it might become true.

In an interview given to the Australian website goauto, Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior said that ever-tightening emission standards and a desire to cut fuel consumption could force Subaru to reconsider its position on AWD and boxer engines, but “Those core technologies are a key part of the brand” and “That is not likely to change in the foreseeable future.” The Subaru Australia chairman, Trevor Amery, also confirmed this statement.

Subaru would likely offer both layouts, two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. It is not said whether Subaru would offer non-boxer petrol engines or not. Mr Senior explained that the bigger model would keep their current architecture while smaller models than the Impreza might abandon four-wheel drive layout and adopt an electric engine. At the last Tokyo Motor Show, the Japanese carmaker unveiled the G4e concept car an company sources said that Subaru aimed to build an all-electric vehicle by 2012. Already in Japan, Subaru sells Kei cars without boxer engines, but with an inline 0.6 litre four-cylinder engine.

In Europe, Subaru will make its own revolution by selling a diesel engine. Due to be on sale next year, it will be the world’s first diesel flat four engine. A 2.0 litre unit with common rail injection, it produces 160 bhp and 250 lb-ft. With this new offer, Subaru wants to propel sales to 100,000 vehicles per year by 2009, an increase of 40 per cent.

A sketch of the next Subaru Forester has appeared on Internet. There is some doubt about whether this sketch is official or not. However, the drawing is quite realistic. It features the new Subaru’s design DNA with the new nose shape. But, I am not sure about the D pillar. Indeed, Subaru unveiled the Exiga concept car at the last Tokyo Motor Show. The concept car appeared to be realistic enough to prefigure the next Forester.

The future crossover will be based on the recently launched Subaru Impreza as the current model uses the former Impreza platform. Thanks to the larger platform, the new Forester might finally offer decent rear legroom. Power will come from 2 liter and 2.5 liter 4 cylinder engines. On the European market, we might get a diesel version with the eagerly awaited new Subaru diesel unit. We also hope that this time, Subaru will export the STi version currently only sold in Japan. We might also see a WRX version with 300 bhp.

More information will be available in the coming weeks as Subaru plans to unveil the new model at the 2008 Detroit Motor Show.

Source: Autoblog

Subaru has just released the New Impreza with its Tribeca-like new nose. This is the third restyling in five years for this rival of the Mitsubishi Lancer. The rest of the car hasn’t changed much –only new rear lamps– for it has recently been upgraded, with a stretched wheelbase and a wider track. There will also be a power increase. The new Impreza is expected in the UK late 2005.