2006 Subaru Impreza Wrx Limited Wagon 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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Subaru uses a mime and a toy car to explain why it loves the boxer engine

I will freely admit to struggling with why Subaru continues to stubbornly employ a boxer engine design while so few other automakers do the same. After all, with twice the number of cylinder heads and cams as a traditional inline four-cylinder engine, a boxer four is more complex, more expensive to manufacture and more cumbersome to service with few tangible benefits. Until recently, the company's engines struggled to meet the fuel economy numbers of its competitors while offering no real boon in horsepower or torque. Subaru seems to recognize I'm not the only one scratching my head.
In order to help us non-believers understand what's what, the company has employed a pair of mimes, a toy car and a few clay engines to demonstrate the folly of every other automaker on the planet. Subaru says the boxer offers up a lower center of gravity than either an inline four-cylinder engine or a V6, which I will gladly concede. The company also says the design offers up smoother operation.
I'll offer just two counterpoints here. First, an engine with a low center of gravity is excellent, but when vehicles like the Forester, XV Crosstrek and Outback boast more ground clearance than most mainstream SUVs, that argument flies out the window. Second, anyone who's spent any amount of time behind the wheel of a vehicle equipped with an inline four and then proceeded to move into one propelled by a boxer can tell you the latter has all of the idling manners of a small tractor. Check out the video below to see for yourself.

Driving the Toyota Supra and Subaru WRX STI S209 | Autoblog Podcast #625

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick and News Editor Joel Stocksdale. First, they talk about the cars they've been driving, including the Toyota Supra, Subaru WRX STI S209, and the Mercedes-Benz CLA and GLB. They also discuss rumors of the Kia Stinger getting killed off. Greg Migliore takes a break to chat with Autoblog contributor Dan Edmunds to talk about the cars he's been testing. Finally, our editors take to the mailbag to help a listener pick a sport truck in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #625 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: Toyota Supra Subaru WRX STI S209 Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Mercedes-Benz GLB-Class Kia Stinger death rumor Chat with Dan Edmunds Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Podcasts Kia Mercedes-Benz Subaru Toyota Used Car Buying Truck Coupe Crossover SUV Luxury Performance Sedan

Subaru teases the 2019 Forester ahead of New York reveal

Following Toyota's romantic RAV4 silhouette teaser shot yesterday, Subaru is officially joining in the compact crossover titillating game with a glimpse of the 2019 Forester. Subaru has toyed with pincer-shaped taillights for a few years on its Viziv concepts. The Ascent concept wore another version of the design, but the production Ascent got fitted with a set of highly unoffensive lamps. Looks like the Forester earns the retail nod for the conceptual units, and with it, a wider cargo opening. The taillights on the present Forester impose a scalloped shutline on the tailgate. The split units in this teaser let designers push the tailgate edge just a few inches from the edge of the car. The Ascent could make its presence felt elsewhere, though. We've made out a couple of the flowing character lines underneath camouflage on Forester prototypes that match the Ascent's flanks. Up front, the 2019 Forester gets a much more upright schnozz reminiscsent of the Ascent. The two vehicles differ in grille treatment — the Forester carries over its general design from the current car, but replaces the thick geometric bars with thin strakes similar to the Ascent's. Although larger than the current Forester, we don't expect huge growth anywhere. Migrating to Subaru's Global Platform will make the most of the incremental gains; the much smaller Impreza added three additional cubic feet of cargo room after its switch to the SGP. We don't know if engines will be included in the under-the-skin overhaul, but a welcome swap would be adding the Ascsent's 2.4-liter turbo to the lineup. That lump produces 260 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque, trumping the 250 hp and 258 lb-ft in the current top-tier Forester 2.0XT Premium. Spy photographers caught the Forester testing alongside a new Honda CR-V and a Volkswagen Tiguan, which means we could be in for a new level of feature and dynamic polish. What we can rely on is a selection of four-cylinder boxer engines and CVTs, plus updated EyeSight driver assistance tech. The debut happens in exactly two weeks at the New York Auto Show, the showroom appearance late this year. Related Video: Image Credit: Subaru New York Auto Show Subaru Crossover Wagon Future Vehicles