2006 Subaru Impreza Wrx Sti on 2040-cars

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2015 Subaru Legacy is fresh-faced and more frugal

While Subaru posted its best sales year ever in the United States in 2013, over half of its sales came from the success of the new Forester and popularity of the Outback. Its midsize Legacy sedan, on the other hand, saw sales tumble 10.3 percent. The company known for its all-wheel drive models hopes to right that trajectory with the 2015 Legacy. The all-new sedan sees a slight bump in fuel economy and a commitment to giving buyers a better product to compete against segment stalwarts like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
The refreshed sedan wears Subaru's new design language, which was teased by the Legacy Concept at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. However, the production version takes the hard, crisp lines down several notches, and it is bordering on boring at first glance. The best detail of the new design is the new hexagonal shield grille at the front that lends a little upscale panache over the current car's simple, rectangular front end. The coupe-like roofline has also been toned down from the concept, but it does smooth out the rear better than the current gen.
The Legacy's engines are carried over almost identically from last year's car. However both flavors of manual transmission are finally bowing out; all models now come with Subaru's Lineartronic CVT. Output from the 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder sees a slight bump to 175 horsepower (2 hp more than last year's model) and 174 pound-feet of torque. The 3.6-liter boxer six-cylinder is unchanged at 256 hp and 247 lb-ft. Fuel economy benefits from the new platform with the 2.5-liter model rated at an estimated 26/36/30 miles per gallon city/highway/combined, a boost of 2/4/3 mpg, respectively, over the previous generation. The 3.6-liter also sees a modest rise to 20/28/23 mpg, 2/3/3 mpg better respectively. Fairly impressive figures for an all-wheel-drive, midsize sedan.

Is Subaru close to ditching 6-cylinder engines?

Despite niche outliers like the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 and 7.0-liter V8 in the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, we live in an era where small-displacement, turbocharged engines are becoming the norm. In many model lineups, a boosted four-cylinder now holds the place that a six might have just a few short years ago. At least in some markets, Subaru could be the next automaker to follow this path by axing its 3.6-liter boxer six-cylinder. Granted, that's not as much of a leap for Subie as some other automakers because the Japanese brand is already closely associated with turbocharged four-cylinder engines. The company's six-pot boxer is currently only offered in the Legacy and Outback in the US. Australian website CarAdvice spoke with Subaru deputy general manager of engineering Yoichi Hori about the company's future powertrain plans at least for Down Under. "Our research said the six-cylinder model is decreasing in the world. So that's why probably the future, many companies take the smaller displacement with a turbocharger, or diesel, or hybrid," said Hori to CarAdvice. He was also specific about which engine he had in mind. "In terms of the body size, a 2.0-liter with a turbocharger is enough, I think," he said. Hori said that the automaker stuck with the boxer-six for so long because of the turbocharged four-cylinder's higher maintenance costs. Slotting Subaru's 2.0-liter turbocharged boxer four-cylinder into the Legacy and Outback seems easy to imagine. After all, the mill already does duty in different tunes in the Forester and WRX in the US. Keep in mind, though, that Hori's words are aimed at the Aussie market. A rumor from earlier this year speculated the company's midsize models might get a smaller displacement six and the turbo four for some trims. Featured Gallery 2015 Subaru Legacy: First Drive View 35 Photos News Source: CarAdviceImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL Green Subaru Wagon Sedan turbocharging

2015 Subaru WRX looks to set a new benchmark in LA

Subaru has just taken the wraps off of the new, 2015 WRX at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. The totally redesigned sedan - the five-door option won't be offered - is more powerful, more fuel efficient (with the right transmission), better looking and more intelligently designed than the car it's replacing.
A new 2.0-liter, direct-injected, turbocharged flat-four sits thumping away under the hood, its top-mount intercooler getting force-fed air by a rather prominent hood scoop. Power output sits at 268 ponies and 258 pound-feet of torque, accessible between 2,000 and 5,000 rpm. While the new car only has a three-horsepower advantage on the current Impreza WRX, it delivers 14 more pound-feet of torque and delivers peak output across a much wider swath of the rev range (the old car netted 244 lb-ft at 4,400 rpm). All this extra grunt comes at a negligible weight penalty - a 2015 WRX with the six-speed manual is just 59 pounds heavier than a 2014 model.
As we said, a six-speed manual is will be available, and as a bonus, it packs one additional cog over the current, 2014 WRX's five-speed DIY transmission. So equipped, the WRX will scamper to 60 in just 5.4 seconds. As for the previously-confirmed continuously variable transmission, it will come with both six- and eight-speed manual shift modes, but will take half a second longer to get to the magical 60-mile-per-hour mark.