2012 Subaru Impreza Wrx Premium Sedan 4-door 2.5l Turbo on 2040-cars

Auto blog

10 of 18 midsize SUVs earn 'good' IIHS side impact safety rating

It's not terribly surprising that midsize SUVs earned better safety ratings than small SUVs in the latest side-impact tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Just how much better they scored, on the other hand, certainly raises an eyebrow. Ten out of 18 midsize SUVs earned the highest rating of 'good' in the stringent new test, altered for vehicles starting with the 2020 model year with a heavier barrier (4,200 pounds) that moves at a higher speed (37 miles per hour) and is fitted with a hard honeycomb frontal structure. By way of contrast, just one out of of 20 small SUVs earned a 'good' score.  SUVs that receiving 'good' scores were the Ford Explorer, Infiniti QX60, Lincoln Aviator, Mazda CX-9, Nissan Pathfinder, Subaru Ascent, Toyota Highlander, Volkswagen Atlas, Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport and Volkswagen ID.4. For EV fans, it's worth noting the ID.4 was the only electric vehicle included in the test. The Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse scraped away with 'acceptable' ratings while the Honda Passport, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Palisade, Jeep Wrangler 4-door, Kia Telluride and Nissan Murano were deemed merely 'marginal' in the tough new test. Only two models — the Mazda CX-9 and Volkswagen ID.4 — earned a "Good" rating in every test category.  Interestingly, the Jeep Wrangler would have scored a 'good' rating if it were equipped with side airbags for the rear seating positions. It would likely be an engineering challenge to equip its removable top and/or doors with airbags, but the lack of that safety feature allowed the head of the rear passenger dummy to hit the vertical support of the top. Otherwise, the Wrangler scored good ratings across the board. The new Ford Bronco, which makes more allowances for side-impact safety, has not yet been tested.  The popular Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride SUVs stand out in the test with 'poor' ratings for driver pelvis injuries. The Nissan Murano, a vehicle last redesigned for the 2015 model year, was the only vehicle tested that received a 'poor' rating for its structure and safety cage. Videos of the tests of 12 of these 18 SUVs can be found on the IIHS' YouTube page. Related video: Green Buick Chevrolet Ford Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jeep Kia Mazda Nissan Subaru Toyota Volkswagen Safety Crossover SUV IIHS Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Junkyard Gem: 1980 Subaru 4WD Hatchback

Living in Colorado, where they might as well issue you a Subaru at the state line, I see plenty of worn-out Pleiades-badged cars in the local wrecking yards. Most of them fall into the 15-to-25-year-old age group, but I'll spot the occasional Malaise Era Subaru, from the era when the Leone was sold in North America as, simply, "the Subaru." Here's a 1980 base-level hatchback with the four-wheel-drive option, spotted in a yard just outside of Denver last month. In 1980, the US-market Subaru could be had in three trim levels (STD, DL, and GL), and as a coupe, sedan, hatchback, or wagon (the pickup version was known as the BRAT). This STD hatch is the cheapest possible Subaru available in 1980 with four-wheel-drive, and I'm just disappointed that they didn't put STD badges on the base-level cars. The driver had to choose between front- and four-wheel-drive by hand, using this lever. If you left the car in 4WD for long periods on dry pavement, you'd wear out the tires and/or break something. By 1997, all US-market Subarus had full-time all-wheel-drive, with no driver decisions about driven wheels needed. Subaru offered an automatic transmission and a five-speed-manual for these cars, but just about all buyers of late-1970s/early-1980s Subarus went with the cheaper four-on-the-floor manual. When you see a junkyard car with the keys still present, you can assume that the car ended up here after being totaled by an insurance company or traded in on a new car. A battered 39-year-old Subaru won't get much interest at the sort of auction these cars go to, and so the junkyard ends up being the next stop. The owner's manual was still in the glovebox, and of course I took at home and scanned a few pages (look in the gallery, above, for those scans). The folks at Subaru PR were interested in this book for their archives (they don't have one), so I'll make sure it gets to them soon. Rodent bedding and poop fill the engine compartment, and the employees of this yard marked the car as a hantavirus biohazard. I'd wear a mask if I needed to pull the engine from this car, because hantavirus is a real problem in Colorado and has a scary 35% mortality rate. Speaking of the engine, you're looking at 67 mighty horsepower here. With the car scaling in at about 2,200 pounds empty, drivers needed patience on uphill freeway onramps (actually, they needed patience when driving anywhere). By the standards of Japanese cars of this era, the rust problem doesn't look too bad.

New Subaru Levorg teased ahead of Tokyo Motor Show

While we only get a sedan version of the Subaru WRX in the U.S., Japan has had a wagon version to go along with it called the Levorg. The Subaru Levorg is about to get a big update, too, since the company teased a new generation for the Tokyo Motor Show. Based on the teaser image and video, the new Levorg's styling will be evolutionary. The various creases along the side have a bit more curve to them to emphasize the bulging fenders. The lines also look similar to those of the Subaru Viziv Tourer concept shown at the Geneva Motor Show last year. The current Subaru Levorg is offered with either a 1.6-liter turbocharged flat-four or the WRX's turbocharged 2.0-liter engine. We wouldn't be surprised if those engines carry over to the new model with some minor changes. Curiously, the current model also only comes with a CVT, which will probably continue to be the only transmission option. We would be more disappointed by that if the Levorg had any chance of coming to America. That said, if there are any Subaru product planners reading, the Levorg might sell well here if it was given a small suspension lift and fender flares. Call it the Crosstrek+ or Crosstrek XL or something like that. The turbo 1.6-liter would be a nice upgrade over the naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine. And there are probably some old WRX hatchback fans who would love the turbo 2.0-liter Levorg, provided a manual was made available.