Subaru SUBARU FORESTER 2.5XT, page #9

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Subaru WRX STI Diamond Edition is the most powerful ever offered

The U.S. is no stranger to seeing Subaru create special-edition WRX STI models that are significantly more potent than what it sells here. Just in the last few years, we saw the W208 and the Type RA-R with over 320 horsepower, compared to the 300 in the standard American STI. That latter one particularly stung, since our Type RA just had 310 horsepower. But what we're not accustomed to seeing is Subaru's home market of Japan being cut out of a special-edition STI, which is exactly the case with the 2018 Subaru WRX STI Diamond Edition. This special STI was developed by Subaru South Africa of all places. And it's a serious machine. It makes a whopping 349 horsepower and 342 pound-feet of torque, which means it's the most powerful WRX STI offered by Subaru to the public. The car also features Brembo brakes with 6-piston calipers up front and 2-piston calipers in the back. The car stands out from regular STIs with its florescent yellow body kit. The car was created by Subaru South Africa to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Subaru Technica International, the company we all know as STI. Because of that, the Subaru branch is only offering 30 for sale. Prospective customers can register for a chance to have one of the cars at this official website. Also interesting is that this isn't the only ultra-limited edition STI from Subaru South Africa. The company did the same thing for the fifteenth anniversary, and only sold 15 examples of that car. It had a remarkable pun for the name: Subaru Impreza WRX STI STImulating Edition. Really, we're not making that up. Related Video:

Another 'Baby Driver' Subaru WRX goes up for auction

We saw one of the "Baby Driver" Subaru Impreza WRX stunt cars sell last year for nearly $70,000. That was a bit nutty, but now there's another one up for auction, listed on Live Auctioneers. Just like the first, it's a red 2006 WRX Limited with a 2004 STI engine and rear-wheel-drive conversion. This means it has the 2.5-liter boxer engine instead of the 2.0-liter four-cylinder. All of the modifications were done by All Pro Subaru with a total of five cars receiving the special treatment. Beyond those mods, there's an upgraded rear differential, but that's pretty much it. If you've seen "Baby Driver," then you know how pivotal a role this car played in making the movie great. The opening chase scene is the most iconic of the whole movie — we've dropped the video of it in this post if you haven't seen it or just want to watch the awesome driving again. It's such an admirable scene because all the driving stunts are real. No special effects or CGI went into trying to make it any more than what it actually was. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This particular car has a lot of miles on it: 156,477 to be exact. For most Subarus of the WRX variety, this many miles pretty much guarantees you'll be paying for repairs in no time. This being a movie car means it's been driven pretty hard too; just watch the movie and you'll see what it's been through. The bid is sitting at $20,000 now, way less than the $69,100 the first one sold for. As a reference, WRX STIs of the same heritage and similar miles are listed anywhere between $10,000-$20,000. You won't end up buying this car because it's a great value, but rather, to be able to point out to your friends you have "that car" every time you watch the movie. The rear-wheel-drive conversion is pretty sweet too — that makes it more distinctive than it would be otherwise. Related video: Featured Gallery Baby Driver Subaru WRX Celebrities Subaru Auctions Performance Sedan baby driver

2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid PHEV electric range, according to CARB

Subaru's first plug-in vehicle is coming, and it's coming soon. The end of 2018 is upon us already, and the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is almost ready for primetime. This time around, it has a plug, a feature that is notably absent from the car's nomenclature, a la the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. It will also borrow its PHEV technology from Toyota and now, we have California Air Resources Board ( CARB) documents that suggest the Crosstrek Hybrid's all-electric range. According to the document (which can be seen in PDF form here), CARB rates the Crosstrek Hybrid's Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule electric range at 25.650 miles. For what it's worth, the Toyota Prius Prime with which this Subaru shares powertrain tech, has an EPA-estimated all-electric range of 25 miles and a highway electric range of 21.9 miles. The document also lists an "equivalent" all-electric urban range of 26.273 miles and "equivalent" all-electric highway range of 27.381 miles. ("Equivalent" range calculations come into play when PHEVs use a mix of electric and gas power at the same time.) The Crosstrek, which will use Subaru's own 2.0-liter gasoline engine, doesn't appear to suffer a reduction in electric range compared to the Prius Prime despite its size, elevated ride height or all-wheel-drive system, which raises a lot of questions. The reasons are still unclear, as we don't have a lot of details about the underpinnings of the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid, and we can't help but be skeptical about those figures. Will it have a bigger battery than the Prime's 8.8-kWh pack? Will the electric motor drive all four wheels, or will it only power one axle under all-electric power? What other mitigating factors could add efficiency and, in effect, range to this Subaru? Are these calculations, in fact, indicative of the yet-to-be-announced official figures? Of course, we'll have to see how the EPA's final estimated driving range shakes out before we draw our official comparisons. We'll know a lot more when the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid gets its official debut before the end of this year, plug and all. Related Video: News Source: California Air Resources BoardImage Credit: Subaru Green Subaru Fuel Efficiency Crossover Electric Hybrid PHEV

2019 Subaru Crosstrek Buying Guide | Specs, safety, and expert reviews

The 2019 Subaru Crosstrek is in its second generation, based on the fifth-generation Impreza platform, and was completely redesigned for the 2018 model year. The popular crossover is Subaru's third-best-selling model after the Outback and the Forester, and it received subtle updates, a more rugged appearance and some new technology for the new model year. Every Crosstrek comes standard with roof rails and alloy wheels with a machined finish and black-painted accents. Those wheels are available in either 17- or 18-inch sizes. The body sits atop a raised suspension that brings ground clearance up to an impressive 8.7 inches over the Impreza's 5.1 inches. Only the Jeep Renegade Trailhawk comes close to matching that clearance in this SUV segment. Three trim levels are offered: 2.0i, 2.0i Premium, and 2.0i Limited. All models can be equipped with an optional CVT. The base and Premium trims can be had with a 6-speed manual transmission. With this buyer's guide, Autoblog aims to help you make an educated decision about whether to buy the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. We'll include safety and reliability ratings, engine specs, fuel economy ratings and pricing. We'll also summarize what Autoblog's professional reviewers think of the Crosstrek. Is the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gives the 2019 Crosstrek a five-star overall rating, the highest possible. It gave it four stars for frontal crash protection, five stars for side crashes and four stars in its rollover crash tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety hasn't evaluated the 2019 model, but it's virtually identical to the 2018 Crosstrek that was given the best possible rating of Top Safety Pick+. It scores a "Good" (the highest possible rating) in all areas, including the notoriously difficult small offset frontal crash test. It gets a "Superior" for crash avoidance when equipped with the EyeSight driver assist technology, and its optional headlights (when so equipped) give it the highest possible overall rating. We encourage you to visit the NHTSA and IIHS websites to review ratings on the specific vehicle you're researching. Is the 2019 Subaru Crosstrek reliable? Subarus are generally known for their reliability and longevity, and indeed, the company cites IHS Markit data that shows 97 percent of all Subarus sold in the past 10 years are still on the road. For third-party validation, we turn to J.D.

Subaru recalls more cars, slashes guidance as cheating issue widens

By Naomi Tajitsu TOKYO — Subaru Corp said it would recall more vehicles sold in the Japan domestic market on new cases of inspection cheating, and cautioned that rising recall costs would lop off about a quarter from its annual profit forecast. Shares in Subaru, already reeling from a series of recalls for issues ranging from faulty components to inspection do-overs, fell 5 percent to a four-year low on Monday after news of the fresh recalls and the bleak outlook. The company, the smallest among Japan's major automakers, said it would recall around 100,000 vehicles, including its popular Impreza sedan, after discovering that final tests for components including brakes were not conducted properly. Vehicles sold overseas will not be affected. "It's unforgivable that these inspection-related issues are continuing," CEO Tomomi Nakamura said at a briefing, while repeatedly adding that the latest recall would be the last related to testing misconduct. The automaker expects to incur 6.5 billion yen ($57 million) in costs related to the latest recall. This, along with other quality-linked issues, is expected to push down Subaru's operating profit to 220 billion yen in the year to March 2019. It had previously forecast a 300 billion yen profit. Subaru posted a surprise operating loss of 25 billion yen for the three months ended September, its first time in the red for a quarter since 2009 and missing a mean forecast for a 68.46 billion yen profit from 10 analysts polled by Refinitiv. Recall-related costs were the main driver of the loss, while global sales fell 6 percent over the quarter due to weak demand in the United States — its biggest market, where overall demand has cooled since record-high sales in 2016. (Click here for an interactive version of this chart) Engine recall Last month, Subaru nearly halved its first-half operating profit view, citing higher quality-related costs. It later announced a global recall of around 400,000 vehicles, including its Forester SUV and Impreza sedan, to fix a design flaw in the engines' valve springs. That came on the heels of another series of recalls stemming from revelations last year that uncertified workers had been submitting final inspection reports for vehicles sold in Japan. That had also led to a recall of about 400,000 cars. Recalls are common in the auto industry, and automakers regularly put funds aside to pay for them.

2019 Subaru Forester Buyer's Guide | What you need to know about this crossover

The 2019 Subaru Forester is its fifth generation. The popular crossover is Subaru's second-best-selling model in 2017 after the Outback, and it received subtle updates, a more rugged appearance and some new technology for the new model year. It's built on Subaru's new Global Platform, with a 1.2-inch longer wheelbase for a smoother ride and 1.4 more inches of rear legroom. There are new, more comfortable seats in front, a wider tailgate opening, more cargo room and standard EyeSight driver-assist technology and Starlink infotainment package, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Five trim levels are offered: Base, Premium, Limited, Touring and a new Sport model. All models share a CVT as the only transmission option, and the latter two are offered with a manual mode and steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. With this buyer's guide, Autoblog aims to help you make an educated decision about whether to buy the 2019 Subaru Forester. We'll include safety and reliability ratings, engine specs and horsepower, fuel economy ratings and pricing. We'll also summarize what Autoblog's professional reviewers think of the Forester. Is the 2019 Subaru Forester safe? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had yet to rate the 2019 Forester as of this publication, but it gave the 2018 version an overall five-star rating, its highest possible. It gave it four stars for frontal crash protection, five stars for side crashes and four stars in its rollover crash tests. Likewise, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety hasn't evaluated the 2019 model, but it has named the Forester a Top Safety Pick for 12 consecutive years going back to 2007. That's despite the 2018 Forester earning a "marginal" rating for passenger-side small front overlap crash protection, which replicates a crash impacting a vehicle's front corner at 40 miles per hour. It earned "good" ratings in every other crash-test metric, and a "superior" rating for front crash prevention, when equipped with the EyeSight driver assist technology. The latter comes standard on the 2019 model. We'll update this once ratings are updated, but we encourage you to visit the NHTSA and IIHS websites to review ratings on the specific vehicle you're researching. Is the 2019 Subaru Forester reliable? Subarus are generally known for their reliability and longevity, and indeed, the company cites IHS Markit data that shows 97 percent of all Foresters sold in the past 10 years are still on the road.

Should Subaru have a premium brand?

A lot of people love Subarus, and that audience is only getting bigger. Subaru sold 647,956 vehicles in the U.S. in 2017, up from 615,132 units in 2016; 513,693 in 2012; and 187,699 in 2008. You get the idea. It's a relatively small brand, but a growing one. It's also one of the top brands in terms of customer loyalty, and in terms of conquest sales. From Q2 2015 to Q2 2016, Subaru gained 3.5 customers from other brands for every customer it lost. Recently, Riley, a listener to the Autoblog Podcast, wrote in and asked why Subaru doesn't have a luxury brand. Reading the email, neurons began firing immediately, and a whole bunch of new thoughts rushed in at once, mingling with old data in my brain. Indeed, why doesn't Subaru have its own luxury brand? My initial conclusion was that it just didn't make sense for the brand. It's too small of a company to warrant another brand. The higher-end offerings — namely top-trim Ascents — are probably the ceiling at the moment. If those can sell consistently, then maybe it would be time to toy with luxury-leaning models the way Hyundai did before spinning off Genesis (and perhaps adopt a wait-and-see attitude with regard to that potential competitor.) A luxury brand might dilute the value of Subaru's mainstream offerings, giving it the look of a budget brand, but luxury models within the brand could do the opposite. ... Unless ... What if Subaru's luxury brand was all electrified? Subaru is a company that is genuinely concerned with sustainability and environmental issues. Famously, its factories are zero-landfill facilities, and the company takes part in a multitude of environmental initiatives both on its own and with various partners. This mirrors the values of a large part of Subaru's customer base, who have earned a reputation as outdoor adventurers who love nature — and dogs. It's no surprise to see Subaru overrepresented on the roads of Denver, Portland, Ore., and Burlington, Vt. Subaru doesn't offer any plug-in models yet, but they're in the works. As of now, we can expect them to be based on current nameplates. What if Subaru gave its upcoming Crosstrek PHEV the luxury treatment and a new brand name ("Pleiades" would be the easy grab). Sure, Subaru retains customers really well already, but what happens when people outgrow Subaru? At least they have the option of the Ascent, but I'm interested to see how many Subaru owners move on to luxury brands (I'm in the process of finding those answers).

Paris Motor Show and a Subaru luxury brand? | Autoblog Podcast #556

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Green Editor John Beltz Snyder. They kick off this episode with driving impressions of the new 2019 Aston Martin V8 Vantage and 2019 Volkswagen Jetta. Then they recap the 2019 Paris Motor Show, and talk about their favorite cars from the event. They answer some reader mail and try to answer the question: Should Subaru have its own luxury brand?Autoblog Podcast #556 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: Aston Martin V8 Vantage and VW Jetta Our favorite cars from the 2019 Paris Motor Show Spend Subaru's Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Paris Motor Show Aston Martin Automakers Subaru Volkswagen Coupe Electric Luxury Performance Sedan aston martin v8 vantage

2019 Subaru Forester First Drive Review | Hidden treasure

ASHEVILLE, N.C — Forester sales have been nothing short of spectacular for Subaru. The fourth-generation Forester sold more than double what the first three generations sold ... combined. It makes up about 20 percent of Subaru's current U.S. sales, and 58 percent globally. Clearly, Subaru has been the right thing with the Forester to bring people over to the brand, and to keep them there. So why mess with a good thing? Subaru hasn't, really. The all-new 2019 Forester looks remarkably familiar – slightly tweaking a few things to refine the experience without alienating buyers. They improved aero while maintaining huge windows. And even the small-outside-big-inside formula that makes it such a practical choice was improved, gaining interior volume with a minimal increase in length and width. Peel away the sheet metal, though, and there have been significant changes for the Forester, which shares few parts with the outgoing generation. The updated engine gets direct injection. The reworked frame, using more high-strength steel, means it has 1.4 times the impact absorption of the previous car. The geometry of the four-wheel independent suspension has been optimized for stability, the steering retuned, the transmission reworked for better power, efficiency, handling, comfort and safety. So, can this visually familiar Forester really feel all that different going down the road? More importantly, do we like it better? We headed into the Blue Ridge mountains around Asheville N.C. in order to find out. Our first vehicle for the day was the new Sport trim, with no added performance and some funkier design cues. Somehow, matte-ish orange accents have become the go-to hue to represent "sport." They stand out most around the air vents and gear shifter, in the contrast stitching and here and there in the instrument panel. The busy mix of materials and colors might find favor in youthful buyers, but were a bit too flashy for our taste. Loud as that interior might be visually, sonically the Forester is quite the opposite. We kept the radio off to enjoy, finally, a Forester interior in which we could hold a quiet conversation at highway speed. Depending on the surface, we heard some tire noise, but muted compared to Foresters — and tons of Subarus — of generations past. In normal, calm driving, the new Forester behaves like a more premium vehicle – calm and comfortable.

2019 Subaru Ascent, 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe earn highest IIHS safety ratings

Two important crossovers introduced this year, the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2019 Subaru Ascent, have finally been crash tested by the IIHS, with both receiving a Top Safety Pick+ rating. Both crossovers earned the highest score of "Good" in every crash test, including the tricky passenger small overlap frontal test. Each comes with forward collision prevention technology that adequately warns the driver, and can bring the car to a complete stop before hitting an object at speeds up to 25 mph. View 72 Photos One of the other key tests to merit the Top Safety Pick+ award is headlight performance. In this case, each gets a "Good" rating to earn the award, but there's a caveat. Only high-end versions of each vehicle have highly rated lights. On the Subaru Ascent, the "Good" headlights are LED units on the Limited and Touring trims, and the Hyundai's are LED units that come with the Limited and Ultimate trims. The lower trim levels of both vehicles come with halogen headlights. The Ascent's halogens were rated "Poor" for not providing enough illumination while also causing glare for oncoming drivers, while the Santa Fe's lights were rated "Marginal," the next highest rating from bottom, for simply not illuminating enough, but they didn't cause glare. View 65 Photos While this doesn't apply to a Top Safety Pick+ rating, the Subaru Ascent has one additional commendation. The IIHS also evaluates how easy it is to access LATCH anchors for mounting child seats in a car, as well as how many there are. In this case, the three-row, family-friendly Subaru received the "Good" rating and a "+" for having extra anchors for more placement flexibility. The two-row Santa Fe just received an "Acceptable" rating in this regard, the second highest rating from IIHS. Related Video: