2014 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2020 Subaru Impreza gets EyeSight safety tech, $100 price increase

We recently saw the Japanese version of the 2020 Subaru Impreza after a subtle mid-cycle update, and now come details of the American version, which follows the same script in appearance but has a few new tricks up its sleeve. Subaru adds $100 to the starting price for the four-door model, which starts at $19.595, including destination, while the five-door hatchback is priced from $20,095. The big news is the addition of EyeSight, Subaru’s suite of driver-assist safety technologies, as standard on all Imprezas equipped with the continuously variable transmission, which is available on all four trim levels (Standard, Premium, Sport and Limited). That gets you automatic pre-collision braking and throttle management, lane-keep assist, lane-departure and sway warning, and lead vehicle start alert, which is essentially a heads-up to hit the gas when the vehicle in front of you has started moving from a stop. New for 2020 is the option of adding a reminder to check the rear seat occupants before leaving the car. Unlike in its native country, Americans buyers can still get an Impreza with a five-speed manual. ItÂ’s available on the Standard trim for the sedan and on the Standard and Sport models in the hatchback. The trade-off for driving stick, Subaru tells us, is that you give up the option of EyeSight. Steering-wheel paddle shifters are now available on CVT-equipped Premium models and above to pair with a seven-speed manual-mode function, and drivers can now select between Intelligent and Sport modes of throttle management as a standard feature. Also new are automatic power door locks with a collision-detection unlock function, which are standard on all trims, new 18-inch alloy wheels and active torque vectoring Visually, the car looks pretty much the same as the Japanese version, with a revised grille and front bumper cover, a wide air dam stretching across the entire face of the bumper and L-shaped chrome bracket trim book-ending it. Five-door models only get a new design on the combination lights. ThereÂ’s also a new color option called Ocean Blue Pearl. The engine remains the same as before, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer making 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy tops out at 36 mpg on the highway and 28 in the city, with a range of 450 miles. Other standard features include the Starlink 6.5-inch multimedia touchscreen and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration. The 2020 Impreza arrives in showrooms later this month.

2015 Subaru Outback offers more room and better econ behind that new face

While its new front fascia makes the biggest obvious impact, Subaru says changes to the entire 2015 Outback package make it roomier, more powerful, more efficient and quieter. The hexagonal grille gets it in line with the corporate template, to go along with a new shape to the lower grille and fog light cladding, a sharp crease for a shoulder line and a faster rake to the windshield. The rocker panel cladding and its 'toothed' molding remain, but it now also doubles as a step for when you want to place items on the roof rack.
Under the aluminum hood will either be a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder boxer engine with 175 horsepower and a carryover 174 pound-feet of torque, or a 3.6-liter inline-six-cylinder with 256 hp and 247 lb-ft exclusively in the 3.6R Limited model. Paired to the lower-friction Lineartronic CVT that is the only shifting choice, and aided by features like the active grille shutter system and electric power steering, Subaru estimates fuel economy for the four-cylinder at 25 miles per gallon city, 33 highway and 28 combined, an increase of 1/3/2 mpg over the outgoing car. The sixer is pegged at 19 city, 27 highway and 22 combined, an increase of 2 mpg across the board.
The Outback has grown in every dimension, but never by more than 0.7 of an inch. The passenger cabin grows by 2.7 cubic feet, though, so occupants have more shoulder, hip, elbow and legroom. The cargo hold is enlarged by 1.2 cu-ft with the rear seats up, by 2.0 cu-ft with them down and the load floor is flatter. Accessing it is made easier by the memory height function on the power tailgate and new release handles for the rear thrones. Cabin ambiance is improved by sound abatement measures like an acoustic windshield, thicker panels and more noise-insulating foam.

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.