2019 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium on 2040-cars

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Mazda CX-5 named Japan's Car of The Year, Subaru BR-Z wins "Special Award"

The Mazda CX-5 stamped its Kodo design and SkyActiv technology authority all over the Japan Car of the Year awards, taking the top prize ahead of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86. It is Mazda's second victory in the last ten years, the 2005 MX-5 claiming the same trophy, and the fourth time the Hiroshima company has won.
The award is decided by 60 local "automotive experts and journalists," and open to any passenger car released in Japan from November 1, 2011 to October 31, 2012 that has sold more than 500 units. Each judge gets 25 votes, his or her top vote getting 10 points, the rest of the points being spread among the judge's choice for the next best four cars.
The second-place getters were the Toyobaru twins with 318 votes, the surprise being they didn't beat or get any closer to the crossover. The Subaru BRZ did claw some mojo back, earning the Special Award given to cars that have made "an exceptional impact." The BMW 3 Series was third overall and won the Import Car of the Year award with plenty of room between it and the second place Range Rover Evoque.

Next-gen Subaru WRX STI due next year with new engine, new platform

We just covered Japan's updated Subaru Impreza, which naturally has everyone wondering about a new WRX, the current fourth-generation on sale since 2014. According to a story in Japan's Best Car magazine, the fifth generation arrives late next year with a new platform and engine as part of the automaker's Japanese-market overhaul of the WRX STI, JDM-only WRX S4, and Levorg wagon. The STI is expected to switch from the current turbocharged EJ20 boxer-four to a direct-injection FA20 boxer-four engine with output of around 315 horsepower. Note, the Japanese-market WRX STI uses a 2.0-liter engine, the U.S version gets the 2.5-liter EJ257 with 310 hp. The U.S.-market WRX (sans STI) already uses the turbo FA20, but it makes 268 horsepower. The WRX STI will finally move to the Subaru Global Platform that the Impreza switched to in 2017, which will hopefully go a long way in improving ride comfort around town. The six-speed manual makes the switch as well. Best Car says the four-door's size won't change much, but the looks will crib from the Viziv concept - something everyone wants - with a design language called "Dynamic x Solid," U-shaped LEDs, and "greatly inflated front and rear fenders." Until then, the 2020 Subaru WRX STI will stick with its current architecture and another limited edition called the Series.White. A Torque News story says that as with the Series.Gray launched for the 2019 model year, the Series.White will be limited to 250 examples in WRX STI flavor, and 750 examples of the WRX. The Series.White gets a tonal neighbor on the palette for 2020, a new hue called Ceramic White that's exclusive to the WRX and WRX STI, which will omit any metallic or pearl effects in order to distinguish itself from the already-available Crystal White Pearl. The Series.White, as a special edition, will come with the requisite Crystal Black Silica badges, Recaro seats, Performance Package, suspension upgrades, folding side mirrors, and 19-inch black wheels.  The WRX S4 and Levorg will benefit from two brand new, downsized, direct-injection turbocharged engines in Japan, one of 1.5 liters, the other of 1.8 liters. Built around smaller, lighter engine blocks and boasted improved combustion efficiency, the 1.5-liter will produce about 148 hp, the 1.8-liter about 266 hp. Our non-STI WRX gets a 2.0-liter FA20 with 268 hp.

2018 Subaru Forester joins the black-out bandwagon with Black Edition

People apparently love black-painted trim. Nissan, Chevrolet, and Honda have all recently offered special-edition packages to ditch chrome and color-coded parts for the dark hue, and Subaru is the latest to join the party. Its offering comes in the form of the 2018 Forester Black Edition. The package is only available on the 170-horsepower, naturally aspirated, Forester 2.5i Premium. It also costs an extra $1,150. For that money, you get the following in the eponymous color: 18-inch wheels, fog light trim, badges, mirror caps, and the grille. Inside, the interior is also black. The steering wheel and shifter are leather-wrapped, and the upholstery is cloth with faux leather bolsters. The package isn't all aesthetics, though. It also comes with steering LED headlights and paddle shifters for the CVT, allowing the driver to pick from six preset ratios. The latter feature was previously exclusive to the turbocharged Forester 2.0XT. The package also comes on the heels of the 2018 model introduction. There aren't many notable updates to this year's Forester, however. All trim levels except Touring increase in price by $200. All Touring models jump by $1,795. The Touring's large price jump comes with now-standard reverse automatic emergency braking and high-beam assist. The 2.0XT Touring also now has torque vectoring similar to that in the WRX line. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Subaru Forester Black Edition Image Credit: Subaru Subaru Crossover Economy Cars