Subaru Outback Wagon on 2040-cars

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Subaru Viziv Performance Concept | Next WRX ... with driver assist?

VIZIV is a portmanteau, an invented moniker that Subaru has affixed to a series of concept cars it has shown over the past few years. The name is intended to combine the notions of vision and innovation inherent in these fantastical vehicles, which, like all concepts, presage a future that never comes. How else to describe a five-passenger, scissor-doored, diesel, hybrid, electric, all-wheel-drive, shooting brake? These reveries and chimeras have, in successive iterations, become a bit more ... realistic, or at least closer to the realm of possible. Witness the Viziv-7 shown last year at the L.A. Auto Show, quite clearly a near-production-ready preview of the brand's forthcoming three-row, seven-passenger crossover — and a long-expected replacement for the ghastly, Hercule Poirot-faced Tribeca from some years back. So what are we to make of the latest Viziv, the Viziv Performance Concept, just unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show? A muscular, flare-fendered, four-door sport sedan, the VPC is, in Subaru's own words, intended to "deliver enjoyment and peace of mind" to its customers while evoking a design philosophy of "DYNAMIC x SOLID." [Subaru insists that it is not yelling, merely being emphatic.] The vehicle is also meant to integrate the latest in driver-assistance technology, built around Subaru's EyeSight distance cruise control and collision prevention system. It is surprisingly attractive, for a Subaru, which is to say, more than simply functional and unpretentious and rugged with a smattering of premium materials. It looks kind of French. "We utilize traditional Subaru shapes like the flared fenders and the hood scoop," says Mamoru Ishii, general manager of the design department's product planning division. "But we wanted to enhance the three-dimensional sculptural forms, to express more of the shadows." So it looks like a Subaru. But it also looks kind of ... fast. So is this thing the new WRX? Size and stature wise, that supposition would make sense. Especially since that model is now a wholly separate vehicle line spun off of the Impreza platform some years back and that the next generation is expected to reappear, in novel form and with its own identity, for the 2020 model year, making a conceptual appearance now timeline-proper. "It's a design study for a sport sedan, and WRX is one of them," says Ishii. "It's not so far from the next generation." Not so far away, but not so close.

Toyota GT86 convertible on 'indefinite hold'

Bad news, sportscar fans. According to a new report from What Car?, Toyota has cancelled plans to produce a GT86 convertible, a model based on the FT-86 Open Concept that debuted at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. In truth, Toyota never actually confirmed it would produce the budget-friendly droptop in the first place, but rumors have been flying since last year and Toyota reportedly showed its embattled Scion dealers a FR-S version of the convertible in August. Presumably, this means that a lidless variant of the Subaru BRZ is not in the cards, either.
The reason for the move is unknown, though What Car? reports "one possible cause is weight; Toyota did say that further work would be required on rigidity before the convertible could be launched, and that could have added extra bulk that conflict with the regular GT86's ethos of light weight and agile handling." It doesn't look like that work will happen anytime soon, as "sources now say that the car has now been delayed indefinitely, with no place in Toyota's product plan in either 2014 or 2015." Still holding out hope? What Car? says the project could be "fast-tracked" if management decides it wants to reboot the program down the road.
one possible cause is weight; Toyota did say that further work would be required on rigidity before the convertible could be launched, and that could have added extra bulk that conflict with the regular GT86's ethos of light weight and agile handling. - See more at: http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/toyota-gt86-cabriolet-cancelled/1214782#sthash.iStIkWnz.dpuf

2020 Subaru Outback First Drive Review | The big payoff

NEWPORT, Calif. — The 2020 Subaru Outback marks the sixth generation of a vehicle, first introduced for 1994, that is in no small part the lynchpin to its companyÂ’s current success. The Outback's sales have increased in every generation, with more than 700,000 sold in the most recent generation that started with the 2015 model year. Subaru doesnÂ’t expect things to slow down as it introduces the all-new 2020 Outback, which has undergone a major overhaul despite its familiar sheetmetal. The Outback has moved to the Subaru Global Platform (SGP), joining the Impreza and Forester on lighter, stiffer, and stronger underpinnings. If the 2019 Forester is any indication of how the SGP can improve a vehicle, this would mean the new Outback will also be calmer, quieter and more refined. Staging from the Inn at Newport Ranch on Northern CaliforniaÂ’s “Lost Coast,” with a day full of driving both on- and off-road, we were about to find out for ourselves if this would live up to our expectations. Our first driving stint was in an Outback Touring equipped with the lesser of two available engines. The naturally aspirated 2.5-liter boxer-four, with 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque, feels perfectly adequate for the driving we did at or near sea level, and climbs competently on steep grades. While it didnÂ’t perform passing maneuvers with a sense of urgency, we still felt comfortable overtaking slower vehicles when we had to. For daily driving somewhere like the California coast, or the suburbs of the Detroit, the more economical 2.5 (26 mpg city, 33 highway, 29 combined) would be our choice to live with. This is mated to a CVT, one programmed to “shift” like a traditional automatic, staying out of its own way, and providing a nice linear pull — without a rubber band type of feel — when you need to climb a hill. Paddle shifters on the back of the wheel give you a sense of more control, if thatÂ’s something you need. We rarely used them. If you live at higher elevations, need to tow up to 3,500 pounds, or just really miss the days of a turbocharged Outback, thereÂ’s now a 2.4-liter turbo-four available in the resurrected XT models. You sacrifice some fuel economy — 3 mpg across the board, 23/30/26 mpg — but get a significant power boost, with hardly any turbo lag and satisfying response. WeÂ’re certain customers whoÂ’ve graduated from the likes of a WRX to something that can better accommodate kids and dogs will appreciate the boost.