2007 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited Sedan 4-door 2.5l on 2040-cars

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2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid First Drive Review | Finally, a Subie with a plug - updated

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Subarus are pretty good to drive — capable, comfortable, generally affordable, interesting — and with one exception, they all offer all-wheel drive. And they're a relatively green company. The active, outdoorsy and often socially conscious drivers appreciate things like Subaru's commitment to diverting waste from landfills. But there's a fact that's been nagging many of us who love to hug dogs, trees and the occasional Subaru: there's no electric option. Subaru, an automaker small enough to get by with an efficient fleet of conventional gas vehicles, has been able to do without building a compliance car. Still, an increasing number of Americans want to be able to plug in their vehicles. For loyal Subaru fans, brand love and eco-consciousness have increasingly difficult to reconcile. That changes now, and not because of any specific regulation, but because Subaru sees the demand. By the end of this year, Subaru will be selling its first plug-in vehicle, the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid. While Subaru has sold a Crosstrek that was a conventional hybrid before, the new 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid is Subaru's first plug-in hybrid. Sales of the previous hybrid weren't great, though, since it was expensive. Customers didn't choose to pay a premium for a few mere extra miles per gallon. Subaru hopes the extra fuel efficiency of the plug-in will increase the appeal. Even so, like Chrysler did with the Pacifica Hybrid, Subaru opted not to put "plug-in" in the name for 2019. Despite an arguable opportunity missed to set the record straight with a new and more descriptive name, there's no mistaking this thing is a PHEV. There are "Plug-In Hybrid" badges on both front fenders and the tailgate, and the door covering the SAE charging receptacle – at the rear of the driver's side, on the opposite side of the gas fuel door – is stamped with the words "PLUG-IN" writ large. While this thing looks every bit a Subaru, even if you pop the hood to take a look at the 2.0-liter boxer engine up front, the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid borrows its PHEV technology from Toyota – more fruit of the partnership that bore the Scion FR-S and the BRZ. It has the same 8.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack as the Prius Prime, but in the bigger, heavier Subaru it's only good for a modest 17 miles of all-electric range. If that figure is a little disappointing to you, you're not alone. We had hoped to see at least 20 miles of EV range in this thing.

Subaru revisits 1998 Impreza 22B STI

It was 1998 when Subaru made some crucial changes to its World Rally Championship Impreza, such as increasing the displacement of the turbocharged flat-four-cylinder engine from 2.0 to 2.2 liters and fitting wide fender flares. Subaru won the WRC manufacturer championship with the car that year, and it also was the year of the automaker's 40th anniversary. To celebrate the milestone, the company came out with this limited-edition, road-going Impreza, the hallowed 22B STI, which looked nearly identical to the rally car.
Only 424 22Bs were built, and most of them stayed in Japan. But Dominick Infante, national manager of product communications at Subaru of America, was able to secure a drive in one of the only two 22Bs in the US. He details the car's history and some of the design and engineering cues that made the Impreza STI so popular both in motorsport and on the street, but we were caught up listening to the exhaust and admiring the timeless blue-and-gold paint. You should too, so head below to watch the video.

Bentley Continental GT V8 and Toyota 4Runner | Autoblog Podcast #604

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. First, they talk about driving the 2020 Bentley Continental GT V8 First Edition, followed by the 2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road. Then they revive a format called "This or That," discussing the Jeep Wrangler vs. Gladiator, Subaru Forester vs. Outback, Mustang vs. Camaro vs. Challenger, and whether they'd rather spend $25,000 on a new or vintage car. They've got an update on a previous Spend My Money segment, and, finally, they help another listener pick a daily driver. Autoblog Podcast #604 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 2020 Bentley Continental GT V8 2020 Toyota 4Runner This or That: Jeep Gladiator or Jeep Wrangler Subaru Forester or Subaru Outback Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro or Dodge Challenger Vintage car or new car Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Podcasts Bentley Chevrolet Dodge Jeep Subaru Toyota Truck Coupe SUV Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Classics