Breaking the chains

Subaru's lickety-split Legacy has every chance of speeding past its sales rivals. Alastair Sloane explains why.

The almost anonymous advertisement even made the television news. "You've got nothing to lose other than your chains," it said.

World-weary reporters chasing a juicy angle were disappointed. The ad wasn't about sexual slavery - it was simply a pointed reference to the new Subaru Legacy's all-wheel-drive capability in the pure, driven snow.

Now the Japanese town-and-around specialist has come up with another ad, this time to celebrate the arrival in New Zealand of the high-performance RSK B4 Legacy sedan.

Catchlined "Blistering Performance," it shows two closed fists, both with thumbs up as if they were gripping a steering wheel. It points to another Subaru first: two Formula One-style gearshift buttons on the wheel, which are operated by the driver's thumbs. Get the picture?

Audi offers a similar driving alternative, so does Porsche, Ferrari and BMW. But Subaru is the first mainstream carmaker to offer the driver three choices all wrapped up in the same electronic gearbox: a traditional automatic mode or a clutchless manual using either the gearlever or the wheel-mounted buttons. Subaru calls this system the Sportshift. There is also a five-speed manual RSK B4 for traditionalists.

The motoring world is full of acronyms, some messier than others. In the latest Legacy's case the RS designates a performance model, the K that it is turbocharged (the German word kompressor is recognised worldwide), the B for its boxer engine, and 4 for permanent all-wheel-drive.

But the popularity of used Legacys from Japan can complicate things. For example, Subaru builds two versions of the new B4 - the RSK B4, which uses a 2-litre quad-cam engine with twin turbocharger, and the RS B4, which runs the same engine but without the booster.

Subaru New Zealand is bringing in the RSK B4 only. Cars badged RS B4 are turbo-less imports, unlike RS models between 1989 and 1998 which use turbos. Again, it can get messy.

Subaru general manager Wally Dumper wants buyers to know this: "We do not want traditional Subaru buyers misled by used imports with these Japan-only, non-turbo RS designation cars."

He is on a roll here - Subaru captured more than 4 per cent of the new-car market in April and is on target for a record year.

"Our market share in April was a pleasant surprise." he said. "But we have never chased market share, preferring to rebuild, restructure and redirect our efforts towards a sustainable, competitive position. So our year-to-date achievement of around 3 per cent is a bonus. In fact, anything over 2 per cent is a bonus for us."

But that's the public Dumper speaking. Privately, like most carmakers these days, the used imports sit easy with him. So they should - nearly 600 were sold last month, numbers which continue to give Subaru an influential overall presence. Just ask teenagers about the marque's street-cred.

It is this influence on which Dumper wants to dwell with the RSK B4. He believes that, for executive buyers, it is a genuine alternative to European marques. The Sportshift model costs $58,990 and the five-speed manual $55,990.

"There is a lot of kudos in being a Subaru owner and these prices place the new sedan very competitively against the likes of much more expensive performance cars like some Audi and BMW models," Dumper said.

"Subaru is socially acceptable now and these new sedans will help broaden our appeal.

"Senior executives will be able to park with pride in front of the office with the added bonus of knowing their teenagers will be wanting to borrow the car at the weekend and the company directors won't be asking awkward questions about fringe benefit tax." (Companies pay the tax every three months on fleet cars. Higher-priced cars attract higher tax).

But the directors might well ask whether the teenagers will be able to handle the explosive power of the RSK B4's twin-turbo engine.

The 2-litre, four-cylinder boxer engine mated to the manual gearbox produces 205kW at 6500 rpm and 343Nm of pulling power at 5000 rpm. The clutchless Sportshift model delivers a slightly less 190kW and 319Nm.

All this oomph is directed to all four wheels, the torque split 35:65 to the front and rear axles in the Sportshift and 50:50 in the manual model.

It is a lickety-split sedan which sprints from zero to 100 km/h in under six seconds, has slingshot mid-range grunt, points like a good gun dog and grips like glue. Its Porsche-honed chassis inspires confidence at every twist and turn. It comes with up-to-the-minute safety systems, a high level of standard equipment and a three-year unlimited warranty.

Basically, the RSK B4 is a supercar for all seasons, an indirect product of the best test ground in the world - rallying.