Subaru moves on

The new Forester is out soon and Subaru might unveil another car, writes ALASTAIR SLOANE.

Big carmakers don't like to see too much written about a vehicle they might not launch for months. The publicity could blunt sales of the current model. Buyers might choose to wait. Sales targets will be up the creek. "But that's our problem - no one else's," said a Toyota man once. "We will live with it."

Toyota, the third-biggest carmaker in the world, sold 13,750 vehicles in New Zealand last year. Small carmakers don't mind nearly as much. They might have sold out of the current model anyway and want all the ink they can get on the new one. Sometimes they are only too willing to cooperate. But this willingness sometimes masks things they want to keep to themselves. Sneaky, eh?

Take Subaru, a niche maker of all-wheel-drive vehicles from the lickety-split WRX Impreza rally car to the lifestyle Outback and Forester stationwagons. It sold 1298 vehicles in New Zealand last year, pretty much bang on its sales forecast. It's a small player compared with Toyota.

The new Forester was launched in the United States the other day, mainly because America is Subaru's biggest export market.

The new carry-all is roughly the same size as the outgoing model, but the interior has been redesigned to provide more room for occupants and luggage.

Comfort, refinement, driving dynamics and safety have also been improved. The American model Forester will be powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder boxer engine and go on sale in May.

The New Zealand model is expected to go on sale here around mid-year. Pretty much the only difference - apart from specification levels - between it and the American model is likely to be the engine: 2 litres instead of 2.5. The bigger engine might push up the price of the Forester too much.

"The Forester will give us the opportunity to strengthen our position in the small sports-utility market," said Wallis Dumper, the general manager of Subaru New Zealand.

"With the weakening of the Japanese yen in recent weeks against our dollar, we are hopeful we can price the new Forester competitively in the market.

"But New Zealand is the world's most open market, so you can rest assured that our Forester will represent best value for New Zealand drivers."

Dumper sounds pretty buoyant, doesn't he? The current Forester has won numerous car of the year awards internationally and has enjoyed a reputation for providing the best on-road comfort and driving dynamics in the class.

It was based on the philosophy of providing extra ground clearance for moderate off-road driving, while retaining the chassis dynamics of a conventional car or stationwagon.

The concept was pioneered by Subaru with its Outback wagon. Most carmakers have since followed Subaru's lead.

But something else is fuelling Dumper's bumper mood. Word on the streets has it that he's about to bring into New Zealand another derivative of the high-performance B4 Legacy sedan.

He won't talk about it. "You'll have to wait and see," he said. But it's likely to be the six-cylinder RS30 (30 for 3-litre) sedan released in Japan the other day.

Its boxer engine is the same as that which powers the H6 Outback. But it's understood engineers have changed the electronics to boost output from the Outback's 154kW at 6000 rpm and 282Nm at 4400 rpm to 162kW and 289Nm.

In contrast, the current B4 sedan uses a turbocharged 2-litre unit developing 206kW at 6500 rpm and 343Nm at 5000 rpm.

The RS30 was developed to augment the "acclaimed stability and manoeuvrability of the Legacy B4 sedans," says a report from Subaru in Japan.

It adds that Subaru has improved the Bilstein suspension system "compared with other Legacy turbo models" for better driving stability.

"By adopting improved suspension specifications that provide greater strength and stiffness, and a power steering system that promises improved handling, the RS30 provides an agile, sporty drive with excellent driving comfort at an even higher level."

Subaru says the body and chassis of the RS30 have been strengthened considerably to aid handling.

Cross-members have been enlarged and reinforced along with stronger brackets in the rear sub-frame.

In addition, the RS30 has been certified as an excellent low-emission vehicle (E-LEV) by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which requires that exhaust emissions be reduced by an extra 50 per cent from levels approved in 2000.