Subaru reaches for the world

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

Australian radio host Alan Jones told a story last Friday morning that scrambled bookmakers taking odds on the soccer World Cup final between Brazil and Germany.

Jones had received a call earlier in the week from a Sydney electrician, a self-confessed trainspotter who had been playing with dates and statistics of World Cup results.

The sparky dealt only with the teams that had won the cup twice since 1970 - Brazil, West Germany and Argentina. Why, Jones didn't say. But this is how he recounted the story:

"Brazil won the cup in 1970 and 1994. Add those two dates together and you get 3964.

"West Germany won it in 1974 and 1990. Add those and you get ... 3964.

"Argentina won it in 1978 and 1986. Again they add up to ... 3964.

"What's it all mean? Well, if you subtract this year's World Cup, 2002, from 3964, you get 1962.

"And the team that won in 1962? Brazil. Will Brazil win again this year?" (Sixty-odd hours later it won 2-0 over Germany.)

Jones finished the story by saying the electrician wasn't a betting man - he just liked playing with statistics.

Subaru likes playing with statistics, too. It quoted all sorts of facts and figures at the launch of the new all-wheel-drive Forester on a mix of roads out the back of Canberra the other day.

Things like how Subaru plans to lift worldwide sales of all models by 37 per cent within the next five years.

"This will consist of 350,000 units a year in Japan, up 25 per cent; 280,000 units in American and Canada, up 37 per cent; 60,000 units in Europe, up 100 per cent; and 70,000 units from other markets, including Australia and New Zealand," said Subaru Australia chief Trevor Amery.

Subaru has 3.6 per cent of the Australian new-car market with 11,740 sales so far this year. It is aiming at end-of-year sales of about 28,000 units in a market of around 800,000.

"This should be our fifth consecutive year of record sales," said Amery. "It underlines Subaru Australia's status as having the greatest share of any major Subaru market outside Japan."

Subaru America sells more vehicles, but its market share in a country besotted by pick-up trucks is only about 1 per cent.

Subaru New Zealand is aiming at sales of about 1500 vehicles this calendar year.

At the end of last month it had sold 741 vehicles for 2.4 per cent of the market.

So far so good for general manager Wally Dumper, who jokes that Australia's initial shipment of Foresters is more than New Zealand's allocation for the year.

"Forester is Subaru's big seller in Australia, whereas in New Zealand it's the Legacy wagon."

The second-generation Forester (the first was launched in 1997) goes on sale in New Zealand this week.

Three models are available - the standard Forester at $37,990 (manual) and $39,990 (automatic), the XS at $42,990 and $44,990 and the automatic-only XS Ltd at $48,990.

The new model is quieter, lighter and 22 per cent more powerful than its predecessor, using a horizontally opposed 112kW/223Nm 2.5-litre engine instead of 2-litre unit. Subaru has been using such "boxer" engines since 1966.

But it is stronger and more refined and offers more head and shoulder room in the cabin. It is also easier to get in and out, an important selling point Subaru found about the previous Forester.

The view from the driver's seat is much better, too. The instruments have a more polished look and feel about them and the layout is tidier.

The front seats slide further back and forth and the front seatbelt buckles sit higher for ease of use.

The front seats can also fold flat. Same with the 60/40 split back seats, which have been made stronger to meet European design rules about carrying cargo in station wagons.

The previous Forester won numerous awards internationally and enjoyed a reputation of 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 station wagon.

The concept was pioneered by Subaru with its Outback wagon. The latest Forester refines it further.

A standard Subaru Legacy with its lower ride height won't run as wide through corners as the Outback or Forester with their 200mm ground clearance. Such understeer is characteristic of pretty much all four-wheel-drive cars anyway.

But Subaru says it has lowered the new Forester's centre of gravity for improved driving balance by using more aluminium components, including a bonnet 8kg lighter than the original and 13 per cent lighter rear suspension.

Front and rear stabilisers have helped to reduce body roll in corners. The car still understeers when pushed through the twisty bits, but that's not its "roll" in life. It is a recreational vehicle, riding higher than most and designed to get off the beaten track every now and again.

Its long-travel suspension is as good as it gets, and the addition of a limited-slip differential transfers drive to the rear wheel with most grip helps the Forester go even further than before.

A standout feature of the manual Forester and Legacy is the hill-holder, which makes child's play out of starting from stop on a hill.

When the driver pushes in the clutch and brake pedals, a floating ball in a pressure valve linked to the clutch recognises the car is on a hill and hydraulically tells the clutch to act as a brake.

There is no need to apply the handbrake. Instead the driver releases the footbrake and holds the car on the depressed clutch alone, moving off using only the clutch and accelerator. It's just like being on level ground.

The latest full-time four-wheel-drive Forester leads its segment in standard equipment. There is everything from airbags to anti-lock brakes to electronic brake force distribution to cruise control to air-conditioning to cargo blinds to self-levelling rear suspension to ... Uncle Tom Cobbley and all.