Every engine has a V-engine layout to some degree. The regular in-line engines have a cylinder bank angle, that’s the angle between two nearby connecting rods, of 0 degrees, hence the name of “in-line”. Consequently, we can find 60-degree angle V-engines, 90-degree, 15-degree in the case of VR engines, or … Read more
A new engine for Subaru’s rear-wheel-drive performer. The BRZ is the rear-wheel-drive performance coupe from Subaru and a natural complement to the WRX/STI. Together, the duo gives Subaru an uncommon edge in the market, where thrills and chills are always expected. For 2022, Subaru launches an all-new BRZ, supplying it … Read more
Subaru’s BRZ performer launches a new generation. And we are smitten. The 2022 Subaru BRZ is all-new, a compact touring car with few direct competitors. Sister to the Toyota 86 and soon perhaps to yield a Lexus variant, the BRZ remains one of the few affordable sport coupes of our … Read more
The Subaru Legacy combines an available turbo Boxer engine with all-wheel drive for incomparable value. Among midsize sedans, the Subaru Legacy is the only model with standard all-wheel drive. Moreover, it is also the only one to utilize horizontally opposed four-cylinder engines, a design that enables it to sit lower … Read more
The BRZ has always been an outlier model for Subaru, a manufacturer best known for its fleet of all-wheel-drive models. The BRZ features a boxer engine and rear-wheel drive, and is twinned with the Toyota 86, which has also seen life as the Scion FR-S. There is some exterior detailing … Read more
Three decades after rolling out the first Legacy, an all-new model launches this midsize sedan’s fourth decade. This month, the 2020 Legacy rolled out at the 2019 Chicago Auto Show, which is just 125 miles from where it will be built at a Lafayette, Indiana, manufacturing plant. Generation Seven: 2020 … Read more
When you offer a very successful product, how do you make improvements as you ready the next-generation model? Very carefully, that’s how. Tasked with developing the fifth-generation Forester, Subaru turned to its new global architecture to support the vehicle, the same platform underpinning all modern Subaru models. As a result, … Read more
Subaru’s Ascent is this brand’s largest SUV. The 2019 Subaru Ascent fills a hole in this automaker’s product line, by supplying a sizable three-row crossover SUV. It represents Subaru’s largest model yet, a vehicle designed to keep growing families in the brand fold. Although the Ascent is not Subaru’s first … Read more
Subaru’s small Crosstrek is big on available advanced safety features. What on earth is Subaru doing?! This once niche automaker is tearing up the market, consistently so since the Great Recession. Subaru continues to expand its product mix and will soon have four lines of utility vehicles when its largest … Read more
Ascent: All-new turbocharged 2.4-liter BOXER engine for Subaru’s largest model. The 2019 Subaru Ascent made has made its debut at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, the largest model ever produced by this once niche Japanese automaker. Available in seven- or eight-passenger configurations, the all-wheel-drive 2019 Ascent should keep Subaru … Read more
New Sport trim adds pop to the Legacy line. Subaru can no longer be considered a niche car manufacturer. Fresh off its eighth consecutive year of record growth, this burgeoning Japanese brand continues to attract a wider base of American car shoppers, thanks in large part to its SUV-skewed lineup. … Read more
The hot-selling Subaru Outback welcomes an all-new Touring edition. Long before crossovers became popular, the midsize Subaru Outback has established and maintained its own slice of the market. More wagon-like than SUV, the Outback brings in such utility attributes as an elevated suspension, standard all-wheel drive, and versatility — features … Read more
Subaru’s sport coupe receives design enhancements inside and out. Introduced in 2013, the Subaru BRZ brings rear-wheel drive excitement to this overwhelmingly all-wheel drive brand. The 2+2 sports coupe is a niche model for this boutique brand and for 2017 it receives several important updates. Those changes are outlined as … Read more
Little known Fuji Heavy Industries to assume subsidiary’s well-known name. Subaru WRX. In 1953, Fuji Heavy Industries (Fuji) was formed, a company based on five companies originally derived from the Aircraft Research Laboratory (ARL), itself founded in 1917. Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster, representing the … Read more
The Scion FR-S may be the most anonymous of all sporty cars built. This 2+2 rear-wheel drive sport coupe is also sold as the Subaru BRZ, with the two automakers collaborating to build what is essentially a bare bones model to reach first-time buyers. Unfortunately, the combined sales for the … Read more
The Subaru Outback is not emotive, but it offers an impregnable alternative to the small SUVs on the market. Select the base flathead engine with the premium trim line and this model stays just under the $30,000 price threshold. Subaru’s successes in recent years are well noted, what has transformed … Read more
Subaru continues to ride on a crest of month-over-month sales increases, based largely on its mix of utility vehicles. Not to be overlooked is the midsize Subaru Legacy sedan, the only standard all-wheel drive model in the segment. For 2015, the Legacy is all-new and Auto Trends had one 3.6R … Read more
It’s not easy being green. Five Subaru models have come and gone from my driveway, weekly loaners that ranged from the very good to the outstanding. Subaru’s consistent quality, dependability, and reliability has not been lost on me nor on the many new and returning buyers who continue to drive … Read more
The Subaru WRX is a compact sports sedan built on the platform that underpins the Impreza. Through 2014 it was officially known as the Impreza WRX, but beginning with the spring 2014 release of the all-new 2015 model, the WRX becomes a model line all of its own. Subie dooby-doo … Read more
Porsche Cayman S delivers the bite. Porsche is a name that is widely known, but it may not be fully understood by the motoring public outside of sports car enthusiasts. Personally, I straddle the line between the two camps, preferring sport sedans (Dodge Charger, BMW 3 Series, et al) for … Read more
The attainable sports car: 2014 Subaru BRZ. One week with the Subaru BRZ has changed my mind about small, sports cars. Not that my mind had been set in stone mind you, rather I’ve always had my eye on larger and pricier models, well-equipped sports coupes that start around $40,000 … Read more
“Three is a charm,” was one thought that came to mind when a Venetian Red Pearl Subaru Outback showed up as my weekly driver recently. Just a few weeks earlier I spent some time with the Subaru Legacy and over the summer a Subaru Forester arrived unbidden. No Subaru model … Read more
The 2014 Subaru Legacy will likely not win many beauty pageants. However, its “looks” deficiency might not disappoint fans who are accustomed to driving a midsize sedan that is well built, reliable and safe. Indeed, like all other Subaru models, the Legacy routinely achieves top safety recognition, in part for its standard … Read more
Subaru is a late arrival to the hybrid market, one of the last car manufacturers to serve up a gas-electric vehicle. Its lateness should not be a reflection of a lack of innovative capabilities as Subaru is a leader in both all-wheel-drive and gasoline four cylinder engine technologies. The 2014 … Read more