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2013 Subaru Forester -The all-new Forester enhances basic vehicle performance such as driving, safety and environmental friendliness and features Subaru’s unique Symmetrical AWD (All-Wheel Drive) system at its core.

The layout of Subaru Symmetrical AWD system with low center of gravity and superior weight balance has embodied compliant ride quality in various road conditions. By combining the new generation Boxer engine with Lineartronic, both high engine output and good fuel efficiency have been achieved.

A new generation Boxer engine achieves both fast engine response and high fuel efficiency. Improved low to mid speed torque was adopted with a focus on manageability in practical use. Subaru’s own direct injection turbo technology was adopted for the new generation Boxer engine. By injecting fuel directly into cylinders, combustion efficiency was improved, resulting in both high engine output and fuel efficiency.

By employing the newly developed twin scroll type turbo charger with superior response at low engine speed, high performance with high engine output and torque was achieved at 206kW (280PS) and 350Nm @ 2000rpm. It also has good environmental friendliness.

Further advancing the benefits of Chain-driven CVT such as lightness, compactness, superior fuel efficiency and wide ratio coverage, Subaru has adopted a CVT with improved driveability and environmental friendliness by optimizing the parts and layouts.

The new Lineartronic was applied for higher torque of the newly developed 2.0-liter Horizontally-Opposed direct injection turbo engine. Some parts such as the torque converter and chains were modified to endure high performance of the direct injection turbo engine.

News/Images Source: Subaru

2013 Subaru BRZ Review. Forget about symmetrical all-wheel drive. And forget about turbocharged, gravel-spitting rally cars blasting down logging roads at impossible speeds. In fact, forget just about everything you’ve ever associated with Subaru, because the BRZ is about as un-Subaru as anything that’s ever left the doors of the automobile manufacturing division of Fuji Heavy Industries.

And the strange thing is, that’s neither a condemnation of what Subaru has typically brought to the table nor what the BRZ has to offer. It’s just that Subaru has built its brand and its customer-base around two key technologies – all-wheel drive, which has been on every model since 1996, and the unique layout and sound of the Boxer horizontally opposed engine. Combined with a turbocharger, the Boxer engine (most notably in the Impreza WRX STI) has achieved legendary status among rally fans and go-fast geeks around the world, and yet the BRZ has been built to deliver a truly invigorating driving experience without the aid of a turbocharger under the hood or an all-wheel drive system beneath its chassis.

So if the BRZ doesn’t use Subaru’s usual approach to releasing adrenaline, what exactly has their approach been with this clean slate design? As it turns out, it’s actually useful taking a closer look at the BRZ’s name, where the B stands for Boxer engine, the R stands for Rear-wheel drive, and the Z stands for Zenith. The first two letters make perfect sense, but Zenith is a bit less clear. Perhaps it has something to do with Subaru’s name being Japanese for the Pleiades star cluster (which explains the stars in the company’s logo), and by extension is meant to convey that the BRZ is designed to represent the pinnacle of the company’s engineering prowess?

From a power standpoint, the truth is the BRZ falls well short of the zenith achieved by the Impreza WRX STI, but it does make extremely good use of its available 200-hp and 151 lb-ft of torque. The direct-injection FA20 2.0-liter flat-four delivers its power with urgency and immediacy, pulling strongly all the way to its 7400 rpm redline. It feels more like a Honda engine, which is the highest compliment you can pay a naturally-aspirated four-banger, and although it has some of that unique Boxer growl, the hissing and popping of a turbocharger blow-off valve and wastegate are notably absent.

Turbo or not, Subaru has long touted the Boxer engine design – where the pistons move in a horizontal plane instead of the more traditional vertical or V planes – as inherently superior because it lowers the engine’s mass. Lower mass does, in theory at least, translate into a better handling car, since a lower center of gravity enhances stability and combats unwanted body roll.

And in the case of the BRZ, Subaru has certainly outdone itself, and just about every other automaker on the planet, since this handsome little coupe has a lower center of gravity than many of the world’s best handling sports cars, including the totally uncompromising and exotically constructed Ferrari 458 Italia. For Subaru (and Toyota) to have out-engineered Ferrari with respect to center of gravity on a car costing a mere $25,495 should give you an idea of just how committed the Toybaru (or perhaps Subyota?) design team was to delivering world-class handling dynamics with the BRZ (and FR-S/GT-86), but more on that later.

The engineers also paid close attention to weight distribution and mass centralization when designing the BRZ, and it should be emphasized that this vehicle is a true blank sheet project, rather than a case of taking an existing chassis and trying to make it fill a new role. As a result they’ve achieved an impressive 53/47 front/rear weight split, significantly closer to a perfect 50/50 weight distribution than many of its rivals including the Hyundai Genesis 2.0T’s 55/45 split.

The BRZ brain trust didn’t just focus on the location of mass though; they also managed to keep its presence to a minimum as well. Tipping the scales at just 2,762 lbs, the BRZ is quite possibly the lightest sports coupe on the market today, making the high-tech and high-dollar Evora seem downright portly (at 3,000 lbs) despite Lotus’ public obsession with reducing mass as their core strategy to delivering high performance.

Achieving a curb weight this low does require a few sacrifices though. The BRZ is a small car, so don’t expect to be able to fit adults in the back seats or a BBQ in the trunk. The interior is also a rather Spartan place in order to keep weight to a minimum, trim quality being rather low grade in places and there isn’t even a cover for the center tunnel cup holder/storage bin. But there’s plenty of legroom up front and the front seats are wonderfully supportive and firm, just like you’d want in a driver-focused machine like the BRZ.

 Far too often great chassis design is ruined by overly conservative suspension tuning dictated by actuarialists and legal departments, with anti-sway bars and spring rates that generate early onset understeer and stability control systems that kill the fun before it even starts. And although the BRZ does have slightly more conservative spring rates than its sister, the Scion FR-S, it’s still absolutely stunning just how willing this little sports coupe is to dance on the edge of adhesion. 

Even with the stability control system on, the BRZ will hang the tail end out enough to induce some involuntary puckering, and with this system turned off the amount of gradual and totally controllable oversteer it can achieve is only limited by your belief that you have yet to cross the point of no return. And in the BRZ the point of no return is so much farther out than just about any other sports car on the planet that it does take some time to get to know the car and its unbelievable levels of pose and control, even when you push those skinny little 215/45R17 all-season tires beyond their rather modest limit. 

Having driven the BRZ in anger around a race track in a recent head-to-head battle against the Honda Civic Si HFP, its steering feel and precision were just as stunning as its at-the-limit balance. I could position the little Subaru inch-perfectly without exerting any effort to fend off the usual speed- and fun-robbing understeer because there’s simply none to combat. Instead, the BRZ lets you focus on balancing the car with the throttle and then adjusting its line with the tiniest of steering inputs. This further accentuates the feeling of lightness you get in the BRZ, almost like you’re floating across the tarmac, rather than bludgeoning it like so many of the other sports coupe on the market try to do.

You might think this feeling of being light on its feet means the BRZ isn’t generating much grip, but you’d be wrong. We saw lateral g-force and cornering speeds in the BRZ that were on-par with the Civic Si HFP and Genesis 2.0T R-Spec coupe, both of which come equipped with wider and much stickier tires than the Subaru. And it’s not like the BRZ is achieving these cornering stats by virtue of a superior suspension design – its MacPherson front struts are hardly cutting edge technology, though its rear double wishbone design has excellent geometry that contributes to its composure over bumps and during rapid changes in direction.

At the end of my time behind the wheel in Subaru’s mold-busting BRZ, I was left in awe of its capabilities and the amount of unadulterated fun it delivers for less than thirty grand. At no time did I find myself wishing for a turbocharged boost in power or the added grip of all-wheel drive. All I wanted was the sun to stop setting so I could spend a few more hours letting my inner drifter go sideways around corners I had once considered too fast or too bumpy or too tight to drift. In the BRZ the impossible becomes possible, or at least it inspires that kind of confidence. 

Sure, it still takes skill to drive the BRZ the way it begs to be, but it communicates so clearly and responds so precisely, it really does make you a better driver. Or perhaps it just allows you to drive in a more natural way, since you’re not forced to work around any handling imbalances or invasive e-nannies. But best of all, the BRZ has personality. It’s like a flute of fine champagne – light and effervescent but with just enough kick to let you know you’re experiencing something special. 

The Subaru BRZ makes me want to leave my iPhone at home  -- it’s driving therapy in the Internet age, and I for one thank Subaru, Fuji Heavy Industries, Toyota and everyone else at the ToMoCo conglomerate for having the courage to build a machine this sharp, this willing, and this pure. It’s not the fastest car I’ve driven this year, not by a long shot, but it is the most engaging car I’ve driven in a very long time, so if you’re an enthusiast looking for a car that involves you in every aspect of the driving experience, you owe it to yourself to go give a BRZ (of FR-S) a try. Believe the hype. It really is that good.

Ford's SYNC does 3G WiFi, and with the help of Autonet so do GM, Chrysler, Avis, some school buses and now Subaru. The Japanese automaker has put WiFi on the options list of the 2011 Subaru Outback for the pretty standard price of $499 as a dealer-installed option. That'll get you an encrypted connection good within 150 feet of the car, and it can be used while the car is in motion. The subscription is $29 per month after that, and Subaru is gracious enough to pick up the first three months for you. Follow the jump for the full press release.

If you're in the market for an all-wheel drive hatchback with 300 horsepower and an extensive track pedigree, you're probably looking for a Subaru WRX STI. Hope you know how to drive a stick, though, because the only available transmission here in the States is a six-speed manual. If you're thinking "good!" we're most definitely with you, but if you're interested in a slush box you're going to have to pass on the STI all-together. Unless you live in Australia.

Subaru is offering a five-speed automatic for the Australian market, apparently because of high demand. Nick Senior, Managing Director, Subaru Australia says in the post-jump press release that the company has had "increasing inquires about an auto over the last two years and we're delighted to be able to deliver what a significant number of customers have requested." Senior added that the five-speed slush box will reflect the hatchback's athletic nature while appealing to a wider audience.

We're all for car-buyers getting whatever they want, as long as a proper manual transmission is also offered. Keep in mind that the automatic tranny is only being announced for the Australian market, and there is no indication that we'll see a five-speed slusher in the States. We wouldn't be surprised if we did, though, considering Americans' love for the automatic, coupled with the fact that the Land Down Under is such a small market.

The current Subaru Forester started life with a Motor Trend SUV of the Year award, followed by strong sales that helped Subaru succeed in a down auto market. The story gets a bit better for the 2011 model year with a new 2.5-liter boxer engine and a host of added features.

The new engine retains the same displacement as the outgoing mill and achieves the same 170-horsepower, but it's now packing a chain driven double overhead cam versus the belt driven single overhead cam before. The result is maximum horsepower available at a lower RPM and an additional four pound-feet of torque (to 174 lb-ft). The new 2.5-liter helps the Forester post 21 miles-per-gallon in the city and 27 mpg on the highway whether you're sporting the manual or automatic transmission. That's up one mpg versus the outgoing model.

Other changes include a new model; the Subaru 2.5XT Touring, which slots above the Limited model. Among the standard features on the Touring model are HID headlamps, backup camera and dual-zone climate control. Subaru is also adding a 2.5XT Premium model (old model was 2.5X Premium), which includes a 10-way power driver's seat, an upgraded stereo with six speakers, Bluetooth and a USB port for your iPod. Also available is a removable 4.3-inch TomTom Navigation System for directions on the cheap. Hit the jump to read over the Subaru presser if you're interested in all the details.

Subaru sees a demand for 1.3- and 1.5-liter cars in Japan at the same time as it sees a void in its lineup of vehicles with that displacement. To plug that hole, Subaru is turning to Toyota for a supply of its Ractis subcompact, a five-door, five-seater that offers both of the relevant engine sizes and comes in two-wheel and all-wheel drive.

Toyota will ship roughly 10,000 models to Subaru every year, to begin once the Ractis, on sale since 2005, comes in for thorough revision. It's the first time Toyota has agreed to supply a Japanese carmaker with finished products, perhaps aided in this case by the fact that Toyota owns 16.5% of Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru's parent company.

Rumblings about a diesel-powered Subaru WRX STI first surfaced more than two years ago, and now they're back. The realities of meeting CO2 emissions limits in Europe and elsewhere may have increased the likelihood of a high-performance diesel Subaru, and an oil-burning STI would probably generate at least 200 horsepower and well over 300 pound-feet of torque, suggests Autocar. According to the UK rumor-traffickers, gasoline engines will almost certainly remain in the mix, albeit with reduced displacement. A new engine based on the 1.5-liter boxer in the base Impreza could offer suitable power if mixed with other technologies like direct injection. Even if Subaru does indeed develop a diesel STI, there's no guarantee that such a model would ever make it to North America.

Of course, the WRX doesn't live in a vacuum. Its longtime rival, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo may also ditch the spark plugs and also add a hybrid system. Earlier plans for a gas hybrid were reportedly canceled in favor of the diesel. The plan is to retain the Evo's sophisticated all-wheel-drive for acceleration to 60 mph in under five seconds and CO2 emissions below 200 grams per kilometer.

The Sport/Utility of the year Subaru MOTOR TREND’s 2010 Powered Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) system.
Tokyo, October 16, 2009 – Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, today announced that Subaru of America, Inc.* released the Subaru Outback (US specifications model) was named MOTOR TREND’s 2010 Sport/Utility of the year. The Subaru Outback’s victory follows the Subaru Forester’s win for the 2009 award, making Subaru the first automaker to win two consecutive MOTOR TREND Sport/Utility of the Year awards.
Living up to Subaru’s legendary safety record, the Outback offers cutting-edge safety technology, including Subaru’s ring reinforcement safety system, front, seat-mounted side, and side-curtain airbags and ABS. Subaru Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) system, which incorporates stability and traction control systems with a roll-over sensor, is also standard equipment. The Subaru Outback was recently named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS).

To judge contenders for the award, MOTOR TREND‘s editorial staff conducted an exhaustive three-phase testing process. Phase one of the process includes a full tech check and weigh-in, then full track testing to establish baseline data for acceleration, braking, and handling. Phase two involves three days of road loops offering a range of road surfaces and traffic conditions to evaluate ride and handling, engine and transmission smoothness and responsiveness, wind and road noise, and ergonomics. A dirt-track section tests traction, stability, and braking control systems. In phase three the judges debate and deliberate.
This year, the editors updated and expanded the judging criteria to six new categories: Design Advancement, Engineering Excellence, Intended Function, Efficiency, Safety and Value.
MOTOR TREND’s Sport/Utility of the Year® is not a comparison test and is only open to all-new or substantially upgraded vehicles that have gone on sale in the 12 months from November 1 of the previous year. MOTOR TREND looks for the pick of each year’s crop of new SUV’s, and does not revisit vehicles that have been on sale for the past few years.