Subaru Exiga MPV officially revealed

By George Skentzos | June 18th, 2008

Subaru’s design philosophy has run awry recently, and its latest model offers no relief, having today officially revealed its new mid-sized people carrier – the Exiga.

Based on a lengthened version of the current Impreza platform, the Exiga will also feature Subaru’s trademark symmetrical all-wheel drive.

The engines on offer are also borrowed from the Impreza, with a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre boxer engine featuring across most the range whilst the flagship GT variant features a turbocharged 2.0-litre unit producing 165kW.

A 4-speed automatic is standard on all basic models, whilst the turbocharged GT is equipped with a 5-speed automatic with sportshift which blips the throttle on down-shifts.

Subaru’s SI-Dive system also makes an appearance on the GT, offering three different modes as per the Impreza WRX STi: Intelligent, Sport and Sport Sharp.

The Exiga also features double-wishbone rear suspension, newly designed cross-members and stabilisers, as well as a Variable Torque Distribution (VTD) system – ensuring uncharacteristically responsive handling for this type of vehicle.

All models also feature four-wheel ABS disc brakes with EBD,Brake Assist and dual SRS air bags as standard.

A key feature of the new Exiga is its large panoramic glass roof which spans the first two rows of seating.

All up, the Exiga boasts seating for seven – three rows at gradually elevated heights to provide a better view for people in the back seats.

The Exiga is currently a Japanese Domestic Market offering only, however there are plans to introduce the car into Europe. No word yet on Australian availability.

Jamison

It doesnt look so bad, I mean, it looks like a longer wheel based Forester of the previous years.

I think, the sporty model looks “okay”, again the forester wasnt known for its looks but its performance and practicality.
Marketmaker

Subaru Marketing Memo – Effective Immediately

The following image is to be developed in all product developements:
- Nancy boy
- Butt Ugly
- Soft and comfortable
- Family values

The following images are to be erased from memory asap:
- Boy racer
- Bang for your buck
- Brutal but effective

==================================

What are they doing to the brand? What they need at this point is a sleek/daring 2 door, AWD, lightweight sports car

Instead we get a swollen/overweight, previous generation, 7 seat Mazda2!

Death of a legend….
devil666

Wow! Nicest Subaru interior i’ve ever seen!

Still looks a bit top heavy, and a bit dorky… like it cant decide if its a Dodge Caravan or a Liberty wagon….

PS, official press release stated a 4 speed auto on the cheapo 2.0 model…. but then again i’m not Subaru so i’ll just throw it out there….
devil666

PS, amen to Marketmaker!
No Name

Pretty enough – bonnet seems disproportionally low. somehow reminds me of an old Mazda Premacy?? Nice interior, at least in the photos. I’ll wait to see it in the flesh. If its coming to europe it will need the diesel boxer before anyone will consider it.
Martin

In the first images, if you squint your eyes, I swear it looks like a Cerato.
Carl

OMG!…..Subaru has totally lost it’s way with these butt ugly cars. This is like self mutilation what are the Subaru executives thinking????

Sorry but only Subaru fanatics can over look the fact that Subaru’s are so ugly lately and continue to buy them…..SUBARU please don’t lose you’re exquisite engineering and build quality because it’s all you have left!!!!
B///M3

FAIL!
http://evo Frugal One

UGLY like ALL Subarus

Cheers

F-0
o

better than the forester
Mmmmm

Nice Sunroof!!
Phillip

It looks ok in the photos, but then I thought the Mercedes R-class looked ok before I saw it in the flesh, and what a god-awful horrendous beast it is.
Ben Dova

This is laughable. I cant believe this got past the drawing board! Subaru needs a new head of design. Over the last 3 years, Subaru has been producing consistently the ugliest cars on the road. What a shame considering the pedigree of the company. WAKE UP YOU CLOWNS. Look accross the rice fields at Mazda and Honda. You might learn a few things.
http://toyota Lazybones

The design looks very Korean. So in a word FUGLY, that rear side picture looks like a herse, i’ll have to agree with Marketmaker (again!), the campaign should be:-

7 seats no problem,
large cargo – we can do it,
Coffin for grandad – no worries!

what is going on at Subaru???
Tom

So i guess we can expect the new liberty to be a sedan version of this?
http://caradvice.com.au OSU811

I think it would be a great competitor to have in oz to compete with honda odyssey and the like!!.. would be much cheaper than tribeca too, hopefully in the low $40s, so would fill a gap in subarus range as there is no price range seven seaters and im sure there is a lot of subaru families who need seven seats but dont have $60k to spend..
Looks good for a people mover too..
http://caradvice.com.au OSU811

Subaru needs to release this car with the 2.0l turbo diesel boxer engine though, especially in europe then it will sell vey well, a price range 7 seat wagon with awd and subaru build quality/safety and diesel economy where do i sign..
Gibbo

For a people mover, its actually not a bad looking car, I like it, I think it looks quite smart, especially in the GT model
Jimbo

What the hell is wrong with you people “Death of a legend”, ” This is like self mutilation what are the Subaru executives thinking”. What a wank !!!
Subaru have essentially made a Impreza Station wagon with two extra seats in the back.
This concept is nothing new, and makes a lot of sense especially at this time with petrol prices sky rocketing. Subaru IS bringing out a two seat sports car and they still have the STI boy racers.
Subaru has just decided to also make a sensible family car to compliment its range. Anyway Subaru has just copied Peugeot’s 308 Touring right down to the panoramic glass roof. Although the Subaru will dink way more fuel.
Genie

Whilst I agree that the current Subaru design team need to be locked in a padded cell before they do any more damage to the company, keep in mind this car is a MPV designed to compete with the honda odyssey and tarago, neither of which are particularly good looking cars.

Second, F-O, I think the current liberty still looks the goods, mainly because they haven’t got around to ruining it yet.

At the end of the day, Subaru is a very small manufacturer on the global scale. Thus, particularly with Toyota’s ownership of ~8.7% of the company (think thats right, could be wrong), you can’t blame Subaru for wanting a fraction of Toyota’s volumn production. And Subaru quite rightly has noted that bland cars sell, look at camry or corolla, their sales numbers are massive compared to anything subaru can achieve.

If Subaru is to survive semi-independently as a manufacturer, it will need to massively increase production volume to spread the increasingly higher R&D costs across more cars. The car industry is going through a massive consolidation period, in order to spread the rapidly increasing costs of developing new, more efficient drivetrains and higher strength material construction.

If it takes making bland boring (but functional) cars in huge numbers to survive, then that is what subaru will do. It certainly works for Toyota.
Jimbo

Oh yeah and for the record I think it looks pretty good.
A good move by Subaru, however between this and a Diesel 308 touring I would definitely go the 308.
Richo

i’m getting a little tired of this one dashboard for all philosophy subaru are running with. The imprezza, forester and now exiga all have the same dash! Wouldn’t be so much of a problem if it was atleast a nice dash but its not!
Grant

subaru has gone to sh*t. they used to be my favorite car manufacturer.

the only car they have that i think looks good is the liberty (because is the oldest and hasn’t been made fugly yet)

the whole design team must be terminated.
Frugal One

GENIE -

“Second, F-O, I think the current liberty still looks the goods, mainly because they haven’t got around to ruining it yet.”

LOL, Thats GOLD!

Cheers,

F-0
Taka

I think the front styling of the Exiga would have worked better with the current Impreza. The front styling of the Exiga has a clean look to it. I am currently looking forward to revised styling of the new Impreza. I can see where Subaru is heading with the front light desgins.
alec

I am surprisd no one has commented about the 4 SPEED AUTO yet!!! 4 SPEED AUTO!!
JML

Ugly, thy name is Subaru.
http://caradvice.com.au OSU811

I think a lot of people are missing the point, its a price range! people mover, so its not going to be the best/sportiest car in the world is it? look at competition
odyssey/tarago, but it has awd, subaru safety/build quality/resale/reliability, and looks ok for a 7 seater, should be good on fuel too, but as I said before it needs the 2.0 turbo diesel boxer engine to be truly fuel efficient and popular in europe..
Wheelnut

Apart from the Current Liberty Range the latest model Subarus are so bad in terms of designe they make the 02 Impreza look even better than it already [and still] does
crouchy

one word:

URABUS
Carl

Alec……Who cares what sort of transmission this thing has when you can’t get past it’s looks!

Jimdo…..i don’t see people complaining about the concept of Subaru building a people mover…..i see people saying that this thing is ugly!! is Subaru in competition with Ssyanyong to build the ugliest cars in the world????
Greenroom

If you squint your eyes tight, it still looks like a turd.
Jimbo

I don’t see the fuss, Impreza’s have always been an ugly car. Their looks have been improved with the new model and this one is just longer and more square looking Impreza.

Carl, Looks are in the eye of the beholder but the clowns above were complaining about the very Idea that Subaru would make a car like this. Like its the death of Subaru’s reputation.
Isn’t the Impreza STi faster than it ever has been before? So what’s the problem? The looks are not to your taste. As I said before Impreza’s have always been ugly, what has changed? This car is no different to all other Subaru’s, ugly but effective.
Jimbo

That said, I don’t actually mind the look, but I drive a Peugeot so I have unusual taste to begin with anyway.
Marketmaker

Greenroom – LOL…

Bland does sell – but its also very easily copied, and the mother of all copiers is about to land (Chinese).

Small volume vehicles can make profit – absurdly high profit in fact. Just ask the car company with the highest margins in the business (Porsche). But to be a success as a small volume seller you must have a niche, a strong brand that people can rely on to not go all nasty on them, and make excellent product.

They should stick with what has created their reputation to date:
Cars that are innovative, unique, strong, brutally effective, no frills.

Subaru had it, but they are losing it fast. They cannot compete with high volume blandness – they will get blown away.
Marketmaker

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”… to see beauty in this you would want to “beholding” your 20th beer!
Jimbo

Whoa, to be clear I’m not saying that this car is beautiful, I just don’t see the turd like ugliness that everyone else seems to?
Sanjay

you chumps must have been filling your eye sockets with sulfuric acid because that looks awesome. a 7-seat MPV that looks like a liberty wagon? damn…

…all they need to do is chop off a bit of the roofline, offer it in sedan and chuck the 3 litre boxer 6cyl engine in there and presto, new liberty.

keep the diesels the hell away from this great brand, thanks. the penny-pinchers can go elsewhere.
Captain Mainwaring

Nowhere near as space-efficient or funky as the soon-to-be-replaced Honda Odyssey (for those who like this sort of thing), nowhere near as pretty as the Citroen Picasso, and what’s this about a FOUR-SPEED auto?
Now that Toyota’s in charge of Subaru, it seems they are on a mission to destroy the brand. With things like this it won’t take very long.
Greenroom

oh sanjay…dear old sanjay…but i do agree that they need to “chop a bit off the roof” but they should continue to chop down to the ashphalt and keep chopping till they get a big hole, then I agree they should “chuck the 3 litre boxer engine in” the hole that is, and also chuck in the designers along with your drum of sulphuric acid, then bury the bloody lot and start again.
TP

Geezus. Front is ok, nice in fact (Liberty-ish) but the rear is disgraceful
http://. Naughtyius Maximus

Take your sour grapes elsewhere TP….it looks like a third last Mazda 2 model from front with more upturned visual look around lower driving lights. Real cutting edge look…..”NOT”
Grant

is it just me or does subaru only seem to have 1 engine/gearbox combination?

looks like an outback with raised roof
Ben Dova

Coming to a funeral parlor near you. Why dont they just call it Subaru Hearse. Then they can take all their designers for a drive in it after shareholders and stakeholders finish with them.
John of Perth

I think the movie Cars seems to be the inspiration for the designers at Subaru. Come to think of it, so are the drawing board teams at Mazda, Honda and Toyota – nothing original for their mainstream vehicles. Problem is these have been market tested which must be saying something about the folk they run these past. Even a Bangle’d BMW has more passion.
Myke

I agree with TP, the front is okay, far better than the front of the Forester and the Impreza (without the mesh grille). The vehicle as a whole looks dodgy.
BOSSCR

YOU ARE JOKING ME!?!?!

What have they done? Such a waste of potential. How can they make a good looking car like the Liberty and this….?
Davo

I think if a design team was made up of some of the above you would end up with an XF Falcon.
sig3i

Interior space looks promising and those rear seats might be a bit bigger than the ones in Tribeca. Looking forward to seeing it in oz, although they should consider putting larger wheels on it by default.
Luke

you know that noise Sideshow Bob made in the Simpsons when he is chasing Bart in the Cape Fear episode, and keeps standing on rake heads that keep coming up and slamming him in the face? After each time he lets out an “uurrgghh”. Well, if you do remember it, that describes perfectly the noise I made involuntarily when I saw this damn, damn ugly car…..