Subaru built its first car (Subaru 1500) in 1954 having spent the previous decade as the major supplier of aircraft to the Japanese airforce during World War II. Today the Japanese company is best known for its emphasis on All-Wheel-Drive technology, using that as a differentiating factor from other Japanese manufacturers. Subaru gained prominence in Australia with cars such as the Impreza WRX and Forester & the only rear-wheel-drive BRZ which have earned the company a well deserved reputation for reliability and performance. Subaru currently sells seven models in Australia including the Liberty, Outback, Impreza, XV, WRX, WRX STI and Forester. Subaru is Australia's 10th best-selling car maker.
While the medium-SUV segment strengthens with every new model, it also remains a favourite with Australian buyers. One of the traditional mainstays is the Subaru Forester, and this time we test the new Sport variant.
The XV remains a top seller for Subaru, neatly outdoing its Impreza donor. What makes it so appealing? Let's revisit Sam's 2.0i-S petrol review.
In part one, we broke down the inception of the Subaru Liberty in our market, and covered off its rise to fame in the Australian car marketplace. For part two, we'll look at the highest point in the saga, and what happened from there. Generation four: the most successful Liberty, and arguably the best of the bunch The fourth-generation Liberty was a hit in Australia...
The Subaru Liberty is no more for the Australian car marketplace. It departs just one month shy of its 31-year anniversary in our market, having been first introduced to us Aussies in October 1989. First, a bit of trivia...
Many alternatives have gone by the by. All-wheel-drive wagons with slight bush-ability are thin on the ground these days. Aside from Skoda and Subaru, if you want four driven wheels underneath a slightly high-riding wagon (not an SUV), you're paying big bucks Yes, Subaru counts the Outback as an SUV. But, let’s call a spade a spade: the Outback is a wagon...
Subaru is now offering hybrid power in the Forester mid-sized SUV range, and the timing couldn't be better. It’s a hugely popular segment with a dizzying amount of choice, if with precisely one other conventional hybrid option in Toyota’s RAV4. Newcomer Forester Hybrid’s only direct rival has famously been thin on the ground, and it doesn’t appear to be getting thicker any time soon...
The Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium and Subaru Forester 2.5i-S are two cars with distinctly different looks and distinctly different appeals but are closer in many ways than you would imagine. So Curt Dupriez and Jez Spinks examined those similarities (and differences), to see how they stacked up against each other.
So, you bought a mid-sized SUV with all-wheel drive. Can it go off-road? We take the top 10 medium SUVs off-road through three very basic tests to see if any of them can make it through unscathed...
It’s fuel pumps at dawn as a new petrol-electric version of the Subaru Forester tries to displace the Toyota RAV4 as the world’s best – and most frugal – $40,000 hybrid SUV.
What phrase best describes a comparison of the Mitsubishi Outlander and Subaru Forester? Sortie of the sensible? Battle of the beige? Let’s not get off on the wrong foot. This pair of compact SUVs are two of the most popular in a crowded market, because they deliver reliable and practical motoring at reasonable prices...
Forester versus Outback. Subaru has two popular SUVs separated by around a grand vying for your attention. Which one should you pick?
Patent filings for the 2022 Subaru BRZ have been published in Australia, as the latest checkpoint along the second-generation Subaru sports coupe's road to Australian showrooms. Design patents filed with Australian intellectual property officials reveal little not shown off at the BRZ's global unveiling in November 2020: an evolutionary step over the outgoing model in the design department, with new front and rear fascias, more sculpted side skirts and wheel arches, and overhauled lighting signatures...
In June, we highlighted four model lines that were continuing to perform despite the market downturn. Since that piece went live, the market has ebbed and flowed. Whilst some segments were stimulated by tax incentives, others were held back by stock shortages, production issues, and delayed new product launches. As of the end of year, it has begun to show signs of recovery...
Initial Australian pricing and specifications for the 2021 Subaru Outback have been released, ahead of the model's local launch in March. The new-generation model – the first all-new Outback in six years – will arrive in the coming months with a choice of three variants, priced between $39,990 and $47,790 plus on-road costs...
Yesterday we took a look at the vehicle models which garnered the most review-reads in 2020, but what happens when we break it down further and look at the individual reviews you read most? There were some big launches across a lot of key segments in a year where traditional launch programs and motor shows were all but non-existent...
I have owned my 2001 SF dual-range for about five years. I bought it for 1000 bucks with 333000km on it, and it's now got 455500km on the clock. My Forester's colour is Deep Blue Mica and frankly, it should never have been removed from the range. During the time of ownership I have done the following: Upgraded the exhaust with extractors from the headers back (1200 bucks), which breathed new life into the EJ202...
I used this little Sooby for years. I have packed it up with work and camping gear, and towed a large quad bike in a trailer up a steep, rough, rocky track to a county property. It was towing about 650kg and I can’t imagine it would have been able to crawl up without the dual range box...
The venerable WRX; a car that has built a reputation for being affordable, fast, fun to drive and a head turner with that unique boxer thrum. When I decided to sell my highly-modified B5 Audi S4 to get something a little newer and reliable, a WRX seemed the obvious choice. I searched and found a 2014 (MY15) WRX Premium at a decent price, so I snapped it up...
It’s been a little over a month since I bought my newish car, a 2016 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium. Over that time I have developed a detailed-enough opinion of the car, so I decided to write a review. My previous vehicle was a 2013 dual-cab Toyota HiLux diesel 4x4...
