Subaru reveals its diesel boxer tricks for Forester, Impreza

SUBARU has previewed its new diesel-powered Forester and Impreza models ahead of their official debut at the Paris motor show on October 4.

The Japanese maker's new boxer diesel has already been offered as an option in the Liberty and Outback in European markets since early this year, and Subaru is keen to grow its European presence further via the addition of the diesel-powered Forester and Impreza.

The Forester makes its European debut this month, while the Impreza arrives in European markets in January.

Meanwhile, Subaru Australia has not been able to move forward its introduction of the diesel as it said it hoped to earlier this year.

Managing director Nick Senior told GoAuto the diesel will appear first in the Outback with a manual transmission by mid to late 2009, in a trim specification that “sits around” the existing 2.5-litre petrol.



The Forester 2.0D will arrive in trim levels mirroring the petrol models, although whether the automatic will be available at launch is not yet confirmed.

Mr Senior points to the levelling-out of petrol Forester sales, which sees the entry-level X model now accounting for 40 per cent of sales - down from 70 per cent.

He believes this is an indication of the likely diesel sales split, and he also forecast a higher pricetag for the new model, saying: “there will be a premium on the diesel”.

The diesel engine has only been developed as a manual so far to get it quickly to the European market, says Mr Senior, who adds: “Obviously it would expand our sales opportunities with an automatic transmission".

Mr Senior said he hopes to have the all-important automatic available for all diesel models in the Australian market “by 2010 or 2011”.

The Forester's diesel is a horizontally-opposed 2.0-litre engine with an 86mm bore and stroke, and 16.3:1 compression ratio. In European market specification, the 2.0D produces 108kW at 3600rpm and 350Nm of torque at 1800rpm.

The Impreza 2.0D produces an identical torque peak but has a maximum power output of 110kW at 3600rpm. The 2.0D adds 75kg overall to the weight of the vehicle and in Europe the 2.0D has a 2000kg towing capacity.

Subaru claims that the Forester diesel has class-leading fuel consumption and C02 emission levels. It is quoting a 6.3L/100km fuel consumption figure and CO2 emissions of 167g/km (2.0 petrol: 8.4L/100km and 198g/km).

The Forester 2.0D has a 64-litre fuel tank - four litres bigger than the petrol version.

Subaru claims that the Forester 2.0D will accelerate to 100km/h in 10.4 seconds and achieve a top speed of 186km/h.

Both new European-spec Forester and Impreza diesels will employ a six-speed manual transmission and the all-wheel drive system already used in existing models.

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