Modest revisions with XV’s mid-life update

Apart from the opportunity to order it with a LOUD colour, implementation of an SI drive and a restyling to bring it in line with the XV Hybrid that landed earlier this year are the biggest changes.

THREE years on from original launch, the second-generation Subaru XV has received a freshen, the biggest single change being to implement the make’s Subaru Intelligent Drive.

SI Drive in Subaru speak is a drive-mode system, already seen in other models, that alters engine mapping to influence torque characteristics and throttle efficiencies. In Premium models SI Drive will include X-Mode — a calibration designed for snow and mud.

The 2021 car can be picked out from achieving a new front bumper, fog lights, grille and an altered side-cladding. Most of the changes are designed to mirror those found on the XV e-Boxer Hybrid, launched locally earlier this year.

A new style of alloy wheel (17-inchers on most models, and 18s on the Premium model), and there’s a vibrant new colour — Plasma Yellow Pearl.

Auto door locks become standard across the range and the Premium achieves front and side-view cameras, and an auto-dipping wing mirror on the passenger side.

Subaru defines the XV as its ‘small SUV’ within a family that also includes

Subaru NZ will leave BRZ to TNZ

The new BRZ will be here … but not as a Subaru

 IF you like the look of Subaru’s second-generation BRZ coupe … then buying it brand-new as a Toyota is your only choice. 

In the wake of an unveiling in the United States that curtails conjecture about the engine the co-developed cars will share – it’s NOT a turbo – Subaru New Zealand has said it has no place for the new BRZ in its product planning.

Maybe you’re thinking that’s because the current edition only enjoyed a short life here in New Zealand; being bullied out after a year on sale by hard-arse Toyota New Zealand marketing techniques to promote its own doppelganger, presently known as the GT86, destined to be called GR86?

Not really.

Subaru NZ boss Wallis Dumper says the crux of the matter is that a rear-drive coupe doesn’t fit in with a national focus on being an all-wheel-drive specialist.

“It’s not all-wheel-drive so we won’t be letting it impact on our production allocation,” Dumper explained.

So, the next new Subaru here will be the 2021 Outback, already on sale in America, that will arrive with an engine BRZ/86 fans might have well imagined was coming to the sporty coupe: A turbocharged 2.4-petrol.

Assuming the Outback’s engine could even install in the new BRZ, and would be tuned as it will be for the SUV, then the BRZ would have delivered with 193kW power and 375Nm torque rather than the 170kW and 249Nm it apparently will get from its naturally-aspirated 2.4.

As is, the new engine is generating 11 percent more power and 15 percent more torque than the current generation car’s 2.0-litre. It also continues to run through six-speed transmissions, the auto now having a Sport function, and sending out the oomph through the rear wheels, with the vehicle stability control system offering five settings now to alter the degree of skid-tastic fun. 

Macpherson strut front suspension and double-wishbone rear suspension also carries over and even though the chassis is thought to be an improved version of the current cars, the two generations are only identical in width. The next-generation is 25mm longer, 13mm lower and 6mm longer in wheelbase.

The car is stiffer and has become more responsive through a 60 percent increase in front axle rigidity and an overall rigidity boost of 50 percent. The centre of gravity is lower than before and a “near perfect weight distribution” is claimed. The BRZ weighs 1315kg in manual form, aided by an aluminium roof, bumpers and bonnet.

 The look of the new model suggests Toyota has taken leadership with the styling; the overall look clearly builds on the current design story but is more in tune with current Toyota themes, including some of the boldness shown on the new GR Yaris.

And, yes, that’s the family the 86 is to enter. The Gazoo Racing performance clan created by Toyota is the right home for a car that will join that Yaris and, of course, the Supra. So, it’s going to be GR86.

 Gazoo’s influence seems to show on the BRZ featuring in brand-supplied photographs, with one website figuring the 18-inch rims are identical in design to those fitted to the GR Yaris.

Goodbye Legacy – a past great’s run is ending

A Subaru staple since 1989 departs from the showroom in a matter of months and there’s no talk of a direct replacement.

ONCE the brand’s breadwinner, long an icon but latterly able to pick up just a few crumbs … the car that once drove Subaru’s fortunes in the showroom and in sport has been axed.

Subaru New Zealand has announced it is losing the Legacy, it’s longest-lived nameplate, with last orders effectively being taken from now on, though supply will not exhaust until early next year.

The medium-sized model, which has represented as a sedan since day one but also sold as a wagon until several years ago when pulled in favour of the Levorg, has put in more than 30 years service.

At its height, it was Subaru NZ’s top seller and even managed to be the country’s most popular sedan in respect to sales volume – though that claim relied on recognition of its high popularity as a used import.

However, those glory days were long ago – as the swing toward sports utilities and crossovers intensified, the Legacy has slowly but steadily fallen back into a supporting role, and by the end was barely earning its keep.

Ironically, the car within the Subaru family that has most eroded Legacy’s stature is one that started out as as derivative – that, of course, is the Outback, still easily recognised as being effectively a Legacy wagon on stilts as it shares a common platform, the same engines and styling direction 

While Subaru here has acknowledged that last year was lean – with just 64 registrations coming Legacy’s way  – it has failed to mention in a release confirming the car’s demise that this year is shaping to way worse.

According to registrations data accrued by Government, just two examples have found homes since January 1.

The Levorg wagon, spun off the Impreza family but with WRX genes as well, that was supposed to fill the Legacy wagon’s shoe has done little better; today Subaru basically sells entirely on its SUV strength: Forester is strongest, then Outback then XV.

It is possible Subaru NZ did not make this call about the timing of the car’s demise directly; it’s probable, in fact, that our neighbour having made the same call last week effectively killed the car in our market.

However, it was going to disappear by 2022 anyway, as Subaru Japan intended to end production of the current generation car next year. It has not indicated if a replacement model is likely.

Australia has had better sales with its model, called the Liberty (because Legacy is the name of its returned serves’ association) but still decided it was too marginal to continue with.

In supplied comment, Subaru NZ boss Wallis Dumper has indicated a model line Kiwis have known since 1989 is set for a fond farewell.

He reminded that the car landed with a big job to undertake - replacing the old but much-loved Leone.

New Zealanders were quick to embrace the Legacy however, and its popularity soared, especially as a used import in the 1990s, Dumper said.

That created an intriguing situation: “Whilst the Toyota Corolla was top of the new car sales overall, Legacy was New Zealand’s number one selling used vehicle thanks to the massive imports ratio.”

For the Auckland-based distributor, that used import swing was not a threat but an opportunity.

“We knew people loved the brand and the car,” Dumper said.

“Legacy developed a bulletproof reputation, so it was a natural progression to guide customers from a used Legacy to a new Subaru, as time went on.”

Legacy’s fame ignited with Scottish driving legend Colin McRae at the wheel when he scored the Subaru team’s first-ever World Rally Championship round win here at the Rally of New Zealand in 1993.

“Whilst most Kiwis probably associate Subaru’s historic WRX model as being synonymous with winning rally championships, the reality is that Colin’s success in the Legacy then inspired Subaru to enter the WRX and become world champions three-times over in 1995, 2001, and 2003,” Mr Dumper says.

New Zealanders also did their bit to elevate the model’s ststus through rallying success.

“Legacy also starred on a national level in the New Zealand Rally Championship, with legends like the late Possum Bourne and multiple championship winner Joe McAndrew scoring their victories in this Subaru model,” Mr Dumper adds.

Legacy wasn’t just a success on gravel, and it has racked up a long list of awards, though it evaded the top prize – the national car of the year award, as determined by the New Zealand Motoring Writers’ Guild annually since 1989. Subaru finally got its name on that board with the latest Forester.

However, the various magazine prized it did achieve were enough to distinguished Legacy from the medium market pack, Sumper says.

Nonetheless, even though the car stood out because of its all-wheel-drive, it could not stave off the SUV trend. That 64 sold new here last year, compared to Outback’s sales of 1322 in the same period, said so much.

Over the generations, around 4000 New Zealand-new Legacys have been sold to Kiwi drivers.

Mr Dumper says: “No one can take away the credibility Legacy built for itself. Stable and sure-footed on the worst back country roads that New Zealand could throw at it and safe and reassuring on the wettest, slipperiest city intersection - Legacy has created its own legacy.”

“Subaru’s ‘Confidence in Motion’ catch phrase arose primarily from everyday Legacy drivers’ feedback to Japan’s engineers when they visited New Zealand in the early 2000s to learn why the brand was so readily accepted in Aotearoa.”

Dumper is hoping customers who still prefer a sedan will consider the current Impreza or even the WRX – though that car is but a short-term option, as it is also for the chop next year.

Meantime, a new Outback is also coming in 2021.

Subaru e-boxer a balancing act

Subaru acknowledges a toughening economic condition has affected prepping a sales expedition for its first electric-assisted cars.

 EVER imagined entertaining a hybrid car that perfectly conforms to New Zealand conditions and expectation?

Subaru New Zealand stakes this ability within argument for why the long-awaited e-boxer editions of the XV and Forester will resonate well with Kiwi buyers. Hence a ‘made for our environment’ catchphrase standing tall in the marketing pitch that also encourages this as a better way of keeping New Zealand beautiful.

The Auckland-domiciled distributor also cites high customer excitement since last week’s announcement of the national selection ($42,490 XV Sport, and Forester Sport and Premium, respectively at $47,490 and $54,990). 

Seems hundreds of interested car buffs have been contacting the distributor directly, or via dealers, to signal strong enthusiasm to acquaint with Subaru’s first foray in electric driving. 

For their part, Subaru NZ is keen to enforce cars taking the 12kW electric motor (and 118V battery) paired to the existing 110kW/196Nm 2.0-litre flat four, which combine to drive all four wheels via a slighty recalibrated version of the range-wide constantly variable transmission are not getting a soft serve, in sense that these editions are true to Subaru tradition.

Maintaining all core strengths our market associates with the brand was critical, the brand says. It asserts they will be capable of achieving everything any other Subaru does. In short, there’s no dilution of that famous DNA and this is the start of a new journey for the brand, the first step toward a more sustainable future.

And while accepting that the hybrid system the cars carry is a walk on the mild side when it comes to considering what else is becoming available from a global car market pushing ever more into electrification, it nonetheless assures the ‘self-regenerative’ set up (translation: It’s old school and cannot quality for electric car status because there’s no facility for external recharging) will achieve tangible and easily-attained improvements in economy and emissions.

Wallis Dumper and daile stephens (below)

Still, many questions remain. Is Subaru already behind the times with a drivetrain that others in the car-making game are treating as a sunset tech, why hasn’t the Outback also achieved this option and, gosh, when supply is set to be limited, how easy will it be to secure these models? 

Here’s the outcome of a sit down with Subaru NZ managing director Wallis Dumper and marketing manager Daile Stephens.

MotoringNZ: Let’s start by exploring the sales expectation. You’ve already indicated the hybrid are in limited supply - just 20 examples a month and the first full shipment not coming until September – and also signal allocation is being managed through head office. What can customers expect from all this?

Dumper: Covid-19 created some operational disruption and yes, we needed to change the business model a little bit for this car. Our dealers only ever run on a months’ stock; we’re not like other brands. Hybrid supply is tight and, based on our research, we know we can sell every one. The last thing we want is having one or two dealers buying them all, so we have gone to an allocation system to ensure we can spread them fairly.

Stephens: Our dealers still buy the cars from us. The phase we are going through now is a pre-launch: The dealers have demonstration cars (from June 1). It’s about trying to be a responsible distributor and maintaining careful management of our inventory.

MNZ: You’ve gone on an economy drive before with diesel and that proved short-lived (2013 to 2017);. What makes this hybrid pitch any different?

Dumper: I don’t think it’s about thrift, it’s about capability and satisfying an emergent need. It’s a mild hybrid, we’re not pretending it’s anything more, but this is about evolution of the brand and we have to go that way.

Stephens: Diesel was a lot different. This (hybrid) is a clearer pathway to a more sustainable future. We were late to the diesel party anyway, it was over-priced and it was always going to be a tough ask, to be honest. 

:With diesel we weren’t really set up for success where with this (hybrid) we feel we are. We feel we are priced thereabouts with many, though acknowledging that one is particularly sharp, and the return from our focus group suggests we have it right with the $5000 premium we’ve set for hybrid. We’ve had hundreds and hundreds of registrations over the last week which suggests there is a desire and hunger for hybrid. We didn’t see that around diesel. There’s a completely different feeling around this (hybrid) product that wasn’t there with diesel. 

MNZ: Your Outback is a key model here and yet there’s no word on when, or if, it will go hybrid. Any news on that and how much urgency is there for that car to adopt this system? 

Dumper: There’s not a lot of urgency. From what we can see the smaller style of cars are more popular as hybrid and EV types.

Stephens: Given that Outback has been one of our most commercially successful vehicles it would be awesome to have one (a hybrid variant) if that was an option. As far as we know, there’s nothing on the horizon. But something might be going on, but is being kept secret. It might go to full electric for all we know.

MNZ: The motoring world is moving fast toward electrification and, in the overall scheme of things, going hybrid is a small-scale adoption. Really, too, Subaru could be seen as a slow mover; others have had hybrid for years. So how long before it engages at a higher level?

Stephens: We (Subaru Japan) announced in February that by 2030 at least 40 percent of the models that will be available globally will be electric or hybrid. By the mid 2030s there’s another goal of applying electrification technologies to all all Subarus sold worldwide. There’s a clear pathway.

Dumper: Within a couple of years we might be able to challenge that. As for being a late adopter? Yes, we’re late at adopting part of it but we also know there are still a lot of brands that do not have what we have. Some of them are much bigger brands than ours.

MNZ: Given that this is an adoption of Toyota technology, are the brand’s fortunes in this regard tied to Toyota’s own programmes?

Dumper: It’s not Toyota technology. Our engineers in Japan are adamant that it is our own. The manufacturer also makes product for Toyota and, yes, Toyota has shareholding in Subaru and, yes, there is product sharing. And they are both self-generating. But ours is quite different. Look at what they do with Lexus, it’s not the same.

MNZ: For all their strengths, your drivetrains have been easy targets for criticism in respect to economy and emissions. The boxer engines tend not to be top performers for output and economy and being paired with a CVT gearbox and symmetrical all-wheel-drive system also has a consequence. Is that why the economy gains claimed for your cars (14 percent for the XV in urban, seven percent overall, and nine percent combined and 19 percent urban for Forester – when comparing to the 2.5 – but according just to in-house and Australian ADR81/02 standard as it has not yet been certified under the WLTP regime) are less extreme that those cited for, for instance, those Toyotas that avail in hybrid and none-hybrid forms?

Stephens: We do loads of fuel economy comparisons and, more often than not, we are in the top few against our competitors. Pre-2008 yes, we could be criticised on fuel economy, but not since then, not with the technology we have now. Unfortunately, there is a hangover of perception versus reality. But we believe we are up there with everybody else 

Dumper: We want to be all-wheel-drive, that’s part of our DNA. Likewise with our boxer engines. We have the pricing where it needs to be and we can hold the pricing. We’re only a little bit above one of the world’s largest manufacturers (of hybrids) and a lot of other brands that have this technology are dearer than us. Our story is sustainable.

MNZ: What do you say to those people who might wonder if this is just an exercise of developing a Green vibe that might be challenging to prove. Overseas’ testing of these models has indicated that it is not entirely easy to achieve the cited economy improvements. Plus of course, even if the targets are hit, it will likely take years of ownership to recoup the $5000 purchase premium through pure fuel savings?

Stephens: It’s a package. We are not claiming to be the best from an economical perspective at all; we’re quite up front that it is a mild hybrid. But we are also positioning that it is 100 percent Subaru and we say there are benefits from it being hybrid. The customer will decide what is best for them. It is more economical than a (purely) petrol Subaru. You might find that there is a competitor with hybrid that offers better economy. But against that you have to trade off the benefits of what we offer with all-wheel-drive, all the safety features and other things, and in doing so perhaps you are only going to be saving an extra $100 over six months. We’ve done our research and we are comfortable. We’re not trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes in respect to how economical it is. We’ve never said this is the nest of the best; it is the beginning of our journey.

MNZ: Subaru Japan said on Monday it might well produce 150,000 fewer cars this year. What does this potentially mean for NZ?

Dumper: It will impact us. But when we went into (Covid-19) lockdown we knew would have to change our forecasts. We have chosen not to order some cars. The last thing we want is to have too many cars.

MNZ: The Motor Industry Association has suggested the new car market will be down by at least 40 percent this year – what’s your view?

Dumper: I think it could even be 50 percent; the third and fourth quarter of this year will be tough with the Government telling us there will be 10 percent unemployment. And I think next year is going to be really tough. The worst is yet to come. 

MNZ: Your 2019 sales were ahead 2.8 percent year-on-year versus 2018 and allowed an all-time record number of Subaru SUV sales. Do you expect to maintain the same market share that was achieved in 2019?

Dumper: If the market halves, we’d like to hold our market share. The market is sure to change and it will get a big messy.

Stephens: We believe there are pockets of people out there who still want a new Subaru. Some might have come through this (coronavirus) and think, well, ‘we’ve got through this let’s buy ourselves the car we’ve always wanted.’ There might be people who might have used public transport and now are thinking they don’t feel so safe doing that before. We know of a dad who handed down his Forester to a child and he went off to the dealership to buy himself a new one. But it is a crystal ball question.

MNZ: Does Subaru have any strengths that might give it a better chance of in NZ than some other brands; is it tough enough to weather this challenging economic condition? 

Stephens: Our brand position is in between the Europeans and the mainstream brands; we’ve the one you step into on the way to going to the Europeans like an Audi. Likewise, when times are tough, people might trade in a Euro for a Subaru.

Subarus are seen as a vehicle for someone who wants to be a bit different and we believe we have a high ground based on technology and safety. There is quite a lot of desirably out there in respect to our product, we achieve strong consideration and strong conversion. So, we think that we can weather the storm – perhaps with less sales, but enough to maintain our market share.

Dumper: We run our business very lean and tight and we have done this very successfully for a long time. We outperform glamour brands with our return on sales and have for decades. We have more than doubled our business in the last decade and had to employ just four or five more people.

Hybrid XV, Forester running lean

Those long-promised thrift-minded hybrid Subarus are finally here …just not in strength.

CONFIRMATION that the first Subaru cars with a hybrid drivetrain have finally arrived has come with caveat of limited supply.

The national allocation of e-Boxer versions of the XV small crossover and Forester medium sports utility editions is a trickle; just 10-20 units a month.

 Also confirmed is pricing, with the XV Sport at $42,490 and Forester Sport and Premium respectively at $47,490 and $54,990 – all therefore $5000 more expensive than respective existing petrol versions in equivalent specification and trim.

As per non-hybrid editions, the new models are all-wheel-drive and have a continuously variable automatic transmission. 

The limited availability excludes demonstrators, with dealerships from June 1. IT’s highly probable those cars might be sought by customers, as first stock for general sale won’t come until September at the earliest.

Subaru Japan’s inability to supply the models to this market until now has been a massive issue for the national distributor.

The addition of an electric motor and lithium-ion battery to abet the car’s classic Subaru 2.0-litre petrol engine was seen by Subaru New Zealand as the perfect tool to ease lingering consumer perception that the marque’s trademark horizontally-opposed engines fall short as economy or emissions champs.

 Subaru NZ began spruiking the technology three years ago and initially thought it would have it in early 2019. It then reset that timeframe, with thought NZ might piggyback on the introduction to Australia, which occurred last December.

The reduced count might not be a factory inability to provision more.

It could also be that, with the car market expected to be down by around 40 percent year-on-year as result of the initial and ongoing impact of the coronavirus, Subaru NZ has chosen to keep the national allocation under closer control.

Certainly, it has broken from convention in deciding that it will take direct control of e-Boxer allocation. General inquiries and sales arrangements are directed through a bespoke website, www.subaru.co.nz/eboxer, and customer-bound cars will apparently allocate from its Auckland head office.

Even so, it definitely wants to stir up interest. It has also come up with a finance deal that secures the models for $99 per week (over an unspecified period) through Subaru’s Accelerator Programme via Heartland Bank. Additional information will be available about this offer and will be emailed to those that have registered to find out more on June 1. 

The models use the same e-Boxer powertrain, a 2.0-litre horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine developing 110kW at 6000rpm and 196Nm at 4000rpm (5kW shy of its petrol counterpart in the XV) mated to a synchronous electric motor good for 12kW/66Nm.

Subaru has cited that the XV Hybrid has potential to deliver a 14 percent improvement in fuel efficiency over the equivalent petrol model on the urban cycle and a seven percent improvement on the combined cycle. The Forester Hybrid will offer improvements of 19 and nine percent respectively compared to 2.5-litre petrol variants. 

The hybrid tech comes from Toyota, which has shareholding in Subaru and is a technology partner in Fuji’s electric drive programme that positions the hybrids as a stepping stone to plug-in electric fare.

Only with PHEV – or full electric – can Subaru achieve status as an electric car maker. The hybrids don’t qualify for that status. As in Toyota hybrids, the aim isn’t about allow any particular electric-only urge.

While three driving modes are available - Motor Assist EV, Motor Assist electric plus petrol engine and petrol engine only – and the system has capability of swapping between configurations depending on driving conditions, it will only enable pure electric at under 40kmh and range is limited to several kilometres. 

Subaru NZ managing director Wallis Dumper has enforced that the derivatives have the same DNA as all the NZ-new Subarus launched before them - with no compromise in their performance or their capability.

“Forester and XV have both been huge successes in our range and we know there is pent-up demand for hybrid variants among our Subaru owners, who are some of the most loyal customers in the industry.

“We are not letting COVID-19 get in the way of letting them access these new models - we just need to do things differently.”

“We believe the e-Boxer Hybrids are worth the wait as they are perfect for New Zealand. Sure, global demand and production constraints have tested our patience, however it’s more relevant than ever to have a hybrid in our model line-up.”

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