Subaru show cars target sales

Two Subaru starlets headlined a Hollywood-style LA premiere at the city’s motor show. The WRX has the leading role and the coming Liberty is playing support with a pointer to a fresh showroom contender early in 2015.

The production-ready WRX is a predictable revision of a Japanese classic, still with a turbocharged engine and all-wheel-drive but in a new body with a new approach, while the Legacy Concept hints at a significantly bigger and tougher looking Liberty for Australia. There have been all sorts of heady predictions about the new WRX, but the reality is much less adventurous than it could have been - particularly in the styling. And there is no hybrid boost.

There is direct fuel injection on a new-age 2.0-litre boxer engine (199kW/349Nm) and Subaru's SI drive adjusts the driveline response. A six-speed manual is standard but, as generally hated by Carsguide, the WRX now comes with a constantly variable automatic. The four-door sedan body is well watered down from the WRX concept that got hearts pounding around the globe, but Subaru says it's much more rigid and has significantly more cabin space.

It has a much curvier roofline than the Impreza sedan but there are only two common body panels, the boot being one of them. Inside, it gets a flat-bottom steering wheel for the first time and lots more soft-touch plastic. Safety improvements include an airbag for the driver's knee. The WRX will hit Australia early in 2014 and the STI hot rod will follow within six months, with a likely first appearance at the Detroit motor show in January.

"The biggest difference for the new WRX is in the driving experience. There is a step change to the driving response," says Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior. "From day one, the engineers have concentrated on the driving experience. It's in the chassis, the suspension, and even the body, to elevate the driving experience. And it's got the direct-injection turbo for the first time." Senior also says WRX buyers can expect more than just a $20,000 car with a lot of go-faster gear.

"This is, without a doubt, the biggest change since we launched the WRX back in March 1994," he says. "It has stepped away from an Impreza as a donor car. There is a dramatic uplift in the quality of the interior, which is where customers have shown the most tolerance in the past.

"It's been benchmarked against some top European names, in terms of earning its stripes." The new WRX is the final piece in a three-pronged small-car attack by Subaru, joining the XV compact SUV and Impreza.

It will only be sold as a four-door sedan in Australia because only 16 per cent of local deliveries in the outgoing model were hatchbacks. Senior refuses to talk pricing yet but admits it could be difficult to hold the showroom sticker at the current level. "It's going to be very tough with the additional specification in the car," he says. He confirms there will be several levels of equipment in the new car.

"It will be late in quarter one next year. For the last 10 years we've had a basic WRX and a premium model, so that will continue," he says. "We're hopeful the STI will be a couple of months later. There won't be a huge gap. I'm reluctant to talk too much about it." But Senior is certain of the bottom line on the WRX. "It's a car, not a badge," he says bluntly.

This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

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