Subaru Exiga details

With the Liberty Exiga wagon due in November, the company is aiming to position it away from people-mover territory, describing the six-seater wagon as a ‘versatile utility vehicle’ with ‘multi-seat functionality’.

It is deliberately not using the term people-mover to describe the wagon because it believes the newest entrant is sportier and will be a more engaging drive than conventional people-movers.

Subaru Australia boss, Nick Senior, says the 2.5-litre Liberty Exiga will leverage its link with the Liberty wagon, sharing its 2.5-litre four-cylinder boxer’ engine and all-wheel drive underpinnings. "Exiga is on same wheelbase as Liberty and will have same dynamics," he says. "We'll be able to leverage the Liberty name and save a considerable amount of money trying to establish a new nameplate into the Australian market."

As a new model, Subaru is forecasting modest sales of around 100 a month. Senior says the Exiga will have very targeted equipment levels, including standard DVD player and car-like driving dynamics. Subaru has built its success on the back of its wagons, which remain a critical part of the line-up. Last year wagons accounted for about 30 per cent of all Liberty sales. "Moving forward we will continue to offer customers what they want, not what we think they want," Senior says. "Because of that we're going to introduce a four-tier strategy with our Liberty wagons and Outback."

This strategy is built around having four-cylinder economy, Sports/GT models, the Exiga and the Outback. "That range enables us to speak to more customer segments than we have been able to do previously," Senior says The Exiga is expected to be available as an entry and Premium model with prices starting under $45,000.

Like the Liberty Premium models, the Exiga Premium will get leather and satellite navigation. Senior says the company is taking a six-seater Exiga from Japan because the middle seat in the second row is only available with a lap-seatbelt. Like other people-movers, the third-row seats fold into the floor.In Japan the Exiga is sold as a stand-alone model.

Apart from the Exiga, Subaru will also roll out a 112kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel Outback in November.