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The car in showrooms today will only have a four-year lifespan - the shortest yet for a mainstream Subaru model - as the Japanese company accelerates an all-new small-car plan.
It has the new Impreza sedan and hatch previewed today at the New York motor show, will develop new WRX and STI performance cars in a separate stream, and is likely to turn the XV concept from this week's Shanghai Motor Show into a compact crossover to sit below the Forester.
The latest Impreza twins - with much improved quality and a cabin to rival the previous-generation Liberty - will hit Australia later this year, although the exact timing is unclear following the Japanese earthquake disaster.
The new small-car approach is outlined to Carsguide today at the New York motor show by the president of Subaru, Ikuo Mori, standing alongside the all-new Impreza.
"We separated the character of the Impreza and the WRX. We have no plan to make a WRX on this new car," Mori says.
"In the past the Impreza models were in combination with the WRX and STI. Now we completely separate the products."
He refuses to give any timing for the standalone WRX and STI, although the cars are likely to run less than 18 months behind the Impreza, with a production version of the XV Concept after that.
Mori believes the split strategy is the right way to build the Subaru brand, as it moves away from its previous minicar lineup to focus on the Impreza and Liberty families.It's a similar approach to BMW, which is becoming the world's biggest niche carmaker, and Audi, which is exploding its lineup with spin-off body styles and engine combinations."Now we focus our development, so we have some resources to bring to the Impreza," says Mori.
"The Impreza is a new, bigger, eco-friendly car. The STI is different."
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