Subaru Impreza 2007 News

Subaru has launched a major 121,754-vehicle recall to fix a potential fault which can cause the brake lights to fail (though the brakes themselves will still work), with every Forester, WRX, Impreza and XV sold over a particular timeframe impacted.

In extreme situations, owners have been warned their vehicles may catch fire.Mitsubishi was hit with the biggest safety recall for the three month period. It has written to owners of Pajeros built between 2000 and 2003 to warn them of a potential brake problem. As many as 13,400 vehicles may need to be checked.The company also recalled 4400 of its now-defunct 380 sedan, built between 2006 and 2007, which may have a faulty fuel tank retaining strap. In a severe collision the tank may be dislodged and spill fuel.Mitsubishi is also checking more than 8300 Colts built this year which may have a problem with door windows which may drop and unlock or open the door while the car is being driven.Honda has recalled 11,800 of its 2004-05 Jazz to check whether they have a faulty handbrake, while Mazda needs to look at 1770 of its B4000 utes built between 2005-2006 because the bonnet may open unexpectedly.Subaru has recalled 5380 of its Imprezas, built between 2001 and 2003 because of a faulty rear tailgate which may suddenly drop.Subaru Australia spokesman, Dave Rowley, said many of the recalls were to check for "minor or niggling" faults."We have had no incidents of anyone being injured in Australia and we found only six cars which had the faulty (tailgate strut) connection."Many recalls are done as a pre-emptive measure to avoid possible problems further down the track, " he said.Other potential faults include electrical short circuits, which in extreme circumstances, may start a cabin fire in Landrover Freelander diesels built since 2007. Landrover warns the fault may occur when the vehicle is parked and unattended.Other recalls were to check for short circuits in Fiat's Grande Punto; and a chance that the panoramic glass roof in a small number of Citroen's Picasso could be dislodged.Suzuki has warned of potential fire risk in its 3-door Suzuki Grand Vitara (2006-07) because of a possible cracked fuel pipe, while the 2005-08 Vitara diesel has a remote fire risk in a filter because of a problem with the intercooler outlet pipe insulator.Other problems include faulty rear seat belt D-loop attachments in the current Jaguar XF, and the potential for a loss of steering in Chrysler's 300C built last year because of a problem with rear axle hub nuts which could see the half shaft disengage from the wheel hub.Mercedes Benz wants to look at axles, springs and the park brake in its Sprinter or Vito vans.Jayco has recalled some of its motor homes to check and fix awning and exhaust pipe problems.Of the 1500 motorcycles recalled, safety issues to be fixed include a faulty fuel filler on Kawasaki models, a windshield which may come off Buell bikes if ridden at high speed and a rear view mirror which may fall off on certain Yamaha models.An ACCC spokeswoman said this year's figures were actually less than last year but the number has been steadily rising over the past 20 years.The ACCC says there have been 52 individual recalls this year compared to 171 last year.Full details of the recalls can be found at www.recalls.gov.au 

After building its brand around all-wheel drive and flat-four boxer four and six-cylinder engines, Subaru is facing a future shock.Though confident of not selling its soul, Subaru Australia is preparing for newer technologies that may take it down a different road, away from its unique selling point.Hybrid and pure electric power, even the possibility of an entry hatch such as the 660cc R2; which may be powered by a conventional in-line four-cylinder; which are on the Subaru horizon.“In five, 10 or 15 years we will have to decide our future strategy,” Subaru Australia managing director Nick Senior says.Senior admits the light-car segment is one area Subaru will have to address because it has no entry B-segment car in its local line-up.“A B-segment car could be well-received,” he says. “However, it may not have a boxer engine or all-wheel drive, then we have to decide whether to move away from our strategy.”He says the current-model R2 could be too small for Australia, but that could change in 10 years.“Particularly if fuel prices continue to climb,” he says. “Our entry point is $24,490 (for Impreza) so we don't get young buyers and it's something we'd like to address.”“It would be good to have a light car so people could step up through the brand.”Fleet sales and its fleet buyback program had helped stimulate second-hand sales for dealers of low-mileage Subarus.“People tend to hang on to their Subarus, pass them down through the family or sell them to friends,” Senior says. “So the fleet buyback deals has been good for dealers.”He denies that fleet sales had damaged the brand.“We did the buyback deal to control the cars and protect the brand,” Senior says.Big rental agency Europcar bought 700 Foresters, 500 Outbacks and 300 Imprezas under a buy-back deal with Subaru Australia. Since then dealers have had a controlled supply of low-mileage used cars that are on-sold every six to 12 months.  

Did we also mention sideways, scary and sensational? Probably not but, then again, the Corolla we are talking about is nothing like the $20,990 showroom success you will find at your local Toyota dealer.This one has true supercar performance, speed on any surface and the ability to tame the toughest roads and rivals in the Australian Rally Championship. It also costs about $150,000.The hand-built Corolla has carried Simon and Sue Evans to an unbeaten string of wins this year on their way to back-to-back successes in the championship. It has also delivered a second straight manufacturers' title to Toyota and its rally boss, Neal Bates.Officially, the car is called a Group N(P) Corolla. Unofficially, it is a Celica GT-4 stuffed inside a Corolla body.To turn the Corolla from a sensible small car into an outrageous rally champion, Bates and his Canberra-based engineering team returned to the days when Toyota ruled rallying and snitched the go-fast stuff from the Celica, its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine and the basics of its all-wheel-drive system and five-speed manual gearbox.It took a lot more tweaking, with local developments in the electronics, driveline, brakes and suspension.But the Bates team came up with a car to go head to head with the Subaru Impreza WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer in rallying.There is only one way to really see how it goes, and that is to strap yourself into the TRD Toyota team's spare car; identical to the Evans Corolla; for an inside look at the recent NGK Rally of Melbourne.This is the final round of the 2007 title series and is run on high-speed gravel roads in the Yarra Valley.There are two days of competition, with 48 crack crews. There are the two serious TRD Corollas driven by Evans and Bates, two Ford Fiesta entries for Michael Guest and Darren Windus, and a raft of privateers led by Spencer Lowndes in a Lancer.The Corolla experience begins two days before the Friday start at Docklands with a quick sprint at a TRD test day. The Corolla fits perfectly, as you'd expect from a custom-made carbon fibre bucket seat, fully adjustable steering wheel and five-point safety belts.The turbo engine lights up from very low revs, the all-wheel-drive system fires the car between corners, and it rides over rough roads as if they are freeway-smooth bitumen.Evans is wickedly quick. Bates is fast in an all-new Corolla; with new body, non-turbo engine and special gearbox. He is developing it for a full-on attack next year. When the rally begins on the special stage near Yarra Glen, the fast guys are gone and we; myself and co-driver Anne Gigney; are back in the pack.It feels as if the Corolla is courting disaster, sliding sideways at more than 130km/h and dancing through all sorts of corners and firing up-and-down on narrow forest tracks.But the TRD terror is never threatened. Evans is going at least two seconds quicker for every kilometre, so the guest car is barely working. Just like driving the Corolla ARC.It is clearly a Corolla but, just like a V8 Supercar, the mechanical changes mean it is only the body that stays the same. Everything else is upgraded and more responsive and far, far more enjoyable.The Corolla is supercar-quick in a straight line, has mighty brakes and grippy Michelin tyres, and turns as if it is driving on bitumen. Until you tickle the throttle and set it sideways. Shortcomings? It is obviously noisy beyond anything acceptable in a regular road car. It is hot and dusty, with no airconditioning, no luggage space and seats that grip great but are not very comfortable.It is also thirsty. It sucks $3-a-litre Elf racing fuel like a hungry V8.But the Corolla ARC proves what can be done with smart minds, focused thinking and a TRD Toyota parts bin that makes a mundane car into something very special.  

BMW 335iSubaru Impreza RSMitsubishi Lancer VRFord Mondeo ZetecThe rollout of the Carsguide Car of the Year finalists continues this week with another four of the best cars launched in Australia this year.Ford's Mondeo, which has taken Europe by storm, goes head-to-head with the all-new Mitsubishi Lancer, BMW's 3 Series sedan fired by the cracking twin-turbo six and the Subaru Impreza, which is the only car other than the Citroen C6 in Australia with five-star passenger and four-star pedestrian safety.For all the latest on the carsguide Car Of The Year each week go to www.carsguide.com.au/car-of-the-year 

You could start with the Mazda3, Australia's most popular fully imported car.Indeed, the sedan or hatch that have thrust Mazda to Number four on the sales ladder have at times been our most successful privately-owned cars, period. If that sounds a bit tall for a (not so very) smallish car, consider that the brand doesn't sell a single unit to commercial fleets or rental companies, the sort of knockdown dealing that keeps Holden and Ford above Mazda but destroys resale values.Toyota can claim its perennial Corolla, the most recent generation of which was released earlier this year, does more business than the Mazda, but many base-model strippers wind up with 'for rent' signs on their windshields.Even in a market where used-car values have never been less reliable, the Mazda3's desirability, exclusivity and driveability seem to be keeping it slightly above the skids.For the past few months, though, the Mazda's mantle hasn't seemed so secure. The reasons are two reinvented cars; the new-generation Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Lancer.Both offer exceptional value and top-rate safety packages even in their base models, though the $21,000 entry-level Lancer is subject to a slight and quite fair option hike to get the class-leading package of seven airbags.You need to get into the top Mazda3 iterations, the more expensive Maxx Sport and topline SP23, to get comparable packages and even then DSC remains a $1000 option.Ford has had to cut the guts out of its lower-spec Focus price, reducing it to $19,990. The Mazda3 is in some essential respects the same car, but Mazdas have traditionally held their own over comparable Blue Ovals.A new SP23 is priced from almost $30,000, up towards the class-leading Volkswagen Golf FSI dollars. A used SP23, which comes with the full kit and some warranty extant, is an attractive package, not least because it, too, is starting to feel the pre-loved car price wobbles.This weekend, several Sydney dealers will offer MY05 SP23s with 12 months' manufacturer warranty remaining and upwards of 35,000km on the clock from $25,50.That's still steep, but don't be put off, especially as Subaru and Mitsubishi will sell you a highly competitive all-new car for much the same money. Feel free to mention this.While lesser 3s use the 2.0-litre petrol four, the range leader shares the bigger Mazda6's 2.3-litre four-potter, though detuned slightly to 115kW. It is still the drivers' choice in this segment, an aspect enhanced last year when it received an extra ratio each for the previously five-speed manual and four-speed auto.The manual would be our transmission choice, though at least the auto's tip shift mode, unlike most, holds a gear until you decide differently. The pre-facelift models make do with the old transmission and noticeably more raucous level of NVH.There's nothing else to complain of though with 17-inch alloys, six-speaker stereo with six-stacker, ABS with EBD, fully adjustable steering wheel, six airbags, body kit and leather trim.If the Mazda3 is facing fresh challenges, it is as markedly superior to its longer-term rivals used as it was new. You have to go up to the $36,000 XR5 to find a Focus that moves quicker than the 2.0-litre norm. Even then, side airbags aren't to be had.Honda offers a petrol-electric hybrid version of its Thai-built Civic sedan, though at a considerable premium over the underdone and drab conventional four-pot models. The Corolla is new, but it has also gained weight over the last model, while persisting with the old engine.Economy suffers and Toyota's neglect in not offering stability control even as an option makes it look further off the pace. Sure, the Corolla will probably remain Australia's best-selling car in this class but overall, the Mazda3 looks the best bet. It's just that now used-car buyers are holding some cards. 

The high-performance STi is expected to have a 2.5-litre four-cylinder mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, Si-Drive, quad exhausts, bigger wheels with pumped out mudguards

If it comes to fruition, the Suzuki SX4 Sport, as the road car might be called, would be a direct competitor for the new Subaru WRX, which has been a dominant force in the performance small car segment for years.But the new Rex (WRX) has lost its hard performance edge and is unlikely to appeal to its traditional audience. A Suzuki hot rod could be too tantalising for keen drivers looking for a Rex replacement.It would be made in Japan, have rally cred, look the business and carry the Suzuki name which has a lot of respect.And what would be really good for Suzuki is that Nobuhiro (Monster) Tajima, one of the most dominant drivers at the frightening Pikes Peak hill climb in the US, would have direct input into the road car.It would be a finely fettled device to be sure and would quite possibly rattle the cage of good, many so-called performance models.The WRC car, is due to embark soon on its initial foray into the title challenge, which has impressive specifications.It runs a 2.0-litre, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine delivering 235kW/590Nm output. That's equivalent to a good V8 in a small car weighing 1230kg. It has a five speed sequential manual transmission and a carbon clutch. Drive is to all wheels via an electronic centre differential.The suspension is by struts using high quality adjustable dampers and the brakes are 370mm discs on the front with eight piston calipers, 355mm at the rear with four piston calipers.It's a wild looking car with a huge multi-deck rear wing protruding from the rear screen and a low centre of gravity. The wheels are 18-inch diameter and carry Michelin tyres at present.Tajima has used expertise gleaned from Pikes Peak on the WRC car so it should be able to cut it right from the outset. Tajima has built up and stored a huge knowledge base over the years and refers to it for the correct set up when racing.Obviously, any road-going version of the car wouldn't be specified to this level but it is conceivable that the SX4 Sport would be good for 150-160kW, without too much trouble and would have running gear to match, which means big brakes, firm suspension and sporty dynamics.Suzuki execs go a little bit coy when potential specification of an SX4 Sport is mentioned. They throw back the line of being more concerned about carbon dioxide emissions than sports performance. But pressure is building from many quarters within the Suzuki world, to leverage the company's involvement in motor sport and the World Rally Championship by building a road car.Otherwise, what is the point of competing?An SX4 would need to sell in the $40,000 range to be competitive and be specified to a reasonable level of luxury and safety, all of which is available from the Suzuki parts bin.Tajima would be able to tell Suzuki how to calibrate pretty well the entire car for road use while retaining a sporty flavour.The current SX4 all-wheel drive is a handy car, but lacks a hero model in the range to attract performance car buyers to Suzuki. That's where the SX4 Sport comes into the picture.It's all hypothetical right now but entirely do-able by Suzuki. Here's hoping. 

A late call on a new Impreza sedan could have cost Subaru Australia another showroom record this year.The new Impreza hatch has just landed, with more models on the way, but short supplies from Japan will limit the number of cars Subaru can deliver to the end of the year.The sedan will boost Impreza sales by about 200 cars a month, from a hatch estimate of 1000 cars a month. But it will not join the local line-up until the third quarter next year.It is lagging behind the hatch because the car was originally developed for the US and it took time for Australia to make a business case.Before then, Subaru will also have a facelifted Tribeca people mover, a new Forester and the high-performance Impreza STi. An Impreza diesel is also on the way.So the head of Subaru Australia, Nick Senior, believes he will not have enough cars to claw back lost ground this year.Sales are up but the 3 per cent improvement trails in an industry that has grown by more than 9 per cent to the end of August.“We'll struggle to do another record this year, to be honest. We cannot get enough cars,” Senior says. “There is simply not enough time. We're expecting some solid months to the end of the year, but we won't claw it all back.”He believes the safer new Impreza will be a hit but admits the plan has changed following the late development of the four-door sedan.“The intention with the new Impreza was to have one variation globally and that was the hatch,” he says. “Relatively late, the US decided that to maximise the potential of the car in their market they would like a sedan.“When the decision was made to build a sedan for the US we were asked if we had an interest, so we researched the potential. We thought we could add some incremental sales, but the timing meant we would have to wait 12 months.“There will only be the North American market and Australia having both hatch and sedan. But in the past we've had a foot in both camps, with half a wagon and half a hatch.”He believes Australian buyers could take up to 350 sedans a month but, with some hatch substitution, is aiming for total Impreza sales of about 1200 cars. That would make it the company's No.1, ahead of the chunky Forester.But that could change with the arrival of the new Forester early next year. 

The move, which is likely to cause a strong reaction among some new car manufacturers and importers, was announced this week by Australasian New Car Assessment Program chairman Lachlan McIntosh.