Subaru Vortex Reviews

Subaru Australia managing director, Nick Senior, is close to signing off on the multi-purpose Exiga minivan.

Having softened off the new WRX for its hatch launch last year, Subaru has put the bite back into Rex with the arrival of the sedan."It is not a matter of putting back anything that was taken out, rather an advancement of some characteristics to further improve the car," Subaru boss Nick Senior argued."The 2009 car is a bit more aggressive and goes a bit harder but it is still a car you can live with from Monday to Sunday."When the new generation Impreza hatch range was launched in August last year there was an unapologetic move to make the cars more attractive to a demographic Subaru felt it had been missing — middle-aged male and females who wanted performance without the raw edge.The WRX, which had built its street-smart reputation on being something of a junkyard dog, lost some of its mongrel appeal as a by-product of the refinement.With the arrival of the sedan and a whole range of upgrades — including an extra 26kW of power, 23Nm of urge and a specific suspension package that brings back dynamic handling — the big dog is back, albeit better trained.The key to the reformed character of the '09 WRX is in two critical areas, engine performance and suspension tuning — the first to be utilised across the Subaru world, the second a special toy for Australian buyers alone."The WRX has evolved into a very mature sports car," Senior said.Sales and price When the WRX was first launched in 1994 monthly sales were running at around 25, a figure which has peaked and troughed over the years. The current model, available only in the hatch variant until this week, is averaging 80 cars a month — a figure Subaru is hoping will jump closer to 150 a month with the arrival of the sedan. Both variants are priced from $39,990."There has been a good deal of hold-off for the sedan, a model that was well known to be coming this year," Senior said.Engine Under the bonnet the extra power and torque comes chiefly from a larger and more efficient turbocharger — a slightly detuned version of the one used in the STI models.Maximum target boost pressure is up 18 per cent to 92kpa compared to the 2008 turbocharger but still down 10 per cent on the STI.Road manners To answer the criticism of a more plush and less controlled handling characteristic for the '08 model Subaru's engineers have increased spring rates and retuned the dampers to keep the WRX flatter through corners and under braking. As well as sharpening turn-in feel for the steering the incorporation of a new damper valve in the hydraulics dramatically reduces kickback when the front-end is under load through corners."This (handling improvement) has been achieved through larger diameter stabiliser bars front and rear, stiffer springs up to 38N/mm on the front and 34N/mm on the rear," Subaru Australia's Derek Ashby explained."Strut top mounts have also been changed to the same as that used on the STI WRX."Combined with these changes as a total suspension package, shock absorber damping rates both front and rear have been retuned to provide a much more sports handling characteristic."While the five-speed manual transmission has been retained for the WRX — it has the distinct advantage of being 20kg lighter than the 6-speed option — there have been modifications to improve shift feel.Appearance Externally the makeover for the year model change is minor but noticeable. The sedan and hatch share a new grille and WRX badges front and rear.Interior changes are almost non-existent and the predominance of hard plastics is still an Impreza trait.The in-house sports seats are well sculpted and supportive, bolstered enough for the odd session on the track and comfortable enough for extended road cruising.Driving A back-to-back comparison with the superseded model on the Winton track was enough to give credence to Subaru's claims of getting back the attitude.Flatter through the corners, easier to set up and turn-in and quicker to get on the game out of the corners the entire feel of the car was sharper and yet more under control.Coupled to the new suspension package is a rethink on the rubber and with the wider Dunlop SP Sport tyres (225/45R 17 compared to the 205/50R Yokohama's from the 2008 specs) the result is chalk and cheese.As dramatic as the track improvements were it was away from the smooth tarmac that the best of the engineering improvements shone through.On a highly corrugated gravel run the ability to steer through a broken corner without fear that the steering wheel would be torn from your grasp was refreshing.Overall — across tarmac and gravel — the '09 WRX exhibited a behaviours that was an impressive blend of go-hard poise and daily-drive compliance.Amid all the attitude and performance increases, Subaru has managed to trim combined fuel efficiency figures from 10.7L/100km to 10.4L/100km.That'll do Rex, that'll do.Subaru WRXPrice: $39,990Engine: 2.5L/4-cylinder turbo, 195kW/343NmTransmission: 5-speed manualEconomy: 10.4L/100km (combined cycle)

Subaru Australia managing director, Nick Senior, credits the Impreza with having driven sales, particularly since the arrival of a sedan model earlier this year.Next week the range will get another boost with the updated 2.5-litre WRX sedan and hatch.Senior says that despite the recent new car sales slowdown, Subaru is on track to achieve its 11th consecutive record sales year.The Impreza is a big contributor, he says.“We've seen Impreza sales up 7 per cent this year in a small car market that is up only marginally up year to date and that is despite the fact that we haven't had a sedan, which accounted for 50 per cent of our sales in the previous Impreza,” he says.“We launched the Impreza sedan in May and next week we launch the 2.5-litre WRX in sedan and hatch variants.“We are anticipating that our WRX sales will also increase.”Senior admitted that the past six months had been difficult but the company was performing solidly on the back of the Impreza and new Forester.When the Impreza was launched last year it pushed sales up 7 per cent without the added bonus of the sedan by attracting new buyers.“We had a thorough look at Impreza and in terms of a pure marketing campaign it has been a success in attracting those new audiences, particularly the professional womens' segment... female buyers from 25-30 right through to 50-55 that are working business professionals,” he says.“So we have grown that audience despite not having a sedan model.”Subaru will go into 2009 with the existing Liberty and Outback range, which is not due to be replaced until the end of the year.Senior says the company is also close to signing off on the Exiga minivan.“We're having a look at Exiga,” he says.“We've done clinics here.“There's one running around at the moment doing some preliminary work on testing.“We haven't pressed the button on it, yet, that's probably going to come after a few more discussions in late January.“So I imagine in January we'll be making a decision and if it is coming it's probably late next year.”Senior says unlike Japan, which has both turbo and non-turbo Exigas, only one normally aspirated model will be available here.That is expected to be a 2.0-litre four cylinder.In Japan that engine produces 108kW at 6000 revs and 191Nm at 3200 revs. 

Aussies in top 10Ireland and Portugal split the wins in round two of the A1GP series in China. Ireland's Adam Carroll won the sprint and Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque won the feature event. A1 Team Australia's John Martin had a strong weekend. He finished 11th in the sprint, but improved to sixth in the feature. The results put Australia ninth in the standings after two rounds.Reed all about itChad Reed kept his perfect record intact by winning round four of the Super X series at Parramatta Stadium last weekend. Reed beat Daniel Reardon and Jay Marmont in the new survival format, which had a field of 20 riders cut to 15, 10 and a five-rider final. More than 15,000 fans attended as Super X continues to impress in its maiden season.Crocker's China mightAustralian rally star Cody Crocker produced an epic drive to win last week's Rally China in the latest round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. The Subaru driver overcame a 24.4sec deficit in the final stage to beat Japan's Hiroshi Yanagasawa. The win secured the manufacturers' title for Subaru to add to Crocker's drivers' title.Backmarker's new forceFormula One-backmarker Force India is targeting wins by 2010 after securing engines and gearboxes from McLaren-Mercedes, starting next year. Team owner Vijay Mallya signed the five-year deal this week after his team failed to score a point this year. McLaren-Mercedes test drivers Paul di Resta and Pedro de la Rosa have been linked to race seats with the team. Earlier in the week team manager Colin Kolles and chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne left the team as part of the shake-up.Rules a costly exerciseUncertainty still surrounds the future of the World Rally Championship rules. The FIA announced last week it will examine the proposed rules for 2010 to cut costs. It was expected the FIA would approve the rules, but is now worried recent changes have made them too expensive. The new rules will use existing Group N and Super 2000 cars with a bolt-on upgrade kit, to make them WRC cars.Sprint Cars boggedHeavy rain forced organisers to declare last weekend's Victorian Sprint Car round a non-points event. Only 16 drivers raced after heavy rain made the Heartland Speedway surface difficult. Brett Milburn won. 

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 

Buyers can expect heavy discounts as the slump in new car sales takes hold.One analyst, Tony Robinson, of the SurePlan Lease group in Melbourne expects the January sales to start early."They could start as early as this month," he said."Many companies ordered stock three to five months ago when things were buoyant and now that stock is starting to arrive."Many dealers are stuck with unsold inventory, which could be a bonus for end-of-year bargain hunters.New car sales were down 10 per cent last month, according to the latest VFACTS car industry figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.The FCAI is concerned the stock backlog will create a fire-sale mentality."I think it is well understood that inventory levels have been rising," FCAI chief executive, Andrew McKellar, said."There is no doubt there have been rising stocks."The softening in demand was affecting the ability of some dealers to secure floor-stock finance, McKellar said.The industry was monitoring the impact of liquidity constraints on the availability of wholesale finance to dealers.It was hoping to find "alternative solutions" to avoid the risk of further problems, he said.The VFACTS figures show that the new car market is in severe decline, with 79,105 vehicles sold last month, down 10,184 vehicle sales or 11.4 per cent on October 2007.Many brands have been hit hard, among them Mazda, Kia, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.Mazda, which has been a sales star in recent years, reporting a 24 per cent sales drop last month.Budget Koreans, Hyundai and Kia experienced a 35 per cent and 31 per cent sales plunge.Lexus sales fell more than 60 per cent last month and Mercedes-Benz sales were off 43 per cent.Many luxury marques blame the negative impact of the new Luxury Car Tax, which rose 8 per cent to 33 per cent from July 1.Local carmaker Holden also reported an 11 per cent drop for the month.Overall, Toyota remains the top seller for the year.It's workhorse HiLux outsold even the Holden Commodore last month and the Corolla again performed strongly.It is the second month this year where the HiLux has been the country's favourite car.Nissan's Navara ute surprised the industry with a solid result and Suzuki recorded an all-time sales record."It's a fantastic result, particularly given the tightening economic situation," Suzuki Australia general manager, Tony Devers, said. WHAT'S SELLINGTOP 10 MAKES1 Toyota 18,7052 Holden 10,1713 Ford 85674 Mazda 55295 Nissan 52196 Honda 51547 Mitsubishi 44508 Hyundai 30399 Subaru 270810 Volkswagen 2021 

Subaru has sold more than 105,000 Foresters since 1997, and they’d really like to keep that pace going.Available in X, XS and XT variants – each with a number of transmission options, the new Forester provides potential buyers with plenty of optionsDrivetrainsForester X and XS units are powered by a four cylinder 2.5 litre SOHC, horizontally opposed boxer engine producing 126kW at 6000rpm and 229Nm of torque at 4400rpm. The top of the range XT is a 2.5 litre DOHC boxer and puts out 169kW at 5200rpm and 320Nm at 2800rpm.Transmissions comes in the form of manual (X, XS, XT), premium manual (XS, XT), Sportshift auto (X, XS, XT) and premium SPORTSHIFT auto (XS, XT).Fuel consumption for the X and XS manual is at 9.3 litres/100kms and 9.6 litres/100kms for the auto, growing to 10.5 litres for all XT variants, with CO2 emissions ranging from 220-248g/km across the line-up.ExteriorThe new Forester is longer, wider and higher than its predecessor and has a sportier, more aerodynamic stance due to its shorter rear overhangs and a more dressed look with the chrome highlights.The base model X gets 16” steel wheels, a chrome grille and roof rails, while the XS adds 16 inch alloys, self-levelling rear suspension and a sunroof, with the XT offering xenon headlamps and 17 inch alloy wheels.InteriorThe sporty theme has also been maintained on the inside with a sweeping cockpit featuring three-dimensional instruments accented blue highlights and metallic surrounds.The cargo area and the cabin are and there are also more storage areas, cargo and luggage hooks and cup holders.Rear legroom is improved by 109mm to 965mm and front legroom by 29mm, to 1095mm.Cruise control, power steering, windows and mirrors, a multi-function dash display and 60/40 split/fold rear seats are standard across the range. The XS adds a wood grain dash, leather trim and a multi-stack CD player. Satellite navigation and MP3/Bluetooth compatibility are available in the XT only.SafetyWith a five star ANCAP crashworthiness rating to its name, the Forester is no slouch when it comes to safety. Also on the list is a comprehensive safety package, ABS, hill-start assist, active headrests, ring-shaped reinforcements around the cabin and constant all-wheel drive.PricingThe pricetags start at $30,490 for the Forester X manual and top out at $46,990 for the XT Premium Sportshift auto.DrivingIt’s hard to deny the Forester’s ability, but we took a while to warm to the XS manual we tested. However, that was less about the performance than about the looks.Its no secret Subaru have gone south in the style department – yes Impreza, we’re talking about you. So you would have thought the Suby designers, armed with pages of negative feedback, might have made some big changes with the new Forester. But they didn’t.Unlike the Impreza there are no glaringly obvious changes but in a way that’s we were hoping for. The Forester is just plain… plain.In a glass-half-full kind of way, they didn’t have much to work with. It’s not as boxy as past Foresters and appears – and is – roomier inside. And this is probably where the negatives dry up and the positive aspects begin.If you can block out the unsightly swirl in the dash design, the cabin is a rather nice place to be. The seats are comfortable and supportive and the multi-function steering wheel enables the dash to be relatively clutter-free but for a six-stacker, MP3 compatible stereo system and simple air con dials.In fact it feels more like a family saloon car than a big boofy SUV, and it drives like one too.On the go, the new Forester is up there with the smoothest and easiest drives we’ve had – across the board.Changing gears is silky and light and the 2.5 litre engine is surprisingly capable. 110km/h on the freeway was a breeze and there was only minimal tyre noise through the floor into the cabin.The Forester was nimble and light in the city, and with large viewing areas out the side and rear windows, it felt as simple to park as any car half its size.Noting the vehicle in our garage, a friend tried to pressure us into helping him move house, and – knowing it would be a good test of the car’s capabilities – we eventually capitulated. We weren’t looking forward to a weekend of lugging boxes, but the split fold rear seats allowed us to complete the job and escape in much less time than we’d set aside. And even with a substantial amount fo freight crammed into the 1660 cargo area, the Forester was far from sluggish.When you add in the effort Subaru put into making their cars safe – this one has a five –star ANCAP rating – we could understand why it keeps winning awards for being such a practical, affordable, capable and exciting family car. If only it looked the part.Verdict: 7.7/10

Not all the new cars at the show are designed strictly for the road. They may be based on the standard production cars, but there are a number of race cars on display that offer some colour and speed beyond what the showroom can offer. Some are the genuine racers, some are mock-ups, but all offer a little spice to the show.Ford’s new FG V8 Supercar is yet to debut on track, but the show car is on display at the Ford stand. Subaru’s new Impreza STi World Rally Car that debuted in August in the hands of Aussie Chris Atkinson is set up in tarmac guise, while Toyota’s Australian Rally Championship Corolla sits alongside the TRD V6 Hilux Heroes stunt truck, as well as a Toyota Formula 1 car.New maker Isuzu has teamed with Bruce Garland to attack some off-road safaris, while on a production scale, George Miedecke’s Hyundai Tiburon.PlayStation’s influence infiltrates a couple of cars too, with the Motor Storm Pacific Rift monster truck and a Mitsubishi Lancer that houses a Gran Turismo 5 Prologue simulator. 

Not all the new cars at the show are designed strictly for the road.

Subaru’s iconic WRX is back with more power, better fuel efficiency and upgraded suspension. And now a boot.