Forester Diesel

Forester diesel headed to US in 2010

In early 2007 Subaru announced it is building a 2.2-liter flat-four turbodiesel engine, which will go on sale in Europe this year in Impreza and Forester models, but is not ready for the US. During the announcement of the engine at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, Subaru indicated they had no plans to introduce the diesel to the US market.

Fuji Heavy Industries president Ikuo Mori says the U.S. is the most important market worldwide, and executive vice president of Subaru of America Tom Doll says “Forester owners enjoy long road trips”, begging the question of when the engine will be available in the US for the Forester and Impreza.

“We are preparing to launch the engine when the market is ready,” says Mori, “We have no comment on when that would be. The European market is ready now; I’m not sure when the US market will be.”

However, Mori says that regardless of the market condition, the engine will be introduced to the U.S. by midyear in 2010.

Mori says he thinks it will be very difficult for the U.S. to achieve the 15 percent diesel passenger car sales penetration by 2015, a figure that supplier Bosch as well as Mercedes-Benz and Audi have agreed with. Still, he added that Subaru will introduce the engine in the U.S. well before the US market reaches that level of diesel sales.

The New Subaru Forester Diesel

Available in three models, the Forester X, XC and XSN.

Step inside a Subaru Forester, and you’ll know. It was built with a commitment to On and Off-road vehicles, driven by the spirit of innovation. A focus on ingenuity that generates control and exhilaration. Design that appeals to the heart as well as the mind. All delivering an experience behind the wheel that is even more fulfilling than the destination.

This is not just another diesel evolution - this is a revolution. This is the world's first horizontally-opposed diesel engine to be featured in a passenger car. This is the SUBARU BOXER DIESEL. Mounted on the legendary Symmetrical AWD system, it benefits from the key characteristics of low-vibration and highly responsive acceleration. Boasting minimal inertia and friction with mountains of torque, this package changes all preconceptions you may have had of diesel engines. Its perfect balance and low centre of gravity will ensure you of an outstanding driving experience with unrivalled stability on every journey.

The boxer diesel is essentially an all-new engine, sharing its bore centers with Subaru's 3.0L gas six (to help reduce machining costs) but otherwise made mostly of unique parts. The twin-cam, four-cylinder mill displaces 2.0L, feeds off a common-rail fuel-delivery system, and breathes via 16 valves and a variable-nozzle turbo. Output is 145 hp at 3600 rpm but the engine makes a manly 258 lb-ft of torque at just 1800 rpm (compared with 226 lb-ft for the Forester's 2.0L turbo gas engine).

Subaru notes several advantages to the boxer's design. Most important, the horizontally opposed configuration is naturally balanced, requiring no weight- and friction-increasing counter-rotating shafts for smooth spinning. The engine is extremely compact, thanks to a bore pitch reduced 6mm over the 2.0L gas engine. An aluminum block minimizes weight, while a low-mounted turbocharger helps drop the car's center of gravity. The engine also wears a diesel particulate filter (DPF), a closed silicon-fiber honeycomb that traps particulate matter as it passes through the exhaust.

Mated to the new engine is a new six-speed manual transmission designed especially for the boxer diesel. Subaru currently has no automatic capable of handling the diesel's lofty torque output, and given the relatively low volumes anticipated for the diesel the company isn't inclined to spend big bucks on creating a new one. Expect the manual to be the one and only transmission offering when (if?) the Forester diesel eventually makes its stateside debut.

Official EPA fuel economy figures of course aren't yet available, but in Europe the Forester 2.0D is rated at an amazing 37 mpg city/highway combined. If you're a driver who likes to pour on the miles, here's your rig: With its 16.9-gallon fuel tank, the 2.0D has a range of more than 600 miles. Got a boat or a trailer? No problem. With the tank-like boxer-diesel, the Forester 2.0D can tow up to 4400 lb (compared with just 2400 lb for the gasoline-drinking, turbo 2.5L four in the Forester XT).

The engine lights off with a pushbutton starter and settles into a subdued clatter. You know right away it's a diesel, but the sound from beneath the hood isn't intrusive. Pull away from a stop and in a blink the turbo spools up and you're surging ahead. This isn't a quick car by any means: Subaru claims a 0-to-62-mph time of 10.4 seconds. Instead, think "stout." On an incline, the diesel powers up without fuss or undue shifting. On the autobahn, it hovered along at 90 mph with a refined thrum.

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