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No other automobile manufacturer pursues its own idea of permanent four-wheel drive as sustainably as the Japanese vehicle manufacturer SUBARU. While in Germany 2013 had to be approved with 7.456 approved new cars, SUBARU is still one of the world's most successful manufacturers of all-wheel drive vehicles.
SUBARU wanted to demonstrate what the SUBARU Symmetrical four-wheel drive can do in the southern Hessian Wächtersbach. For a tour of a quarry and muddy forest trails were the three models Forester, Outback and XV available.
Offroad in the Hessian Outback
SUVs and other all-wheel drive models usually lead a sad life in Germany. They are penned in underground garages, park in front of kindergartens and supermarkets - and they are not allowed to demonstrate anything of their great all-wheel drive abilities. This led to more and more manufacturers installing very simple “hang-on” all-wheel drives. On the one hand, these are cheap to implement and, on the other hand, the “fashionable SUV” remains a front-wheel drive car in everyday life - this saves friction in the drive train and thus fuel. This technology is easily sufficient for a trip to the parking lot in front of the next game reserve. But what if - if your own car is used for hunting? Or not only steered along forest paths when the sun is shining? What if the next excursion leads deeper into the forest? The Outback we have not in our region - but at SUBARU, a quarry was found near Wächtersbach, which offered steep descents, gradients with a lot of rubble and deeply muddy forest paths.
With Forester, XV and Outback over hill and dale
Even if the combination models of Subaru, the Forester and the Outback do not look as if they were real off-roaders, they are fist-thick under the sheet. And the XV looks more like a compact golf class. Nevertheless - all three offer at least 20 centimeters of ground clearance. And a symmetrical all-wheel drive that permanently distributes its power to all four wheels. The first few meters through the quarry near Wächtersbach still seem like a simple forest path to the first deep furrow. But thanks to the ground clearance, nothing scratches the underbody. The continuously variable automatic delivers the optimal translation to let the tested vehicles slowly crawl ahead.
After the first 20 centimeter deep, muddy brown, puddle it goes steeply downhill only a short time later, at the 90 ° angle turn left and here the first surprise. It goes up a muddy slope and yet no wheels turn through. The permanent all-wheel drive distributes the power to the wheels with the best grip. If a wheel threatens to spin, it is brought back into the lane via brake intervention.
Offroad without barriers?
This is probably the most interesting finding after the day in the field. The SUBARU models we drive all offer fully automatic all-wheel drive. Where you start to lock the differentials by hand in “real off-road vehicles”, first the middle, then the rear axle and if things get really bad - the front axle differential, the SUBARU all-wheel drive does not need any intervention. Should individual wheels hang relieved in the air, the brake intervention works extremely efficiently as a differential lock and the other wheels bravely continue to dig through the mud.
SUBARU outback
A special surprise in the terrain, the Outback. Because the almost 4.80 meter long station wagon with relatively large overhangs on the terrain course. And even the wheelbase of 2.74 meters is not particularly helpful when crossing steep rocky outcrops. Nevertheless, the large station wagon with stoic serenity rummages through the extreme obstacles in the Hessian Outback.
Under the hood with the concise air scoop beats the four-cylinder boxer diesel heart. This engine is unique. No other manufacturer has a diesel engine that combines the positive characteristics of a boxer engine with the talents of fuel economy and the power of the diesel engine. The power reaches the four wheels via a continuously variable transmission.
The Outback also takes its passengers through nasty, muddy puddles where you really do not want to get stuck. Whereby a puddle actually spills over the front headlights only in rare cases. But here in the quarry near Wächtersbach you have such simulated river crossings suddenly in the middle of the forest.
Specifications SUBARU Outback 2.0D
| Power: | 150 PS | torque: | 350 Nm |
| Ground clearance: | 200 mm | Empty weight: | 1.638 kg |
| Slope angle front: | 18.4° | Slope angle rear: | 22,5° |
| Length: | 4.790 mm | Wheelbase: | 2.745 mm |
| Base price: | 39.000 € | ||
SUBARU XV
Probably the greatest surprise off-road is the XV. The driven two-liter petrol engine - of course also a boxer - offers 150 hp but significantly less torque than the diesel unit, which is also available in the XV. Nevertheless, the 196 Nm are enough to let the XV easily climb over the nasty obstacles of the terrain course. The whole thing is surprising in the XV, because the XV is more in the segment of the compact car class. You may not have found the right SUV look here. But with a ground clearance of 22 centimeters, the XV climbs on scree paths that you would rather not walk along on foot.
The XV also brings its power to the wheels via CVT transmission. All Subaru models benefit from the same layout in the drive train. The flat-lying boxer - whose crankshaft is in line with the drive shaft leading to the rear, then the gearbox and from there the force is normally 50% transferred to both axles. SUBARU is always convinced of the advantages of one permanent four-wheel drive.
In the terrain course, the XV also benefited from its short wheelbase, with 2.63 Meter is this 20 centimeters shorter than the outback. While the XV also offers less space in the interior, it can be easier to circle over steep hills and tight bends in the forest. The grippy Pirelli Sottozero winter tires do the rest, so that the driver never ran out of grip on the greasy surface, on which mud alternated with snow.
Specifications SUBARU XV 2.oi CVT
| Power: | 150 PS | torque: | 196 Nm |
| Ground clearance: | 220 mm | Empty weight: | 1.415 kg |
| Slope angle front: | 19,6° | Slope angle rear: | 29,3° |
| Length: | 4.450 mm | Wheelbase: | 2.635 mm |
| Base price: | 32.490 € | ||
SUBARU Forester
The Forester has probably been most likely from the beginning to be able to master the entire course without any problems. He looks like a high-legged station wagon and has remained a favorite car among hunters and rangers throughout the model generation.
In the test car worked the two-liter four-cylinder turbo box with 240 PS. With 350 Nm between 2.400 and 3.600 revolutions, this unit brings plenty of power into the terrain. None of the others climbed more forcefully and with so much emphasis up the greasy slopes.
In contrast to the Outback - although both belong to the practical combination form - the Forester has a shorter wheelbase. At 2.64, this is only slightly longer than the XV. The large slope angle at the front, the ground clearance of 22 centimeters and the grippy winter tires do not allow for any compromises in the field. With “X-Mode”, the Forester is the only one with a special off-road program. The control of the all-wheel drive and the engine management are adapted for extreme cross-country passages or very slippery roads.
The Forester also has a downhill help system that ensures a constant speed on steep downhill sections without the driver having to stand with his foot on the brakes.
Technical data - SUBARU FORESTER XT:
| Power: | 240 PS | torque: | 350 NM |
| Ground clearance: | 220 mm | Empty weight: | 1.636 kg |
| Slope angle front: | 25° | Slope angle rear: | 26° |
| Length: | 4.595 mm | Wheelbase: | 2.640 mm |
| Base price: | 39.900 € | ||
With all-wheel drive into the future
Also for the future SUBARU plans rather conservative. Although with the XV has a compact SUV in an important growth segment, SUBARU remains a brand that makes no compromises by the consistent use of all-wheel technology. A brand for people with character. And so you also plan for 2014 with no more than 8.000 new SUBARU on Germany's roads.
