What the hell is Subaru playing at?

MY00 Spec
0-60 in 6.3 (6.4 for Wagon)

MY01 Spec
0-60 in 5.9

Now everyone is saying that the new one is slower to 60 than the old!

OK, I am not so worried about a slower 0-60 if the torque range has been improved, but if so why don't they admit it?

It's difficult enough comparing the specs of performance between manufacturers, but I'd at least expect to be able to compare the specs between two models of the same car from the same manufacturer!

 

MY00 Spec
Weight = 1235KG
Power = 215BHP@ 5600 rpm
Torque = 290NM of torque @ 4,000rpm.
Power to Weight Ratio = 174BHP per Tonne
0-60 = 6.3 Seconds

MY01 Spec
Weight = 1385KG
Power = 215BHP@ 5600 rpm
Torque = 292NM of torque @ 3,600rpm.
Power to Weight Ratio = 155BHP per Tonne
0-60 = 5.9 Seconds

So Subaru have discovered a new way to increase the performance of their cars by ADDING weight!! A 12% increase in weight has knocked half a second off the 0-60 time..

Hmmmmmm

 

But everybody knows the figures on the "old" car were highly conservative. The 6.4 quoted for 0-60 was way off the 5.6 actually achievable. Maybe Subaru have now admitted what the neew car is actually capable of; a time which is 0.3 seconds slower than the old?

 

0-60 is a pretty poor way of defining performance anyway. 0.3 seconds either way is pretty meaningless in the real world. Anybody got any 0-100mph times for the new car?? I think the old model could do 0-100mph in 14.9 seconds (Autocar figures)

 

I think Subaru cut down the power on the MY00 cars (mine only makes 204bhp (approx 165BHP per tonne), and there have been a few posts by people saying their MY98, etc cars were quicker than a MY00) knowing that the MY01 would have poorer performance. But unless the MY01 cars have more power than claimed I cannot see anyway that they would actually be quicker.

 

(Preparing to be contradicted here...)

If the new car gets it's peak torque earlier in the rev range, then even though it's heavier, it could be quicker through the gears than the old one???

As I said, I'm not so concerned about 0-60, or even 0-100, rather the 30-50 and 50-80 etc figures.

My main criticism of the MY00 was the infamous hesitation. Like many people I often found myself trying to overtake quickly an wondering where all the power went...

If the MY01 gives the torque earlier on and is smoother then that'll suit crap drivers like me.

But back to the main subject, Subaru should be using the same criteria to spec the new car so shouldn't they be stating a 0-60 time of 6.6 seconds?

 

Not sure what the figures are for the MY01, but the 6.3secs for the MY00 is for 0-100 kph, ie, 0-62 mph (not 0-60).

Pete

 

According to an article at