Geneva '08 Preview: Subaru Legacy 2.0D & Outback 2.0D
click above for high-res gallery of the Subaru Legacy Diesels
Next month in Geneva, Subaru will officially pull the wraps off the Legacy 2.0D and Outback 2.0D, which, of course, are the first vehicles to be powered by Subaru's new 2.0L Boxer Diesel. Visually, the cars look just like their gasoline-engined counterparts, with the only giveaway being the D-shaped "Boxer Diesel" badge affixed to their rear ends.
As for the new 2.0 CRD boxer, it's just as wide as a 2.0L gasoline version, but is shorter overall, making for a neat, compact package that produces 147 horsepower (110 kw, 150 PS) at 3,600 rpm and 258 lb-ft (350 Nm) at 1,800 rpm. It's also Euro 4 compliant, emitting 148 g/km of CO² in the Legacy sedan. That's great and all, but we're most curious to hear what the oil-burning boxer sounds like. We'll have plenty more next month when we see the cars in person.[Source: Subaru]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Koko 8:03AM (2/08/2008)
Plans to bring this to the US? I wouldn't mind one of these. Wonder what the mpg will be.
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Paul H. 8:03AM (2/08/2008)
I too can't wait to hear what this sounds like. Was the Volkswagen Vanagon's (aka Transporter) diesel option a boxer? If so, I think this might be the first ever boxer diesel.
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stang_fan 8:15AM (2/08/2008)
how ironic that AutoBlog uses a black and white (grey) photo of a diesel powered Subaru, as diesel will strike some as a grey/dirty means of locomotion....pun intended.
BTW, the VW Vanagon did NOT use a boxer diesel. The Vanagon's diesel was the same water cooled inline diesel as used in Rabbits. If I recall correctly, as used in the Vanagon, it didn't even have a turbo...but even if it did, back then that mean all of 60 to 70 horsepower pushing a BIG box down the road. Shades of the very first "micro buses".
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Tim 8:20AM (2/08/2008)
This thing has got to sound pretty unique. Even a basic Impreza (http://goodcarbadcar.blogspot.com/2008/02/subaru-impreza-driven.html) has got a seriously jazzy note.
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cowboy bob 8:31AM (2/08/2008)
Do all new diesel powered vehicles in the US now need to have the urea system or the filter/burner system???? I would buy a diesel, but DON'T want these systems at all! Answers Please!!
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psarhjinian 9:35AM (2/08/2008)
They don't need a urea system, but they do need something to get their emissions down to a reasonable level. Urea injection is one method, and it's what Mercedes and VW are doing. Honda is supposedly avoiding the use of it in the upcoming Accord diesel.
Urea injection isn't bad in and of itself. It does add an extra layer of complexity and it is something you must keep maintained in order to keep your car's emissions in check.
RMc 9:27AM (2/08/2008)
Dear God of Cars,
Please give Subaru (and others) the technology and insight to get NOx emission within the ridiculous levels set forth by CARB so that we Americans can enjoy these lovely new diesels.
Thanks,
RMc
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psarhjinian 9:43AM (2/08/2008)
The NOx levels by CARB are perfectly reasonable. If you'd spent any time in a major Californian city--especially in the 1980s--you'd understand why CARB is such a hardliner about this.
If you live in some flyover state in the midwest where there just you, your 1970's pickup truck and blue sky for hundreds of miles around, you might have trouble understanding CARB's take. Since California collectively has more people, buys more cars and drives more miles than any other state, they get to dictate terms.
California _alone_ is the sixth to eighth largest economy on earth. That's bigger than Canada or Mexico and much of Western Europe. It's certainly more than any other state in the US. If you think California (and the tax its citizens pay) is somehow a burden to the rest of the US, I'd be really amused to see how badly the rest of the country would do if they seceded.
The automakers aren't about the piss off such a large market just to satisfy a handful of wingnuts in other states.
(note, I'm not from California. I'm not even American)
snakesausage 9:43AM (2/08/2008)
The smaller 4cyl VW does not use urea injection. To my knowledge, only the 6cyl Mercedes diesels will need urea.
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Richard 9:53AM (2/08/2008)
More TORQUE than my spec. B.
Fun!
Though the STi is rated at 290 lb/ ft.
Who among you all here really cares what it sounds like. You're probably all blasting your iPod so loudly you can't hear anything anyway.
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Derek 12:13PM (2/08/2008)
Modern engines and cars are so caked with layers of sound insulation that I doubt you'd hear the engine much even with the music off.
rgseidl 9:57AM (2/08/2008)
While a boxer engine features a different geometry for the cylinder layout, it has the same firing sequence as an inline design. Externally, the two diesels will sound very similar, especially if they are both water-cooled and both feature common-rail injection.
The main difference stems from the fact that the boxer has much better inertial balance, leading to a smoother sound inside the passenger cabin. Of course, engineers always have sound tweaking options in the layout of the exhaust system and the intake. However, the turbocharger present in any diesel will muffle intake sound and introduce a high-pitched whine that designers usually try to suppress in vehicles that are not performance-oriented.
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tankd0g 10:21AM (2/08/2008)
Gee, that 2004 Accord looks good with a hood scoop.
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Wraith 10:34AM (2/08/2008)
It looks like the Outback and Legacy Wagon versions will get about 41mpg. See: http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/22/subaru-launches-2-0l-diesel-outback-legacy-wagon-in-the-uk-with/
Who knows what EPA numbers would be, if/when it comes to the U.S. Either way, it's significantly higher than the existing gas engine models.
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TBlueMax 10:47AM (2/08/2008)
stang_fan: the photos are in color - they're just color photos of a silver car on a silver background - check out the blue Subaru badge on the front and the red tail lights in back
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MikeW 11:17AM (2/08/2008)
L-L-R-R
The balance would be better if subaru used only three main bearings. The axial offset would be reduced by about half for the gasoline engines.
http://glasairproject.com/images/crankshaft.jpg
http://www.canardzone.com/members/PhillipJohnson/Engine/schematic_images/1000Schematic7.JPG
http://mthobby.pcperfect.com/ch601/images/Dcp00999.jpg
So no turbo engines then? If the Audi 2.7 only had 4 main bearings...
Subaru could make boxing6 engines (2 liter 80mm bore x 66mm stroke) for the impreza, and boxing8 (3 liter, 80mm bore x 74.5) engines for the legacy.
and maybe a boxing10 for a supercar, or 180 degree V12
(Subaru can dream)
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Louis Duran 11:32AM (2/08/2008)
Subaru ... if you're listening. Put one of these diesels in the new Forester and the Outback and put them on sale in the US. I will buy one of each.
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Louis Duran 11:37AM (2/08/2008)
The new 2008 Jetta diesel will not require urea injection either. On smaller cars it is not entirely necessary with the right engineering.
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Louis Duran 11:44AM (2/08/2008)
@psarhjinian regarding your CARB response
Amen. Some people just like to whine and moan about restrictions sometimes for the sake of whining. Having to live with clean air laws or not being able to buy a fully automatic weapon seems to be the new benchmark for "opression" these days in the US. These people are pathetic and should be shot.
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Derek 12:13PM (2/08/2008)
Interesting how you support gun controll AND shooting people in the same post...
What does clean air have to do with gun controll anyways?