When will they offer the Outback in diesel?

Hi,

I am just guessing but suspect that it is not possible to make a diesel boxer engine due to not being able to make a strong enough block in that configuration (one that is commercially viable weight and size wise).

Without a boxer engine they would have to do a major redesign of front end metalwork, front drive parts and suspension and steering layout and components.

Lets face it if it was easily fixable they would have done it already and probably upped their European sales figures by 20 to 30%.

Properly designed, they should be able to make diesel boxer of reasonable weight. However, designing a new engine is a huge expense in R&D and manufacturing.

I would think that they would be devoting their precious R&D time to their expected gas/electric hybrid rather than diesel technology. However, I think a diesel/electric hybrid would certainly give the best of both worlds.

-Kurt

coustanis wrote:

Maybe you could shoehorn one of these in your Outback:

.. and it delivers its max continuous power rating of 230hp (according to specs on that site) up to 10.000 feet. I am sure that'll come in handy!

;)

florian

You've never had your Sube up there? Well I guess I've only had mine to 9200 feet or so. Performance at altitude is a great reason to go turbo (which I don't have). And of course fuel economy is a great reason to go diesel.

I guess most of us know that modern european-market turbodiesels give the performance of a gas car with better fuel economy. You can buy a fuel-efficient little Audi turbodiesel that will cruise at 230km/h.

I also keep reading about how US-spec diesel oil is improving, and how soon we'll be able to buy such vehicles here. Don't know when "soon" is though...

Hopefully this comes out before my current vehicle dies. I'd absolutely LOVE to have the cargo capacity of an Outback wagon with the economy of a hybrid.

-- Todd H.

Gallons of acid waiting to splash you in an accident? Underpowered toy car electric motor? The US needs to get diesel use up. I had a loaner VW jetta TDI that got 45 MPG with auto trans and was like driving a real car. A diesel Outback woukd be the ultimate

I just got back from two weeks in Europe, land of many diesel cars. I could have sworn I saw/heard at least one Diesel Outback when I was in Germany. In fact, I said to my wife "I wish they would start importing diesel Subarus into the USA." I haven't seen very many Subarus in Europe. On this trip, during which I spent a fair amount of time in the Alps regions of Germany and Austria, I probably saw a total of six Subarus. One Forester, and the rest were Outbacks (some older body style, a few newer). I did see two Subaru dealers in Germany, and on a previous trip noticed that Subaru was an advertising sponsor of the skiing/tourist cable car on the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain.

Although we mostly bicycled on this trip, we did rent a diesel Ford Mondeo wagon for a few days. A big wagon, and it it got somewhere between 40-50 mpg. We usually try to rent diesels when in Europe, since 1) the fuel is nearly $1 usd cheaper per gallon, and 2) they get double the gas mileage.

The VW diesels sold in the USA are very nice, but I think VWs are overpriced in general, even without the diesel. Plus, the USA version of the VW TDI actually makes less HP than the European models. I don't know if they have to de-tune it for USA regulations, or what.

Brian W. Abington, Pa.

I heard that there are actually 3 TDI engines available from Volkswagen in Europe. The one they send to the US is the lowest power version because that is the only one that will work properly here. It has to do with the high sulfur (low quality by European standards) diesel fuel sold here. I don't recall if the other engines won't pass EPA certification, or if the sulfur damages the engine somehow.

Walt Kienzle

No, impossible. There is no Diesel-Subaru in Germany or the rest of the world. Of course, not counting the (hopefully) numerous test-mules that test the new Diesel-engine that will come out this fall...

Must have been piston slap.

That and a plugged ear from the landing perhaps.

Europe, the land of cheese, wine, sauerkraut... no, wait: it's a continent! ;)

florian

It's pretty easy to tell. For modern, unmodified german-market cars, diesels have downturned exhaust, and gas-engine cars don't. I'm not aware of exceptions.

Except that Subaru can't make a diesel engine to save their life.

Check this out:

Looks like they can but for another manufacturer. You can read about this discussion by googling groups for "Daniel Stern boxer engine"

Gregg

I don't know if I want Subaru head gaskets and a higher compression ratio :)

At least 2 manufacturers have tried using stock gas engine blocks for diesel engines. Both ended up needing modifications for long-term reliability.

If Subaru does do a diesel, I hope they either buy a proven design or start from the ground up.