Subaru Ascent

At the LA Auto Show (back in Nov 2016), they called it VIZIV-7. Guess they thought Ascent was more pronounceable for the later NY Intl show. It's a 3-row SUV. Guess they're targeting the big family market wanting an SUV as a status symbol.

For those of use that use SUVs (instead of trucks) to tow boats+trailers and need immediate low RPM power to get them out of the water or to actually go off road and aren't racing to bash the hell out of them (OMG, an SUV not on pavement) and need to get out of muddy ruts, push over brush, and get over stones or debris, turbos are wasted as the lag cannot be tolerated. Not everyone can afford both a truck and a family car so they get an SUV to do both jobs.

Subaru has had turbo'ed cars for quite a long time. Why would another turbo'ed model suddenly further depress the market for 6 cylinders? As the displacement and cylinder count go up, so does the market volume hence the term vertical market. If Subaru leaves the larger engine market, another maker will fill the void.

There are families too large for a Forester or outback to be suitable. The Ascent can fill that void.

A rep I spoke with mentioned that the volume of cars sold with the six-cylinder was very, very low and that could be the reason for not continuing it. The performance of the upcoming 2.4L Turbo may come close to the six. Perhaps Subaru is going the route that Volvo is with using four-cylinder engines in all of their vehicles.

I could swear long ago the Forester was bigger. Did they shrink it around 2005? Or maybe it was the Outbacks that got bigger.

Argh, "so does the market volume" should've been "so does the market volume go down". Efficiency can be kind to the wallet (depending on the initial price of the car which can void a lot of that efficiency) but underpowered or laggy are still disadvantages.

Sales are low for the inline 6. If they had a V8, sales would be even lower. That's the nature of the market. I still don't see the introduction of yet another turbo model *further* depressing sales of

6-pots. The dealers don't want to carry every model. Even the Subie dealers in my area don't carry every model. With the last Outback that I bought, they had to drive it over from another dealer some 50 miles away. That's no different than an electronics store not carrying every model of all brands they happen to carry. If Subaru has plans to dump 6-pots, it was planned long before this concept car debue.

Who you talk to at a dealership provides different views of their business model. The sales reps know about their store and perhaps about their area. Talk to the regional sales manager and you get a different view. Subaru stopped distributing the Legacy wagon in the USA but it is still sold in Japan and Europe (found that out after totalling one and wanting another - the USA wasn't a successful niche market for them). All depends on the market penetration which can vary in different places.

I've been hearing about the demise of 6 cylinders from Subaru for a couple years now. It would not be free for them to stop production. Companies depreciate their equipment but scrapping it entirely in one fell swoop carries a bigger loss. They may have plans but we outsiders are not privy to them, and I wouldn't go by one sales rep says at one dealership in one city.

Not until the turbo kicks in. Until then you just get the performance of the 4 cylinders. If they use a small turbo that spins up faster then it more quickly reaches full boost but at the sacrifice of performance at the high end. Well, this one is a family car and not for hauling, offroad, or performance. Peculiarly, in the USA, family size has kept decreasing (3.76 in 1940 to 3.13 in 2003 but slightly rising to 3.18 in

2011 but down to 3.14 in 2016 - that's per household, not number of kids under 18 in the household) so it's strange they would target for a big family: a niche market within a niche market. For a market that traditionally has 2 adults and 1 or 2 kids, a 3-seater doesn't really focus on family size in the USA market. Wonder what they really are targeting for a market in the USA. Well, concept cars come and go. Maybe they'll instead on an option for increased cargo space or roll out a bigger Outback.

Maybe, maybe not. Hindsight is the only perfect science. Subaru hasn't made any official announcements so we consumers are blind to their intentions.

Yes, significantly. It is bloody huge compared to my 07 Impreza Wagon.

2017 you can not get a new LHD Legacy anywhere in Europe (including Russia). Neither Sedan nor Wagon.

fyi Jan

Of course it is. Outbacks aren't derived from Impreza wagons. They're not bloody huge compared to what they were derived from, the Legacy wagons.