Diesel for Tribeca?

Subaru is tailoring the application of its new turbodiesel engine for different models, according to the specific needs of various markets.

In Europe, where diesel-engined passenger cars are widely sought for their economy and general ease of use, the first Subaru to offer a diesel option will be the Legacy -- the car we know as the Liberty. That model goes on sale there March/April.

For Australia, where diesels are popular in offroaders and SUVs (not necessarily the same thing), the first Subaru model to be marketed with the diesel engine option will be the new Outback, coming in the third quarter of 2009 -- effectively 18 months away.

The Outback is -- or at least has traditionally been -- a Liberty/Legacy wagon with raised suspension and more offroad-ready accoutrements.

So the turbodiesel engine being developed by Subaru for production in the company's Gunma plant will eventually power ostensibly the same vehicle, but with two different roles -- according to where it's sold.

Japanese importers in Australia have been reticent about marketing non-SUV passenger vehicles with diesel engines, so we don't expect Subaru to be in a hurry for the turbodiesel engine to filter down to cars like the Impreza. It's more likely to be offered in the new Forester first, if anything (more here).

But what about the other, other SUV in the range?

During the local launch of the new STi, we checked with Subaru's local Managing Director, Nick Senior, concerning the new diesel powerplant.

Firstly, we asked him whether the Gunma factory could handle what might well be an unprecedented demand from Europe for diesel engines in Subaru models, possibly putting at risk Australia's allocation of diesel-engined Outbacks when the time comes.

"At the moment Fuji [Heavy Industries -- the parent company] is updating the production line at Gunma by adding an extra 5000-unit capacity -- per month", he said.

"This will be done over three phases this year and by probably late September that upgrade will be completed, so in theory, there's an extra 60,000 units per year, added to the capacity out of Gunma. There is also a left-hand drive Legacy and Outback production capability in the US..."

In other words, the factory should be able to supply more than enough engines for the global demand and these could be shipped to the American factory for fitting to the LHD models, for shipping to Europe, allowing at least for our RHD model production to be unaffected -- although diesel models for Australia might still be in short supply if things go better for Subaru than the company plans.

We then asked Senior what were the range of capacities for the compression-ignition Boxer.

"The only one we've signed off at the moment is the 2.0-litre diesel. Obviously, going forward, there will be questions raised about doing a bigger diesel for the Tribeca. That decision hasn't been made yet."

The petrol Boxer is produced in a range of capacities from 1.5 to 2.5 litres and the flat-six in the Tribeca is built on an architecture entirely different from that of the four-cylinder boxers, so the odds are looking in favour of a diesel four-cylinder engine, displacing perhaps 2.5 litres to power a future Tribeca model. Assuming it goes ahead, it would be a development of the existing engine and should have sufficient output to handle true offroad terrain.

Don't hold your breath though. In the words of Senior: "We still need to recognise that Subaru in the scheme of things is still a relatively small manufacturer in the world."

"And when we look at what we've got on the plate -- say from last August through to next August -- a factory that is updating its production line will also release the new Impreza, STI, big update of Tribeca, diesel engine, new Forester, Liberty and Outback, plus a new model for Japan and a few other things, that's a huge amount we're undertaking."

However, if the American market -- with its nationwide adoption of a new federal emissions standard (more here) -- takes to diesels in large numbers, expect a few of Subaru's forward plans to be rescheduled.