From the September 1983 concern of Automotive and Driver.
When was the final time you met any person who belonged to the Subaru Homeowners’ Membership? Know anyone who wears a Subaru racing jacket or hauls round Subaru-monogrammed baggage? Learn any good coffee-table books these days on the Subaru mystique?
What we try to say right here is that the Subaru has but to attain icon standing with the cognoscenti. But its epidemic presence among the many backpackers, the chicken watchers, the Sierra Clubbers, and the no-nukers implies a cult worship unknown in another car-owner physique moreover that of the Saab and the Volvo (each of which, for no rational causes, have been anointed by the guilt-racked higher center class as environmentally accountable vehicles). No less than the Subaru has optionally available four-wheel drive, which have to be on the core of its attraction. It is usually reputed by some to have anvil-like reliability, which is necessary to the environmental collective as a result of its post-Luddite furies might be vented by treating the hated however obligatory vehicles as beasts of burden.
So Subarus run in every single place besides underwater and can plow by way of a snowdrift deep sufficient to stall an M-1 tank. So they’re the official automobile of the U.S. ski workforce. So beneath their faintly weird exteriors cover leathery hearts and wills of iron. So what to all that? The query stays, would you desire a Subaru parked in your driveway?
Reply: In case you are within the temper for some severe, multipurpose, down-and-soiled traction motion, commerce all of your outdated airline coupons, your full assortment of Eddy Howard albums, your library of Annette Haven videotapes, and your season tickets for the Toledo Mud Hens to get your arms on a Subaru GL-10 four wheel drive station wagon mit turbocharger. Aesthetics be damned. The Pals of the Earth be damned. The GL-10 is one slick machine.
Here is what occurred: As it’s possible you’ll know, Subaru (which is a part of Fuji Heavy Industries and has been within the automobile enterprise for less than 25 years) started manufacturing four-wheel-drive wagons in 1976; this newest model has been round for the reason that 1980 restyling. The four wheel drive setup is terrific, particularly when linked to the three-speed computerized. It may be activated by the press of a button on the shift lever with none hub locking, fidgeting with secondary shifters, and so on. It is without doubt one of the easiest four-wheel-drive programs on the planet, however till now there was one main drawback: even with its “massive” 1782 cc engine (a 1595 cc model powers the low-line DL sedans and coupes), the automobile would not pull the lid off a granola field. The usually aspirated 1.8-liter, overhead-valve, flat-four, water-cooled powerplant is rated at 71 hp (53 for the 1.6-liter mannequin) and pulls a most of 93 pounds-feet of torque at 2400 rpm.
The little boxer motor had a repute for being bulletproof, however as soon as the four wheel drive wagon was loaded up for a visit to the mountains, hapless homeowners have been generally required to jettison ski boots, backpacks, and even the odd passenger to get the little wheezer to tug severe grades. Traction with the four wheel drive was terrific—however with an engine too weak to work even on dry pavement, how was anyone going to make it throughout an open area or snowy mountain cross?
Enter that fantastic, exhaust-driven dose of steroids we all know because the turbocharger. The Subaru engineering division went again to the drafting board and attached an L-Jetronic fuel-injection system instead of the outdated two-barrel Hitachi carburetor and bolted on a slick little IHI turbocharger that pumps out seven kilos of increase and raises horsepower to 95.
The change is magical, even with the revalved three-speed computerized, which is obligatory tools with the turbo. (The identical drivetrain, formally often called “Turbo-Traction,” can be obtainable within the BRAT pickup.) Whereas the outdated wagon would amble to sixty in about 17 seconds, the turbocharged automobile will zoom from zero to sixty in 13.7 seconds.
However extra necessary is the midrange efficiency enchancment. With the usually aspirated automobile, passing on a two-lane was usually the place the four wheel drive was most wanted, just because it was all the time potential that you simply’d need to dive onto the alternative shoulder to keep away from oncoming site visitors. Not so anymore. The GL-10 Turbo-Traction will soar from 30 to 50 mph in 6.5 seconds! Extra necessary, it accelerates from 50 to 70 mph in 11.6 seconds! Evaluate that with the brand new child on the block, Toyota’s a lot praised Tercel four wheel drive wagon, which takes 28.Eight seconds to ooze from 50 to 70 mph, and the brand new Subaru is a pocket rocket within the center velocity ranges.
However let’s get one factor straight: the Subaru GL-10 Turbo-Traction wagon, for all its technical aura, will not be a Japanese incarnation of the Audi Quattro. It isn’t the final word sport wagon that lovers have fantasized about ever since Volvo hinted on the idea with its short-lived 1800ES three-door within the early 1970s. In truth, the Subaru turbocharger is used to not improve energy however merely to carry it to acceptable ranges. On this sense, the unit is utilitarian in spirit, as is way of the remainder of the auto, regardless of quite energetic efforts to glitz up the inside with digital devices and energy devices.
Finally, the Subaru GL-10 borders on the schizoid. On the one hand, it presents itself as a gutsy, go-anywhere little firebrand that is able to chug up the facet of Mount McKinley. On the opposite, it gives department-store elevator chimes as a seatbelt warning and such “luxurious” accouterments as energy home windows and mirrors. Someplace in the midst of all this confusion, one would hope to search out some dealing with to accompany the improved energy, however this isn’t the case. Sadly, the added energy of the turbo elevates torque steer to disagreeable ranges. The Subaru wagon is a tall automobile (56.5 inches), and whereas bending it by way of a nook, it feels as whether it is about to flop over on its door handles. This impression is enhanced by its manifestly disagreeable Bridgestone 185/70SR-13 Mud and Snow tires. These tires fall between two stools: they’re too stiff and hard-compounded for regular highway use, too timidly treaded for severe mucking about within the weeds. Add to that the heavy metal Jackman-replica off-road wheels, which look as in the event that they have been stolen from an early Walker Evan pickup, and the on-road dealing with of the GL-10 suffers badly. If Subaru would as an alternative provide higher avenue radials on a set of alloy wheels (which can be found as an choice), the conduct of the automobile in regular driving situations can be enormously enhanced. If an proprietor needed to do some severe work within the woods, he may then mount up a set of massive knobbies and head for the mountains.
Whereas this may sound gratuitous, it may very well be mentioned that “Subaru” and “styling” are mutually unique phrases, as are “army” and “intelligence,” or “English” and “delicacies.” One generally wonders if in truth there’s a Subaru styling division, or if there’s merely a blackboard mounted on a sidewalk outdoors the manufacturing facility the place passersby can scribble solutions. The essential form of the automobile is nice, however by the point it has been gooped up with chrome trim, lights, gold emblems, baggage racks, and a set of completely incongruous white pickup-truck wheels, the impression turns into ruinously busy.
The identical is true of the inside. Like most Japanese small vehicles, the passenger compartment seems to be like a vinyl blister pack. The Subaru insides are relieved solely by inserts of polyester fabric within the seat bottoms. The instrument panel is an ergonomical comedy, with all method of buttons and knobs, plus digital readouts that emit a red-and-green evening glow that resembles a Kmart Christmas show. The seats are marginally comfy, and the general inside lodging are about what you’d count on from an car with a 96.7-inch wheelbase and a 168.7-inch general size.
Regardless of the shortcomings within the dealing with and ornamentation departments, the Subaru GL-10 Turbo-Traction station wagon is one mighty little car. lt’s no accident that this model is the best-selling imported automobile in Vermont, the place icy mountain roads are a lifestyle. Nor are its funky seems to be answerable for its success in New Hampshire, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. Any reservations concerning aesthetic are greater than compensated for by the automobile’s reliability and good-natured enthusiasm for tackling something this facet of an Israeli border station.
At a base worth of $10,300, the turbo wagon is a cut price. Utilitarians may balk on the further $800 for the Turbo-10 bundle, which incorporates energy home windows, a sunroof, cruise management, the aforementioned digital sprint, and a visit laptop, however even at about $11,000, the automobile is bulging with worth. It is no Audi. It is no Tercel. It is no AMC Eagle SX/4. It is pure, undistilled Subaru. And with the information that the turbo will probably be provided for the sedan and the coupe in the course of the 1984 mannequin 12 months, the prospect for possession turns into much more fascinating. In any case, did you ever attempt to ford a muddy stream or navigate a snow-clogged mountain with mystique?
Technical Spotlight
Though Subaru’s new turbocharged 1.8-liter flat 4 is that this firm’s first enterprise into the realm of blown engines, its execution reveals a radical understanding of turbocharged-powertrain fundamentals.
Producing the stress is an IHI RHB-52 turbocharger whose move traits, dimension, and effectivity are ideally suited to engines beneath 2.zero liters. Peak increase is restricted to 7 psi by the turbo’s integral waste gate; ought to it fail, a blow-off valve within the consumption manifold opens above 7.7 psi. The engineers chosen L-Jetronic gas injection (a primary for Subaru) to ship the gas exactly and immediately into the consumption ports, avoiding the lengthy, tortuous consumption passages inherent with carbureted turbo motors. In addition they included a knock sensor within the ignition system to mild off the compressed combination on the level of most effectivity with out concern of harmful detonation. The result’s 95 hp at 4800 rpm and 123 pounds-feet of torque at 2000 rpm, substantial will increase over the naturally aspirated powerplant’s 71 horsepower at 4400 rpm and 93 pound-feet of torque at 2400 rpm.
Few modifications have been required to face up to the trials of this elevated output. New forged pistons scale back the compression ratio from 8.7 to 7.7:1. The piston rings are upgraded, and the temperature is stored beneath management by a bigger radiator, a thermostatically managed oil cooler, and an extra fan.
Subaru fitted taller general gearing (3.70:1 versus 3.90:1) to maximise the brand new engine’s gas effectivity. Nonetheless, to take care of efficiency at low speeds, when increase is minimal, the automated transmission’s first and second gears have been lowered and a torque converter with the next stall velocity (2850 rpm versus 1900 rpm) was fitted. These modifications preserve the turbo motor working in its most effective mode, combining increased efficiency with the identical EPA gas economic system (24 mpg metropolis, 30 freeway) as its naturally aspirated counterpart. The achievement of energy increase with little effectivity penalty is a Subaru unique, inserting the GL-10 among the many elite of the turbocars bought in America. —Csaba Csere
Counterpoint
The Subaru with Turbo-Traction neither handles nor holds the highway in addition to a Porsche 944. This would possibly not stop it from being celebrated as one of the vital helpful and likable vehicles ever constructed by a mixture of people and robots. It makes the Audi Quattro appear like a really quick, very costly, light-reconnaissance car—unsupportably frivolous. It’s the rolling realization of that apparently unattainable dream, “a very good automobile the typical man can afford to purchase.” It’s easy, robust, effectively constructed, comprehensively geared up, and it does issues two-wheel-drive vehicles can’t hope to do. It’s most necessary to keep in mind that the Subaru with Turbo-Traction will not be a superior automobile due to an artificially undervalued yen, or as a result of Japanese employees are paid lower than UAW members and are anticipated to sing the corporate tune each morning after calisthenics. The Subaru is superior as a result of the concepts that led to its creation have been superior. Basic Motors and Ford have spent lots of money and time telling us about “world vehicles.” Subaru has constructed one. —David E. Davis, Jr.
Frequent knowledge holds {that a} automobile’s powertrain smoothness is set by the vibration output of its engine, however this ignores the overwhelming impact of the exhaust system on perceived smoothness. An ideal instance is the brand new turbo Subaru.
Naturally aspirated and turbocharged Subarus share engine mounts and a flat-four engine that’s inherently smoother than an inline 4 of comparable displacement. And but the usual automobile seems like an out-of-balance meat grinder, whereas the turbo model is sort of acceptable.
The distinction is within the exhaust. Each vehicles have related exhaust programs, that are poorly remoted from the physique construction. Nonetheless, the turbocharger causes a complete transformation by emulsifying and flattening the peaks of the person exhaust pulses which can be so strongly transmitted to the inside of the usual automobile. Clearly, in relation to smoothness, exhaust programs do extra than simply take care of scorching air. —Csaba Csere
If I have been marooned on a desert island and will have any four-wheel-drive rig that I needed, I guarantee you it would not be the Subaru Turbo. Turbocharger or no, it does not qualify as a piece of four wheel drive artwork. Tercel four wheel drive wagons are way more refined, S-10 Blazers and Bronco IIs are roomier, and Quattros go away the poor Subaru choking on rubber smoke.
But the Subaru Turbo does have one endearing high quality that units it aside from virtually another car I can consider: it appears to thrive on malevolence. Deal with it like camel dung, and it comes again for extra—wagging its tail, no much less—and asks virtually nothing of you within the cut price.
Since there isn’t any shifting to be carried out and four-wheel drive is just the push of a button away, driver participation is held to a minimal. Potholes that will completely disfigure the entrance finish of a mean RX-7 do not even faze the Subaru, so that you needn’t pay a lot consideration to the place you are aiming it. For all of this, it earns my grudging respect. There’s one thing to be mentioned for a automobile that will not make you are feeling responsible for slapping it round. —Wealthy Ceppos
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