Having recently set tongues wagging with a preview of its sporty BRZ concept, Subaru has now given us a taster of another of its Tokyo Motor Show stars: the Advanced Touring Concept. This shapely station wagon could well be a strong indication of what we can expect from the next-generation Legacy…
Normally, Subaru and the term “good-looking car” are seldom acquainted with one another, but it seems that the company’s latest clutch of newcomers and concepts are turning the tide. The Advanced Touring Concept does away with the current Outback’s raised station wagon/crossover packaging and adopts smaller proportions of 4 580 mm in length, 1 840 mm wide and 1 430 mm high.
The Advanced Touring Concept features Subaru’s new "Confidence in Motion" design language – a sportier shape incorporating sculpted bumpers, strong character lines and a narrow glasshouse. There are definite hints of Audi about this clean design – especially at the nose, which features angular headlamps that taper towards a single-piece grille.
While many of the exterior elements have the potential to viably translate into the production car, the interior is pure flight-of-fancy stuff. Four highly stylised bucket seats sit in a cabin featuring lashings of wood and aluminium trim, as well as a central spine that bisects the passenger compartment. Among the technological highlights are a steering wheel-mounted sat-nav screen, an infotainment system with Internet access and Eyesight – Subaru’s own collision avoidance system that utilizes twin cameras in the rearview mirror to identify pedestrians and cyclists.
The Advanced Touring Concept will feature an all-new 1,6-litre powerplant mated with a CVT ‘box. This turbocharged horizontally-opposed four-cylinder engine will feature direct fuel injection and will find its way onto a number of upcoming Subaru products. In this concept, a single-motor hybrid motor fed by lithium-ion batteries augments the 1,6-litre mill. In true Subaru tradition, power is sent to all corners via a reworked version of the company’s symmetrical all-wheel drive system. According to Subaru, this setup will provide power outputs in line with its current 2,5-litre flat-four but with far better emissions and fuel economy.
The Advanced Touring Concept will star alongside the BRZ at the Tokyo Motor Show from 2 December.