Subaru has built the world's first flat four-cylinder diesel for production cars. Europeans have been driving it in the Legacy and Outback since January, and in about a month, after the Paris Auto Show, they'll have it in the new third-gen Forester, too. Americans...well, we'll have to wait, but we could get the boxer-diesel Forester sometime in 2010. If, that is, Subaru gets the message (wink wink) that American buyers are seriously interested.
Yesterday I drove the new Forester 2.0D through the idyllic rural roads of Austria and neighboring Slovenia, and it's an appealing piece indeed. The boxer diesel is essentially an all-new engine, sharing its bore centers with Subaru's 3.0L gas six (to help reduce machining costs) but otherwise made mostly of unique parts. The twin-cam, four-cylinder mill displaces 2.0L, feeds off a common-rail fuel-delivery system, and breathes via 16 valves and a variable-nozzle turbo. Output is 145 hp at 3600 rpm but the engine makes a manly 258 lb-ft of torque at just 1800 rpm (compared with 226 lb-ft for the Forester's 2.0L turbo gas engine).
First Drive: 2010 Subaru Forester 2.0D
Ford Mondeo Individual Package Launched in Paris Motor Show
The Ford Mondeo Ghia and Titanium models are getting a touch of exclusivity with Ford Europe's new Individual program. First introduced on the S-Max, the Individual program is making its Mondeo debut in Paris following a well received design study at 2007 Frankfurt Show.
The most prominent feature of the package is the luxurious leather trim on the seats, armrests, door panel inserts, gear shift gaiter and handbrake gaiter. The leather consists of high quality nappa and grained leather with ‘hand-stitching’ effect or an eye-catching cross-stitch, for additional style and embossed with the Ford ‘Individual’ signature.
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