The Little And Large Subaru Show At Geneva

The Subaru Little and Large show came to town at the Geneva Motor Show this week in the form of neat two-seater Subaru R1 mini-car and the huge B9 Tribeca seven seat SUV crossover model.

The ‘little’ R1 has just gone on sale in Japan and is one of their domestic K-class sector cars. Powered by the traditional 660cc petrol engine the R1 in Japan is available with two or four wheel drive. Will it come to the UK? Unlikely said Subaru UK, but never say never. If market forces or customer demands make it viable, then Subaru UK will look at it. Officially it was on the stand to gauge public reaction.

The ‘large’ was the Subaru B9 Tribeca first shown in January at the Detroit Motor Show. This vehicle will be built first of all at Subaru’s Indiana factory and sales to the US, Canada, Brazil and Chilean markets will begin this summer. Subaru UK officials say it is under evaluation for the European markets but sales of Japanese produced versions are likely to be with us in 2007. The estimated UK price would be in the region of £30,000.

Subaru UK sees it as a natural addition to their current four-wheel drive range extending their family of ‘crossover’ Outback and Forester models. It would compete for sales against models such as the BMW X5 or Porsche Cayenne.

The Tribeca uses the platform and 3.0-litre flat-six ‘boxer’ petrol engine from Subaru’s Legacy models. The suspension is changed to give it extra ground clearance for use as a soft-offroader. The large newcomer can accommodate seven passengers.