Subaru Exiga to enter UK market? (UK)

Subaru's latest and newest model, the Exiga minivan may come to the UK.

The Impreza based MPV was launched in Japan in June with a 2.0 litre, 4 cylinder petrol engine and is only available with 7 seats - 2+3+2 seating configuration. Now the company that imports Subarus into the UK, the IM Group, is studying the case for bringing it here; a decision either way should be made by the end of the year. In the UK, the Exiga longer than the Ford C-Max but shorter than the S-Max.

Back at home, the Exiga is offered 146bhp normally-aspirated and 222bhp turbocharged flat-four engines, plus Subaru's trademark symmetrical four-wheel drive.

Since Japan is a RHD market, producing a version for the UK should be relatively straightforward, although only automatic transmissions are available at present and some UK buyers will prefer a manual transmissions.

If the Exiga gets the green light, it would only be available with the four-pot petrol engines, and not with Subaru's new boxer diesel. Subaru already has its hands full meeting demand for the oil-burner in the Legacy; the Forester and Impreza head the queue for supplies after that.