Japan Car News: Canadians Love Subaru, Honda F1 Woes, Mitsubishi Eclipse Rumors And More

2017 Subaru WRX STI Wins “Best Sports Car” for ALG

Picking up still another award for the latest iteration of the Subaru WRX STI, Subaru took top honors at the ALG Canadian Residual Value Awards, making six wins in nine years for the same category.

Doubling down on last year’s success for a year over year win, Subaru also won “Best Mainstream Brand”, which is its third year straight taking the top honors. CEO and President of Subaru Canada Inc. has this to say Shiro Ohta:

"Being named Best Mainstream Brand in the 2017 ALG Canadian Residual Value Award, for the third year in a row, is further proof of what Subaru owners experience for themselves - a Subaru offers excellent value for the money,"

ALG awarded Subaru the win for their WRX and WRX STI due to the fact that both cars retain their value even after 4 years, something that many sports cars cannot offer due to their values dropping sharply even as they are purchased and driven for the first time. Not so for Subaru, as ALG stated that in terms of versatility, performance, efficiency, and dependability for the price tag, Subaru is hands down the best buy or a sports car.

Thanks to its 2.0L turbocharged boxer four engine that generates 268 hp to an all wheel drive train and manual six speed transmission, the WRX offers plenty of driving fun for its price tag, and those interested in real high end world-class rally performance can opt for the WRX STi model with its 2.5l turbo that puts out an astonishing 305 hp. Many are eagerly anticipating the new 2018 offerings from Subaru, as they are said to offer improvements and tweaks not seen even on the esteemed 2017 models currently available. Hopefully, Subaru can sweep the ALG awards yet again next year.

Toyota Showcases all-new Camry at Cleveland Auto Show

While there is a lot to see on display in the Toyota stand at the Cleveland Auto Show, the stand out car is definitely the new 2018 Camry. Winning best selling sedan year over year for multiple years in a row, the newly redesigned Camry has been eagerly awaited by Toyota fans the world over.

“The all-new 2018 Camry, redesigned its performance meets seduction. It’s truly the most attractive Camry we’ve had in a long time,” stated Teri Mateo, sales manager at Brunswick Toyota.
Unveiling the car earlier in the year, Toyota expects to have new Camrys hitting showroom floors no later than this summer. The new design answers the long time criticism that Camrys are dependable and well designed but not a lot of fun to look at or drive is getting a clapback from the engineering team at Toyota.

“The lines, they have added the lines, for performance because when you drive this new Camry, it is going to be fun. It is going to perform well. You’re going to feel as you’re having fun finally,” Mateo said.

In addition to the radical new styling, Toyota has also added a red interior option for those with more vibrant tastes, and the sportier handling and performance is likely to win over countless new Camry fans to what is usually derided as a boring grandpa-mobile.

Honda ‘won’t reuse’ Problematic Power Uunit After Further Testing Woes

In statement to the press, Honda’s F1 chief Yusuke Hasegawa confirmed that the power unit responsible for two engine swaps in a two day period will no longer be used during the current test round of the F1 pre-season due to ongoing technical issues.

McLaren driver Fernando Alonso first ran into trouble at the outset of the first F1 test of the pre-season, forcing him to drop out after 29 laps. Further issues dogged driver Stoffel Vandoorne when he took over the helm of the MCL 32 as well.

The two engine changes in as many days has left Honda uncertain as to the root causes of their engine trouble. Hasegawa made it clear that the engine won’t be used further until a full investigation has been completed:

“After completing 29 laps, we lost power to the PU. Our priority was to minimise the loss of track time and continue with our testing programme, so we took the decision to change it. We know we had a mechanical issue and we will not be reusing the power unit for this test, but we'll have to investigate fully to identify the cause.

“Stoffel was back out on track by late afternoon and we were able to recover our schedule. Of course, it was disappointing to encounter further problems today, but tonight we'll carry on our hard work to make further progress for Fernando's session tomorrow.”

Vandoorne did eventually complete a total of 40 laps, but Team McLaren has now only racked up a total of 69 laps, which does not even account for the total distance of the Spanish Grand Prix. Team Mercedes, on the other hand, dominated the track with its 320 lap test over two days.

Despite the setbacks during this test, team owner Eric Boullier is fully confident that McLaren can hurdle these obstacles that have cropped up since McLaren re-established its relationship with Honda in 2015, and the they will still perform as a major contender this season.

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Unveiled Early Ahead of Geneva Auto Show

In keeping with its current trend of developing and marketing SUV concepts, Mitsubishi has at long last revealed an SUV that is headed for showrooms.

The new Eclipse Cross is positioned in the product line between the compact Outlander Sport and the mid-size Outlander, and it is poised to take the stage next week at the 2017 Geneva Auto Show. An apt description would be a sportier design focused option to larger and heavier Mitsubishi SUVs.

Sporting the XR-PHEV styling concepts from 2013, the front face has a more aegis-like appearance while the rear has higher tail lamps than prior designs. Inside, Mitsubishi has added sweeping horizontal lines accented in silver and black with a heads up display over the steering wheel and a tablet-like center console interface.. Rear seats also feature a 60:40 split for easy fold-down and versatility.

The powertrains on tap have been announced as a turbocharged gasoline 1.5 liter inline-4 and a diesel 2.2-liter diesel, both of which will be paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission. All wheel drive will also be standard on this model. While the Eclipse Cross will not hit showroom floors much before 2018, there is already a great deal of buzz regarding this newest Mitsubishi to bear the Eclipse name.

Rumors abound as to whether or not this will be the ultimate replacement for the AWD Lancer Evolution in Mitsubishi's lineup, but that will most likely only be announced next week in Geneva or further down the road once more information has been confirmed about the Eclipse Cross.

War of the Hot Hatch: Suzuki’s Baleno RS vs. the Fiat Abarth Punto

Suzuki is all set for their first skirmish into the performance vehicle segment with the launch of the new Baleno RS this week. The new Baleno is poised to go toe-to-toe with longstanding champs like the Fiat Abarth Punto and the VW Polo GT. Of the two cars, the Baleno seems most directly opposed to the Punto, so let’s see how the two stack up:

Since the Baleno is an RS, the stance is far sportier and aggressive than most of Suzuki’s offerings, and it features bi-xenon projector lamps in the front end as well as power-operated ORVMS. It will also feature a number of dashboard updates and SmartPlay infotainment systems to work with Apple CarPlay and similar mobile integration features.

The Abarth Punto has the loud and proud Scorpion logo on the hood as well as side body graphics, aero skirts, and accent color wing mirror caps. Internally, the black upholstery is contrast stitched with both red and yellow to give it the Abarth signature look. Additionally, this Punto will come standard with ABS and a 5-inch SMART TECH AVN, racing inspired instrument cluster, automatic climate controls, and rear passenger AC vents.

Overall, both are phenomenal offerings in their segment, and the model that dominates will clearly be whichever offers the most performance versus cost. Currently the Fiat Abarth leads by about 45 bhp, but that doesn’t mean that Suzuki will not offer a performance tier that sports a peppier engine and perhaps a turbocharger. TIme will tell which ends up with greater popularity in Asian and European circles, but adding performance compacts is never bad for drivers who want some performance on a budget.