New performance 2.4T is arriving before year-end.

IT”S a hit for six formatting as a four … that’s the turbocharged 2.4-litre petrol engine for Subaru’s most popular model, the Outback.

Confirmation has come that the engine just arrived in NZ with the latest Subaru WRX performance line will provision from later this year in Subaru’s big sports utility - but with extra muscle.

The addition of the new engine is expected to pick up business that once went to the 3.6-litre six-cylinder petrol engine that ran in the previous generation Outback, but couldn’t continue because it failed to meet economy and emissions expectations.

“We have a queue of people waiting for a more powerful Outback,” Subaru NZ boss Wal Dumper said today, confirming the Outback T model during a media event for the new WRX.

With an expected 195kW and 375Nm, the 2.4-litre as it features in Outback makes much the same power and torque as the defunct six-cylinder choice, which delivered 191kW and 360Nm in its final format, discontinued in 2021.

In the WRX it puts out 202kW and 350Nm in the export format coming here, but 202kW and 375Nm in the Japanese domestic market.

The normally-aspirated 2.5-litre that Outback solely offers presently makes 135kW and 245Nm.

How the turbo engine stands for emissions and economy remains to be fully revealed.

Data Subaru presents for the WRX suggests it will have an optimal return of 8.5 litres per 100km, against 7.3 litres per 100km for the 2.5. That’s with the Lineartronic constantly variable transmission, the sole choice in Outback and also for the WRX in its wagon format.

There might also be a hit in respect to CO2 emissions. Whereas the 2.5’s emissions are 168 grams per kilometre, the WRX data suggests the turbo’s CO2 might be above 192 grams, the point where penalties apply.

In the WRX, Subaru has suggested the CO2 penalty is around $1400 with the Lineratronic transmission – where the CO2 count is 192 grams – and is 205g/km with the manual.

Where the 2.4 will sit in the Outback price structure won’t be shared until the car’s release. As things stand, the sixth generation Outback competes in three specification levels – Outback, Outback X and Touring – that respectively price at $49,990, $54,990 and $59,990.

The 2.4 T might yet become a double act, as Subaru NZ is still chasing a Wilderness model with the same engine.

The announcement allowed Subaru to clarify that a big styling enhancement for Outback that was unveiled in the United States earlier this year is purely for that market. The refresh lends a bigger grille, reworked headlights and different bumpers and gives the car closer styling similarity to the WRX.

Notwithstanding the altered look is staying Stateside, it is not yet clear if technical enhancements also for the US car will avail elsewhere.

The Eyesight system on the US car has a wide-angle mono camera added to the dual-camera set up we know now is to allow an expanded field of view to recognise pedestrians and bicyclists sooner than the standard system when entering an intersection at low speed.

The standard EyeSight system also receives a wider field of view, updated control software and an electric brake booster. Some versions achieve a standard LCD Smart Rearview Mirror display with auto-dimming, compass and Homelink access.

The US car debuts Subaru’s latest Starlink Multimedia Plus system, featuring a vertically orientated 11.6-inch touchscreen and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The display itself has been updated for improved on-screen controls for audio, climate control, X-Mode off-road controls and other vehicle features. The car also will be the first in the Subaru lineup to integrate what3words (W3W) into its navigation system.

W3W is a global location technology that has divided the entire planet up into a grid of squares three metres by three metres big and has assigned each square a unique combination of English words. Remembering and inputting those three words, which represent spots on a map that can be anything from homes to trailheads, is meant to be an easier way to share and recall position information.