Subaru has laid out in broad strokes its new “Global Platform,” which will form the foundation for all future Subaru models, and the focus is on refinement, safety, and adaptability to alternative powertrains. The Subaru Global Platform will officially debut with a body atop it in the form of the new Impreza compact due later this year, before spreading to other models in the company’s portfolio.
It is important to note that despite the Global Platform’s newness, core Subaru features such as boxer (flat) engines, all-wheel drive, and safety-minded vehicle designs are all being maintained. In fact, the safety element will be expanded greatly with the new architecture, which is designed to achieve “the world’s highest levels of collision safety even in 2025.” High-strength steels and 70-to-100-percent stiffer bodies improve impact-energy absorption by 40 percent over current Subaru models, the company says, and a lower center of gravity is said to improve handling response for better accident avoidance. We must also point out that a lower center of gravity’s handling benefits generally go hand in hand with a fun driving experience when not avoiding crashes. Subaru also claims that by mounting the rear anti-roll bar directly to the body?as opposed to a subframe?body roll will be reduced by 50 percent compared to its current models. The stronger platform also plays into Subaru’s other goals for its future models, includin...