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economist sunstouffiille tribune wheels thursday june 21 2007 2008 outback refines freedom of allwheeldrive at vi llag get a 9ii 25l 175hp 4cyl 6 spd trans 4 wheel disc brakes abs disc brakes intelligent key 1 6 all season tires tilt telescopic steer ing column amfmcd 6 speakers keyless entry nissan advanced airbag system antitheft system push button ignition halogen headlights power outside mirrors sale price the 2007 nissan quest 35l 235hp traction control abs brakes 1 6 all season tires heated mirrors 7 passenger front rear ac pw pl keyless entry vehicle info system grocery bag hooks nissan advanced airbag system antitheft system and more prjce fv vo the 2007 nissan murano sl awd 25l 240hp 6 cyl cvt trans abs brakes 1 8 alloy wheels fog lights bose audio system 225 watts dual zone air conditioning rearview camera nissan advanced airbag system power group anti- theft system and more lease for mth all prices are plus frt pdi leases are based on 24000 kms per year excess km charge at 010 cash or trade down payment required on leases quest v6rg77 aaoo murano l6tg17 ajoo stk 71180 quest requires 5000 and the murano 3300 plus taxes altima t4rg57 aaoo see us for details village nissan 4600 hwy 7 markham 905 4773337 wwwvillagenissancom photo by jim robinson the 2008 subaru outback builds on the success of the brand with a wide range of engines transmissions and trim pack ages for every need outback now only comes in a wagon version because canadians far prefer the added utility by jim robinson metroland media group katsuhiro yokoyama president chairman and ceo of subaru canada told an interesting story at the recent launch of the 2008 outback seems he was coming back from japan and at canada customs the officer asked yokoyamasan where he worked he responded subaru to which the officer said oh thats that australian car company more than a decade after actor paul crocodile dundee hogan almost singlehandedly planted subaru and the out back on the consciousness of north americans the outback remains one of subarus bread and butter vehicles it arguably was also me first crossover utility vehicle the outback is based on the legacy and in truth all sub- arus are centred on one engine the horizontally opposed or boxer with four or six cylinders several different transmis sions and subarus cornerstone the symmetrical fulltime all- wheeldrive awd because of its design and shape the boxer engine can be mounted further down in the engine bay for a lower centre of gravity but the big plus is the driveshaft to the rear axle runs in a straight line from the engine and that means less parasitic power loss with prop shafts angling up or down through universal joints i owned a subaru for almost 10 years and in that time i never had a mechanical problem other than the usual replac ing of brake pads i sold it to my friend and it soldiered on for six more years as a farm vehicle until it was finally donated to a high school what im trying to say here is the concept and execution of the drive train has been refined and improved over the decades much like porsche and i mean that as a serious com parison this is not surprising when you realize subaru has and is a car company founded and run by engineers that subarusdont break is witnessed by the world rally champi onship team that has won three world titles the drivers bend off wheels and crash but the vehicles rarely retire due to mechanical woes this is one company where the lessons learned by racing are directly applied to their road going products because subaru is so small compared to the likes of honda and toyota it has to make the most of what they produce and have in the parts bins using the same basic drivetrain they spin out whole model lines like the impreza legacy wrxsti and forester in addition to the outback then depending on transmission and trim they flesh out each model after that now the next three paragraphs may go into the myriad of outback variants but it is interesting to see what subaru does there are three engine choices with the outback the nor mally aspirated engine is a 25litre fourcylinder producing 170 hp and 170 lbft of torque and is fitted to the 25i model the next is a turbocharged version of the 25litre making 243 hp and 241 lbft of torque found in the 25xt model the third is a naturally aspirated sixcylinder basically the four with two more cylinders producing 250 hp and 219 lbft of torque found in the 30r model the turbos and 30litres have twin cams while the normally aspirated fours coming with an over head single cam to confuse you even more there are three transmissions a fivespeed manual is offered on the 25itouring and 25xt a fourspeed automatic can be found on the 25i touring and limited lastly there is a fivespeed automatic on the 25xt 30r and 30r premier and knowing subaru as i do it probably wont be long before the new 36litre boxer sixcylinder just debuted in the 2008 tribeca crossover works its way into the legacy and out back ranges while there are wagon and sedan versions of the near identical legacy the outback is offered as a wagon only the sedan being dropped for 20q8 yet depending on engine transmission and trim package there are nine ways to order your outback contdonpage4