(Mon 21 Jan 08)

Subaru will launch its first diesel models - 2.0TD versions of the Legacy Sport Tourer and Outback - to the UK next month.

UK and European Subaru sales have been harmed for some time by the fact that the company has not had a diesel engine to offer. The problem has been that Subaru is absolutely committed to a "boxer" engine layout for its self-designed cars (not including the new Justy, which is a rebadged Daihatsu Sirion).

In a boxer engine, the cylinders are placed horizontally on either side of the crankshaft, giving a much lower centre of gravity than you get in a conventional in-line engine, in which all the cylinders emerge vertically. Several companies have gone for this arrangement (though none recently with quite the single-mindedness of Subaru), but in all car applications the engines have always been fuelled with petrol. Until recently, there was no such thing as a boxer diesel engine.

But now Subaru has developed one. It's a two-litre unit which, for Legacy purposes, develops a maximum of 148bhp. The entry-level Sport Tourer 2.0TD R has a top speed of 126mph, a 0-60mph time of 8.5 seconds, combined fuel economy of 49.6mpg and a 151g/km CO2 rating. The more highly-equipped RN, and all versions of the Outback, are marginally thirstier for various reasons, but they all comes close to the Sport Tourer R's figures.

Subaru also promises that its new diesel cars are unusually quiet. The official moving sound level is 70.5dBA, which Subaru quotes as being less than that of the diesel Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat, and even the decidedly non-diesel Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Prices start at £19,995 for the Sport Tourer R, while the Sport Tourer RE costs £21,995. Outback prices are £21,495 for the R and £23,495 for the RE. In each case there's also an REn model with satellite navigation, costing £1400 more than the equivalent RE.

The diesel engine will start appearing in the Impreza and Forester ranges in the near future. The diesel Forester is expected to become Subaru's best-selling car in the UK.

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