Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Exiga - we review Subaru's MPV

Last Saturday, SengkangBabies were invited to
test drive Subaru's MPV - Exiga. Cool !!

This project offers a joyride, and we can also share our review.


Exiga - Excites 7
We like this slogan, as it is catchy and it rhythms.


How does Exiga fulfills our requirement?
As we are amateur reviewers, we will only focus on :
- comfort (driver and passengers)
- performance
- utility
- safety

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ back to the showroom ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

At Motor Image's Toa Payoh showroom, Wei and Kang wasted no time exploring the display cars. Wei likes Rally Wrx, and Kang like Forrester.


There are two variants of Exiga, the normal 2.0i, and 2.0GT (Turbo)
The blue coloured Exiga is the Turbo variant.

Unfortunately, Subaru do not allow Turbo test drive...
Unofficial Subaru policy - Turbo performances are guaranteed, no test drives are necessary :p

Posing with Blue Turbo Exiga,
we fell in love with the moon roof, which offers panoramic view.

This Beige Exiga is our courtesy car for the day.

Exploring the car, inside out, upside down.
We try out the radio, seats unfolding, and the kids had fun trying
to hide from Daddy's camera.

The console is pretty standard.. but dashboard feels a little "plastic".
Daddy is sure Subaru can afford to spruce some attention on creature comfort.



Are we ready? Sengkang Babies fall in.
- front - Daddy and Wei
- second row - Kang and Yi
- third row - Mummy and Xin

Look at our children, all secured and eager to move off.


Ride was spacious, but Daddy feels car is under powered.
Daddy has to step harder (or tune to Sports mode) to nudge our Exiga to go faster :p

Ride ambience was good, and we could not detect too much road noise.

Utility and space is generous. With some MPVs,
there will not be much space left, after all seats are occupied :p



In Japan, Exiga scores well for Safety and are awarded 5*.
You may refer to JNcap's report below.



Every parent would appreciate this extra safety assurance from their car maker.


What do we like about our Exiga ?
- generous storage compartment
- car interior is more spacious than it looks
- third row passengers sits high (individual preference)
- although no aircon vents at the third row, but cool air can reach passengers
- car ride emphasizes on passenger comfort

... for Turbo variant :
- Turbo !

- Moon roof
- no complains :p


What can be improved?
- steering is a bit stiff
- pickup feels sluggish (will not be an issue with 2.0GT)


Summary :
Around this price range from $100k to $120k, SubaruExiga is competing with other popular MPVs like HondaStream, ToyotaWish, Mazda5, and CitroenGrandPicasso.
Click here for Exiga datasheet.

In our own opinion, Exiga 2.0GT ( at $135k) has more to offer
and can smoke out (pun intended) the crowd :

- outstanding safety assurance in car build
- 225 horse power !
- a stylish car (with moon roof)
- a car less common then "Toyota Wishes" and "Honda Streams" :p



Video : now you know why Exiga 2.0GT clocks 7.4s for century sprint


Kids : Ask Mummy go buy 4D tonight ok

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Genna and Jessie from MotorImage for offering this review opportunity. We enjoy ourselves along the way, and more importantly, we had Fun !

** above Exiga pictures are taken from Subaru_Japan or MotorImage
If you see moon-roof, or air-scoop, those are the Turbo variant of Exiga.

2 comments:

  1. Nice post! Thanks for sharing. Currently driving one as well. Unfortunately, it's sold as a 6 seater in Australia in order to maintain Subaru Australia's 5 star safety. The middle seat of the 2nd row seats is removed as it doesn't equipped with a whip lash seat belt. Still great after all.

    Cheers,
    Joseph
    From Melbourne.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for dropping by Joseph. I did not know AU has stricter regulations than Japan.

    ReplyDelete