Subaru South Africa can no longer deny that its local models urgently need the EyeSight driver assist systems following a number of international awards recognised its impact on safety.
New Subaru Impreza could arrive in SA in 2017
Models like Impreza, Legacy and Outback received the top rating in Advanced Safety Vehicle++ in the 2016 Japan New Car Assessment Program.
Subaru has maintained an indelible safety record in the past but as competitors unleash waves of autonomous pre-collision systems, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for Subaru’s passive systems to keep pace. The scoring system has seen several revisions from traditional tensile strength, airbags, deformation and electronic stability controls and now makes provision for a host of new criteria.
Subaru’s Eyesight system deploys sensors and radars around the car to enable functions like Lane Departure Warning, Active Brake and Active Cruise Control. The only problem for Subaru is that we’ve been using these in other carmakers for the last few years… Subaru will need to bring something new to the proverbial table.
All tested Subaru models won the highest possible ASV++ rating: Forester scoring 69.5 points, Impreza scoring 68.9 points with Legacy and Outback tied on 68 points .
The upcoming 2017 Subaru Impreza has been nominated for World Car of the Year and is under consideration for South African debut early in 2017.
We’ll keep you informed
