The Subaru SVX Is the Weirdest Subaru Ever
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Date: 2019-10-25
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Comments and reviews: 9
R.J. Bedore
First off, Subaru did make a six cylinder boxer engine before this one for the XT6 sport coupe. The engines in both cases were made by literally adding two cylinders to the end of an existing four cylinder design (the 1. 8L EA82 became the 2. 7L ER27 in the XT6 and the 2. 2L EJ22 became the 3. 3L EG33 in the SVX. Second, the SVX only came with the 4 speed automatic transmission because Subaru did not yet have much experience making a manual transmission capable of handling the torque the EG33 delivered. Though the WRX debuted in 1992 like the SVX and had a manual, it also weighed roughly 800 pounds less. That extra weight combined with the greater low end torque of the SVX's six cylinder engine would have put a lot of stress on the manual transmission during AWD launches, so Subaru went with the 4 speed automatic since it could handle the extra torque, though just barely. Hence the frequent transmission failures the SVX suffered. It also suffered frequent wheel bearing failures, as it was the heaviest car Subaru had ever built up to that point and they didn't have any reference for how much that extra weight would affect things like the wheel bearings.
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First off, Subaru did make a six cylinder boxer engine before this one for the XT6 sport coupe. The engines in both cases were made by literally adding two cylinders to the end of an existing four cylinder design (the 1. 8L EA82 became the 2. 7L ER27 in the XT6 and the 2. 2L EJ22 became the 3. 3L EG33 in the SVX. Second, the SVX only came with the 4 speed automatic transmission because Subaru did not yet have much experience making a manual transmission capable of handling the torque the EG33 delivered. Though the WRX debuted in 1992 like the SVX and had a manual, it also weighed roughly 800 pounds less. That extra weight combined with the greater low end torque of the SVX's six cylinder engine would have put a lot of stress on the manual transmission during AWD launches, so Subaru went with the 4 speed automatic since it could handle the extra torque, though just barely. Hence the frequent transmission failures the SVX suffered. It also suffered frequent wheel bearing failures, as it was the heaviest car Subaru had ever built up to that point and they didn't have any reference for how much that extra weight would affect things like the wheel bearings.
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Bill Weeks
The Subaru SVX was marketed as a luxury sports coupe and not a full-on Autobahn screamer. 230 HP in a luxury sports car that small in 1992 was pretty damn good. We never got the high-powered engines from Japan that the rest of the world got. Subaru has been making flat engines long before the SVX. The dual window is because the larger expanse of glass could not roll down into the much smaller door. And there is in fact an A-pillar under the tinted areas of the glass which you can see at 3: 48. Wouldn't be road legal without it. The sliding seatbelts were not an option to the airbags. Car manufacturers were required to have SRS, Supplemental Restraint Systems that were automatic, hence the sliding seatbelts. A completely separate mandate prior to the airbag mandate because airbag technology was very expensive at the time. Please, know your cars before you review them. I'm sorry I ventured upon this video. I'll be leaving now. You're welcome.
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The Subaru SVX was marketed as a luxury sports coupe and not a full-on Autobahn screamer. 230 HP in a luxury sports car that small in 1992 was pretty damn good. We never got the high-powered engines from Japan that the rest of the world got. Subaru has been making flat engines long before the SVX. The dual window is because the larger expanse of glass could not roll down into the much smaller door. And there is in fact an A-pillar under the tinted areas of the glass which you can see at 3: 48. Wouldn't be road legal without it. The sliding seatbelts were not an option to the airbags. Car manufacturers were required to have SRS, Supplemental Restraint Systems that were automatic, hence the sliding seatbelts. A completely separate mandate prior to the airbag mandate because airbag technology was very expensive at the time. Please, know your cars before you review them. I'm sorry I ventured upon this video. I'll be leaving now. You're welcome.
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SLLYT
Having put more than 90, 000 miles on my 1992 Subaru SVX LS-L, I find this review ill-informed and misleading. The SVX was a GT, a grand touring car, not a sports car. The window within a window allow the front windows to be lowered at highway speeds without inducing turbulence. The result was a quiet cabin. Subaru modified the automatic transmission after the 1992 model year by adding a transmission cooler to improve durability and reliability. The seats were especially comfortable. Visibility was outstanding. The headlights and rear light modules did admit water. Parts are hard to get today. Giugiaro of ItalDesign designed the car's body and interior. Variants were offered in various markets. What is weird, crazy, and odd is Mr DeMuro's speech. His pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar are sophomoric.
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Having put more than 90, 000 miles on my 1992 Subaru SVX LS-L, I find this review ill-informed and misleading. The SVX was a GT, a grand touring car, not a sports car. The window within a window allow the front windows to be lowered at highway speeds without inducing turbulence. The result was a quiet cabin. Subaru modified the automatic transmission after the 1992 model year by adding a transmission cooler to improve durability and reliability. The seats were especially comfortable. Visibility was outstanding. The headlights and rear light modules did admit water. Parts are hard to get today. Giugiaro of ItalDesign designed the car's body and interior. Variants were offered in various markets. What is weird, crazy, and odd is Mr DeMuro's speech. His pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar are sophomoric.
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Michael Girouard
The windows are not mysterious. The designer, Guigiaro, I think, made them that way to reduce wind buffetting at speed with the windows open. It works. Do some homework. It caused a sensation at the auto shows and Subaru gets points for actually producing its pricey Italian design study. I was a devoted Car and Driver reader and the editors liked it a lot, for a Subaru. Oh, so you think Subaru's engineers were bragging on their flat six engine? There was (and still is) only one other manufacturer making an engine like that. You might have heard of them, Porsche, I believe. If Subaru had come from a culture of performance instead of bullet-proof reliability, they might have made that engine spectacular.
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The windows are not mysterious. The designer, Guigiaro, I think, made them that way to reduce wind buffetting at speed with the windows open. It works. Do some homework. It caused a sensation at the auto shows and Subaru gets points for actually producing its pricey Italian design study. I was a devoted Car and Driver reader and the editors liked it a lot, for a Subaru. Oh, so you think Subaru's engineers were bragging on their flat six engine? There was (and still is) only one other manufacturer making an engine like that. You might have heard of them, Porsche, I believe. If Subaru had come from a culture of performance instead of bullet-proof reliability, they might have made that engine spectacular.
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Ross Kramer
The absolute first thing you should have mentioned is that the SVX was designed in Italy by Giugaro, who's split-window design influence appeared on several cars in the 1990s - usually much more exotic cars like Aston Martins. It was a design fad, but you could drive with the windows down without any turbulence. Also, the SVX came in AWD or FWD only. But no RWD option as you mentioned. The SVX was a true oddball but was extremeley unique and clever. I've had nearly 50 cars and the SVX is still one of my favorites. Driving it was an event and you always felt special driving it
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The absolute first thing you should have mentioned is that the SVX was designed in Italy by Giugaro, who's split-window design influence appeared on several cars in the 1990s - usually much more exotic cars like Aston Martins. It was a design fad, but you could drive with the windows down without any turbulence. Also, the SVX came in AWD or FWD only. But no RWD option as you mentioned. The SVX was a true oddball but was extremeley unique and clever. I've had nearly 50 cars and the SVX is still one of my favorites. Driving it was an event and you always felt special driving it
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Brian Sands
This car always fascinated me. I know where a pristine example of one can be found close to where I live. I love seeing it out in the drive on fine days when its owner is caring for it. It is the weird 1990's dark green/blue color of that era. Were it ever to come up for sale, I'd purchase it without hesitation. I would use it exactly for what it was intended for. Touring. I imagine taking long, laid back cruises to places with gorgeous views which I would observe through its fantastic, iconic, unusual windows.
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This car always fascinated me. I know where a pristine example of one can be found close to where I live. I love seeing it out in the drive on fine days when its owner is caring for it. It is the weird 1990's dark green/blue color of that era. Were it ever to come up for sale, I'd purchase it without hesitation. I would use it exactly for what it was intended for. Touring. I imagine taking long, laid back cruises to places with gorgeous views which I would observe through its fantastic, iconic, unusual windows.
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Fernando gomez
Subaru is bad ass and quirky if you can be both at the same time. I owned a 1985 subaru XT turbo, and it was so far ahead of it's time. I believe it was a 1. 8 liter flat 4 turbo with a manual transmission, and was pretty quick not a rocket ship but enough for me at 16 years old. my first car and totally unforgettable. beautiful futuristic lines and the same light bar across the back and not to mention the orange colored digital gauge cluster that thing looked like an arcade game
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Subaru is bad ass and quirky if you can be both at the same time. I owned a 1985 subaru XT turbo, and it was so far ahead of it's time. I believe it was a 1. 8 liter flat 4 turbo with a manual transmission, and was pretty quick not a rocket ship but enough for me at 16 years old. my first car and totally unforgettable. beautiful futuristic lines and the same light bar across the back and not to mention the orange colored digital gauge cluster that thing looked like an arcade game
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Sunday Handwired Amps and Effects
Saturn SL series had airbags and auto belts too. The SL-2, though stylistically birthed from the cargo bay of the USS Enterprise under the command of none less thanCaptain Jean Luc Picard himself, was also a great car of the era. Mine would beat the crap out of my buddys MKII Jetta in the 1/4 mile all night long. Yes. I know. It was all we had. 1994-1996 was an interesting time for street racing in my podunk hometown. Make it so
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Saturn SL series had airbags and auto belts too. The SL-2, though stylistically birthed from the cargo bay of the USS Enterprise under the command of none less thanCaptain Jean Luc Picard himself, was also a great car of the era. Mine would beat the crap out of my buddys MKII Jetta in the 1/4 mile all night long. Yes. I know. It was all we had. 1994-1996 was an interesting time for street racing in my podunk hometown. Make it so
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Michael czaja
I had one of these back in the 90s there's a car company in Oregon called small car dot-com they sell a Kit so you can put a Forester 5 speed manual transmission into the svx it is a completely different car I think they might actually have a turbo kit for it to. I ran studs in the winter time it was a monster in the Deep powder only problem snow would clog the air flow and it would overheat if you didn't pull over and wipe out the build-up.
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I had one of these back in the 90s there's a car company in Oregon called small car dot-com they sell a Kit so you can put a Forester 5 speed manual transmission into the svx it is a completely different car I think they might actually have a turbo kit for it to. I ran studs in the winter time it was a monster in the Deep powder only problem snow would clog the air flow and it would overheat if you didn't pull over and wipe out the build-up.
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