Sunday, January 23, 2011

Should Subaru sell the Trezia in the U.S.?

So here's the new Subaru Trezia, the latest Subaru subcompact. It's going to be on sale in Japan and Europe in 2011. Yes, it's based on the Toyota Verso, but it is going to be sold as a Subaru. It will be sold with an AWD option, too. FYI, the car is the size of a Honda Fit.

Subaru has previously said that it won't enter the B-segment in the U.S. However, this might make for a great entry-level Subaru (even though it's mostly Toyota). However, would Subaru owners be willing to buy something smaller than an Impreza, or are Subie owners content with the size of the Impreza and larger?

I would be be willing to guess that here in Portland—the Subaru capital of the U.S. (if not the universe)—it'd sell well. Then again, Portland is a microcosm of the car buying society. What do you think? Should Subaru enter the B-segment with the Trezia?

7 comments:

Chris said...

I think Subaru needs this in their US lineup. They're last B-segment car was the Justy. With raising gas prices and changes in consumer preferences I think it will do alright as a niche vehicle. AWD is also a plus.

Josh M. said...

As long as it's priced to compete with other small AWD cars (IE: SX4) they might have chance...AND, as long as they market the damn thing.

If they do both of those things it could do well and may even drive people to look at other options (IE: SX4) and help sales with those models as well.

TUCB said...

The problem with subaru is that they are expensive. Their cheapest model is the Impreza and it starts at 20K (canadian). If they were able to offer this subcompact for a competitive price (including AWD), I'd seriously consider it. By competitive I don't mean 17k with AWD. That's a bit much for a subcompact and I'd go with an Elantra instead.

Since this is a Toyota at heart, it won't have subaru's own AWD which makes it a bit less attractive. Not that transverse based AWD suck.

murphyseanm said...

I say as long as it is offered in AWD then they should go for it. Subaru is more of a niche automaker and if they offered it in AWD only like the rest of the line up and started it around 15-16K then it could be competitive. I would look at getting it even.

AccentPlanetDotOrg said...

If they dont, then Subaru has lost their minds, Andy.

Andy Lilienthal said...

Hmmm ... '12 Justy?

I think if Subaru could price it right, they might bring in a new crowd of buyers. We'll see.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, the definitely need to sell it here.

Mitsubishi needs the Colt.

Suzuki needs the Swift.

They all need them here NOW before prices go up.