channel antilock systems (ABS), most with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD). ABS helps to prevent wheels from locking up under emergency braking. This active feature is not intended to shorten braking distances, but rather to allow steering control. A sliding front wheel provides no directional control – it just slides forward. A rolling front wheel lets the driver steer away from trouble.
ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN – SUBARU SYMMETRICAL ALL-WHEEL DRIVE. All Subaru vehicles have horizontally opposed (boxer) engines that are fuel-efficient, low in emissions and powerful. Horizontally opposed engines have a flatter profile than in-line or V-type engines. That helps to lower the vehicles’ centers of gravity, which has positive effects on handling and resistance to rolling over. Subaru is one of only two vehicle manufacturers that build boxer-type engines for the U.S. market; the other is Porsche.
Engine performance also enhances safety, because it allows the driver to accelerate away from trouble in some situations. Subaru vehicles have good power-to-weight ratios, which improve acceleration – especially with the turbocharged and six-cylinder engines.
All-wheel drive (AWD) provides motive power to all four wheels. Four wheels fighting for traction are much better than two. AWD improves performance in all weather conditions – even in dry climates.
With the Boxer engine laid out longitudinally in the vehicle and AWD, one side of a Subaru power train mirrors the other. That’s what makes it symmetrical, balancing the vehicle and adding to driver control.
FOUR-WHEEL INDEPENDENT SUSPENSION. Each of a Subaru vehicle’s four wheels is suspended independently from the one opposite. Each responds to road surfaces without being tied into what the other wheel is doing. That means the wheels are more likely to be in contact with the road surface and maintaining traction – for greater control in steering, accelerating and braking.
VEHICLE DYNAMICS CONTROL (VDC). Standard on the Subaru B9 Tribeca and the Outback VDC Limited Wagon, VDC is a stability-control system. When VDC senses that the vehicle is sliding due to understeer or oversteer, it will manage individual wheel braking and reduce engine power to help correct the slide – adding to driver control.
TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM (TPMS). This system measures air pressure in the vehicle’s tires and alerts the driver via a warning light if pressure has fallen below a safe level. Proper inflation is important to the vehicle’s consistent handling. TPMS is standard on the Subaru B9 Tribeca and six-cylinder Outback models.
OTHER ACTIVE-SAFETY FEATURES. Besides engine and chassis features, others play a part in active safety:
PASSIVE IMPACT PROTECTION
Passive-safety features don’t play a part in protecting a vehicle’s occupants until an impact occurs. Some of these features, like crumple zones and air bags, are not visible unless utilized. Others, like seatbelts, should be a part of every trip in your Subaru.
The word passive shouldn’t imply that these features and systems are slow. They have to react in fractions of a second to provide the award-winning protection of which they’re capable. Also, passive-safety features are designed to work together as a system to help protect vehicle occupants.
SEATBELTS. All Subaru vehicles have height-adjustable, three-point front seatbelts. By adjusting to an occupant’s height, the seatbelts provide improved protection. Three-point belts, which help to prevent a person’s torso from lurching forward, are standard for all seating positions.
The front seatbelts also have pretensioners with force limiters. In an impact, the pretensioners’ control unit signals them to reel in slack in the seatbelt, which helps to hold occupants in place, allowing air bags to be more effective. In impacts of sufficient force, devices in the pretensioners called force limiters unwind the seatbelts a little to help prevent injuries caused by the belts themselves.
AIR BAGS. Depending on the model, front, side-impact and side-curtain air bags inflate upon impact to help protec