In the midst of the hectic Singapore Motor Show week, Subaru organised an interesting side-show for friends of the company and the media to experience its latest lineup. If you have been an avid reader of our site, you might remember that Subaru did something similar last year as well.
Named the Subaru All Round Training (SART), this event allows participants to experience Subaru's EyeSight safety features, the handling and capability of the Subaru Forester through a Gymkhana experience, and the dynamic capabilities of the Subaru WRX driven by professional drivers.
Letting the Enhanced EyeSight 4.0 do its job
Subaru takes pride in its latest Enhanced EyeSight 4.0 system that is found on the new Crosstrek. With the addition of a new wide-angle monocular camera, the system now has three cameras, further improving its ability to detect pedestrians and two-wheelers on the road. The original stereo cameras' lateral coverage has also been doubled.
The Enhanced EyeSight 4.0 is a complete driver assistance suite that includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning with Lane Departure Prevention, qualifying as a Level 2 ADAS semi-autonomous driving technology. While most of the features can easily be tested when taking the car out for a spin, none of us would actually want to try out the Pre-Collision Braking in real-time against another car…
And this is where SART comes in. At this year's event, we got to experience the Pre-Collision Braking feature kicking in when it detected an obstacle. With all the safety assists turned on, I was told to accelerate to 30km/h and drive right towards a board, and the feature is to kick in and bring the Crosstrek to a stop.
On my first try, not knowing how to react, I accidentally gave the throttle a slight jab (instead of reaching for the brakes as anyone would normally do) as the car was slowing almost to a stop, causing it to lurch forward and hit the board - I was told that this occured as the Subaru EyeSight system prioritises driver-initiated actions to give the driver full control of the car without interference.
In the next three attempts, I was told to lift off the throttle pedal right before the board and let the system do its job instead. And these times, the system worked perfectly, stopping the car just in time to avoid mowing down the board. It sure is reassuring to know that there are such systems in place in these cars - you can never go wrong with additional safety systems such as Subaru's EyeSight!
Driving in a tight course, in reverse!
The second activity is a gymkhana experience to let us experience the thrill of driving a car in a tight course. And the vehicle of choice? It's the Forester! It's pretty clear that Subaru is confident about the handling characteristics of its entire lineup - they chose a tall-riding SUV for a performance driving activity.
As the event was held in the confines of Expo's parking lot, the course was a small and simple one, but it did require some quick-turning and a fair bit of driving in reverse. I've got to say that manoeuvring a car in reverse isn't easy! While it wasn't a high speed or complicated course, it showcased the Forester's stability and agility despite its size, weight and ride height.
And it was plenty of fun as well! If only the course was larger and speedier...
An exciting experience in the WRX
This last activity was definitely the highlight for me. We got inside the latest Subaru WRX as passengers and got to experience the ride of our lives in the hands of the professional trainer drivers from Subaru.
While Motor Show goers are enjoying the Russ Swift stunt show, we got to enjoy something in the same vein, albeit a little different! With handbrake turns, high-revs and plenty of steering action, the WRX that we were in was sliding about within the confines of the parking lot. It was like a rollercoaster ride, but even better!
The best part of it all is that we were told these WRXs are all bone-stock from factory, without any modifications done to them.
In all, the SART experience was a pretty fun one, and it did showcased the capabilities and technology of Subaru cars to us. But I think it would be even more enjoyable if the location was larger, and there was a proper gymkhana course for us to properly experience the cars - having to get a go at driving the WRX would definitely be great! Maybe Subaru could even extend the invite to the public to let them experience SART in the future as well!
