Subaru Exiga Concept

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What is it?
Subaru Exiga Concept

What's special about it?
Japanese consumers have more appreciation for wagon-shaped people movers than we do, and that's exactly what the seven-passenger Subaru Exiga is. If it had sliding rear doors, we'd be calling it a minivan. It wouldn't be an American-size minivan, of course, since it has about the same footprint as the U.S.-market Subaru Outback wagon.

Its 108.3-inch wheelbase has 3 inches on the Outback, which explains how Subaru was able to squeeze in an extra row of seating. We still wouldn't call the accommodations spacious, given that the Exiga is still almost 4 inches narrower than our Tribeca crossover SUV. To distract occupants from this reality, Subaru designers came up with an upscale interior treatment that includes blue-backlit displays and a multimedia system that includes rear- and sideview cameras and DVD entertainment. The fold-down tray tables in the second row were obviously installed with children in mind.

The power source for the Exiga is the familiar 2.0-liter turbocharged, horizontally opposed four-cylinder used in all Japanese-market Subaru Legacys. A five-speed automatic transmission drives all four wheels through the manufacturer's most advanced VTD ("Variable Torque Distribution") all-wheel-drive system. Like the Tribeca, the Subaru Exiga concept has a front strut/rear double-wishbone suspension. The wheels measure 19 inches, though they're wrapped in unusually skinny 225/45 treads.

What's Edmunds' take?
Although vastly more attractive than the Tribeca, the Subaru Exiga won't be large enough to satisfy most American families. However, a production version would match up quite well to the Japanese-market Honda Odyssey, which is similar in size and design. — Erin Riches, Senior Content Editor