Manual transmission versions of the Subaru WRX and BRZ performance cars will receive an advanced safety upgrade ahead of the deadline for the technology mandate.
Manual transmission versions of the Subaru WRX performance sedan and Subaru BRZ coupe – which account for 30 to 40 per cent of sales for each model – will receive an advanced safety upgrade more than a year ahead of the federal government deadline for autonomous braking technology.
Subaru – which has previously boasted about its safety credentials – last year launched two of its most popular models among rev-heads without including the complete suite of advanced safety technology across all variants.
The safety oversight followed Subaru Australia’s decision to not include crash-avoidance technology across all variants on other models in its range – for example, only three of the six model grades in the Subaru XV line-up came with the full suite of safety systems that have been deemed the bare minimum for the better part of half a decade, and which were standard on cheaper rivals.
But Subaru Australia is now poised to plug a glaring safety gap in its model line-up.
Asked when autonomous emergency braking was coming to manual versions of the Subaru WRX and BRZ – a technology that is standard on a sub-$20,000 Kia hatchback – the boss of Subaru Australia, Blair Read, told Drive: “You will see you that very soon … we expect to announce that within the next six months.
“We are committed to bringing (autonomous emergency braking on Subaru performance cars with manual transmission) to market.
“The manual’s here to stay and we can confirm we’re going to bring that technology to our customers.”
As previously reported, AEB was mandated by federal regulators for all newly-introduced passenger cars sold in Australia from March 2023.
AEB will be mandated on all new passenger cars sold in Australia from March 2025.
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