Plus, they had all the creature comforts you really need (including easily swapped stereos), without all the extra "safety" features that if you really need, you shouldn't be driving. Simpler = more reliable.
I know. People these days prefer more jacked up cars with a bunch of gizmos that might confuse some people n might not use rather than sporty personal rides like the svx.....not exactly exciting, but some of the suv/xovers these days are nice like urus, pug 3008, chr, hrv n more....
+Mr. White That's the deal breaker? I wanted one until I found out they only came with an automatic. I found one on Craigslist with a swapped 5 speed today and am going to check it out tomorrow. Hence the watching SVX videos haha.
Had a neighbor with a 92. It was strange, expensive and he had a TON of trouble with those windows, especially in the winter time. It also always sounded like a typewriter that needed oiling at idle. But like most Subarus, it's AWD system made it a really gem in the snow, as we lived at the bottom of a hill long known for trapping everybody who didn't have a 4wd truck in their houses. He rarely got stuck. Last time I saw 1, it was booted in Chicago. Apparently someone gave up on trying to keep it going!
Ya, the BRZ is not as aerodynamic. And especially those much larger, because they have 4-doors instead of 2, STIs with those giant wings on that back...
The front end is kind of saab-like; which is a good thing.. Overall it does look like something citroen would have made; also a good thing. The window within a window design is awesome. I love unique cars and this has to be the coolest Subaru ever 😊
One of the greatest of the Japanese bubble cars. If they had pushed the technology (and the price) it could have gotten a better 5-speed automatic transmission. But it is still a classic. The Giugaro design has stood the test of time.
That 4 speed auto sapped a lot of power out of the engine and made the acceleration numbers look pretty pale. A manual would've definitely improved times considerably.
I bought one when they first came out , Very quiet , reliable and fast . Went over 100,000 miles with just routine maintenance . My first Subaru and for me the best 😊👍🏿
I would never have thought a car designed with 'bubble windows' would look good. But Subaru really pulled it off with the SVX. I remember really liking it back when I was a kid, way back in the early 90s. And Maxi Priest at 6:30!
My favorite Car (that I've owned) of all time....Living in an area with winding roads, this Car never let me down and I could take any turn at any speed....Stuck to Road like Glue....and the 3.3 would move! Very Comfortable! I Miss This Car Ever Day! I had the '94 in Laguna Blue Pearl - Beautiful!
These never sold well in the UK, but I had a mate that had one back in the early 90s. Smooth thing it was, effortless highway acceleration, but slow off the line. Used as a grand tourer, it does it's job well. It was never meant to be a 'fast' car, and it handled corners pretty well, though not like my DC2 Type R I had at the time, but of course that Honda was an awful daily driver. Considered somewhat of a dud in the UK, they are a solid used buy for someone that just wants a motorway cruiser for long distance driving. And the engine under the bonnet is gorgeous.
skirmich Really? Because companies like Nissan and Subaru put "manual shifting" on CVTs. C. V. T. As in the gearless transmission. "Manual shifting" is still a gimmick today.
Got a 1996 JDM SVX with S4 trim, right hand drive, driving in Toronto. Sitting in traffic is never lame anymore, people love it, taking pictures, engaging small talk right on the road. Its always a smile, a thumbs up, or a face with mouth wide open. Its a topic for small talk in a very mundane moment, something different, something practical, something interesting yet weird and unusual. No one trying to race me, rarely people pass me, they just match the speed and stare with a slow breaking out smile. Everyone should enjoy their car this way, positive vibes machine. Sounds very boss too.
The what is it questions are actually a Plus! I loved when I had one of these... People wondered what the hell is that. My Soobie. I loved that car to bits. Unfortunately crashed it to bits as well.
Subaru actually had one sexy ass looking car back then, they make nothing but dull boxes today (with a rare exception of the STI). I mean its not that hard to make a decent looking car but they make some ugly turds year after year. I think their sales would go up if they just make sexier looking cars that were more eye appealing! Damn the 90's were good for cars!
I was with Subaru at the time and by 95 I'd heard rumors of twin turbo, 5 speeds in Japan. Would've been an incredible car. They were right though, people in the US had no idea (okay, most people) Subaru made some of the best performance cars in the world in the mid 90's. Much like Corvettes, those that owned SVX's bought another. I loved them, but they were so filled with electronics (much like the Eagle Premiers) that they had most owners in the shop quite often for fixes. Didn't stop them from buying another though. I had an all Red one as a demo. We polished the wheels to look like chrome and it was absolutely stunning. I would loved to have bought it, but customers come first. I still miss it today and I've driven a lot of cars. Last thing; when you were under full throttle the engine sounded like an Indy car or a normally aspirated Porsche at 7000 RPM. What a sweet sound.
They were much quicker then what motorweek shows because they're heavy cars so even though it's an awd car it will lose time off the line due to its weight but when ur street racing 30mph roll this car gets to 90 really quick. U owner 92 and like u said u drove many many cars since and nothing compares to svx. It felt so stable, it hugs to road and it handled so well. Cornering speeds were incredible. Too bad the automatic tranny couldn't handle all the torque and it eventually broke.. they said that differential was overheating causing the transmission to break.. I think Subaru should make another SVX. Lexury GT Coupe. It could compete vs infinity and Lexus. But I doubt Subaru will ever do that.
+Jasko CR The sporty Japanese coupe market segment really died with the rise of the SUV. Infinity and Lexus manage to move some luxury/performance coupes, but they do it partly on brand association and prestige. If Subaru made another SVX, it would likely be an incredible machine no one buys. Most people with $50k+ to spend on a car want the neighbors (who know nothing about cars) to recognize their status, hard to do that with a Subaru.
354 differential does cause the failure of the transmission, but is the reason why the car is so fast and responsive. You can put 444 gears out of an Outback, straight fit bolts on, but the car is completely different. Reliable but slow.
True but i think witb today's technology and the way manufacturers are able to squeeze 300+ hp from 4 cylinder engine, Subaru would easly get close to 400hp from 6 cylinder engine plus it maybe a hybrid because remember SVX was ahead of its time. New SVX would most likely be the GT car thats very affordible and SVX would defenitley bring something new to the table. The market for GT cruiser is so wide open that I dont think SVX would have to target a specific group of buyers but to enthusiasts SVX would be a great choice because Subaru has what it takes to make a come back with SVX. btw this is jasko with my brothers google account.
Tim Hammett yeah my 2001 Legacy GT-B is a twin turbo. Not a perfect system, but I haven’t had to repair anything related to it in the 40,000KMs I’ve driven it up to 165K. They made so many of them in Japan it’s a really good deal of an import, got mine for $5500 Canadian fully landed and registered.
I Tried to buy one of these off the lot when they came out,..The dealership couldn't get my loan approved,..I left went straight to the Nissan Dealership and rolled out with a brand new 300ZX. Still wish I could have owned one of these,..you sure don't seen them on the road anymore
+ROCKO633 I own a 1992 SVX LSL. Let me tell you it is absolutely awesome (once you get past the transmission replacement/upgrade. lol) Mine as 89k miles and its just a dream. There's definitely some for sale but you just gotta find em.
Will M. 240sx Are awesome cars Ive owned 3 I had a 90 and 2 93`s,..In the curves it was faster than my 300. Ive been sick ever since I`ve been sick ever since I traded mine in
They really shit the bed on describing what the manual button is for. (It's not for 'shifting manually through the gears'). It's to manually put the lowest gear in 2nd instead of 1st for better traction in snow. Maybe they should have read the manual ahahaha
Damn this car right here was the pinnacle of Subaru.... If this thing had a Twin Turbo Setup? MY GOD! it is basically timeless and a collectible for sure.. Fuck the new Subarus this is the Subaru to own...
He's actually owned by GM and they give him a mid-cycle facelift every 3.5 years whilst keeping the basic chassis and internal components the same for decades.. Keeps sales up and minimises costs, see.
GM is able to keep his looks fresh while simultaneously giving him a smooth ride. Despite his sluggish speed, he's able to perform quite nicely from 0-60 and maintain a 25 highway mpg. His clothes are not very stylish and remain something to be desired. But if you're looking for something cheap yet practical, he's your best bet.
Does he? He has less hair today and the hair he does have is short and gray. The diplomatic way of saying it is "more distinguished." Whatever...John has been doing MW for coming on four decades. He's a legend. These old videos, which remind me of my childhood and youth, are treasures.
+Kalin Russ I've never of heard of him. Now I'm a fan. I found the song in the SVX; it's "Close to You". I'm going to look at an SVX tomorrow. If I buy it Maxi Priest - Close to You is the first song that comes out of the CD player. I still have a cd burner haha.
I’m looking at buying a 97 model that just recently got manual swapped, I wanted to find a video like this I’m glad MotorWeek still has it! Thank you John Davis!
@@cordiasr7021 No Sportscar should come with automatic. Manual would not only make it over second and a half faster but also lighter and more fun in general. 6.5-7s to 100km/h would be more than respectable, add a turbo on top and it would be up there with everyone else with sub 6 maybe even sub 5 seconds times. Subaru just does the darnest things with their cars always being a hair from perfection and messing it up spectacularily by just not doing 1 simple thing that would make the car much better. Like later with Levorg whivh was pretty much a wagon WRX, but they didnt sell it in the us and never offered a manual option even tho its same exact chassis as WRX and STi from the same period. Its just peak shortsightedness or laziness. All it would take is to take the forklift from one end of the factory with manual transmission and wrx ECU and get it over to Levorg line and wrote and tiny update in the canbus system and voila, it could be sold world wide as a performancy wagon, but no...
I had one for a few years. A 92. Absolute attention grabber! Turned me into an instant Dicaprio! Excellent performance, comfort and ergonomics. Only the weak transmission made me get rid of mine. I'd have another now in instant
If they would have put a pair of turbos on that flat six making at least 300hp if not closer to 350hp and offered a manual transmission, these suckers would be legendary.
Turbo setup was in development, but would have cost too much to produce. They were already selling them for less than the cost of building them. A full turbo conversion is being developed currently and is expected to boost power to 350hp and cost ~$2,800 without heavy modification to the body or crash structure. Supposedly, at the time it was produced, Subaru didn't have a manual gearbox that could reliably hold the power and torque put out by the 3.3, then the most powerful engine they had put into production, and as a luxury touring model aimed at the U.S. they felt it unnecessary to develop one at the time. I have a WRX 5-speed going into my '92 this summer to remedy the latter issue. Not sure I really want more power out of it, there's something to be said of being able to use more of a car's maximum potential on a regular basis rather than having to bottle most of it up most of the time. That said, the automatic is a lazy pig of a slushbox, and swapping it out by itself will be saving a respectable amount of weight.
I love this car especially in two-tone pearlescent white and black, they had reliability problems though. The transmission would fail, it's the same one in the Mitsubishi 3000GT, it would overheat. Other problems include rack and pinion steering going bad and other things. The design of this car is one of my favorites of all time.
I remember making my Dad go test drive one of these when they first came out just so I could ride in it! 😁 I remember it handled really well, he took the exit ramp at around 65mph!
In '91 I narrowed my choices for a new car down to 2.....the SVX.....and the Taurus SHO. The Ford's ease of service and an incredible dealer discount ruled out the SVX. I still admire the Subaru's unusual design.
I had a Pearl White 91' and loved it till last year when it left us. Fun Fact: the body was designed by the same people who did the DMC-12 (DeLorean). If you had the All Wheel drive version, it was cursed by the 4EAT transmission used in it from the Nissan Pathfinder. It cost me $3200 every time it went out.
Only people who own one of these know how good they are. I owned many cars since and non of them was as stable and had as good of a road holding and handling as SVX. Build quality felt excellent. Transmission was its weak point but if u didnt abuse it, it could do 200K miles. The problem is, the power felt so good with AWD and people abused the heck out of it and when tranny blew up, of course it was cars fault because people rarely ever take the blame. But overall SVX was exellent car from my personal experience
I owned one. Bought it new. Fully loaded. They were correct. First question was always either "what is that" or "That is a Subaru?" It had a top end of 167 mph and I was able to out run most of the V8's at the time. Still a great car even today, but be aware of the leaking rear main seal and subsequent issues with the Trans as you have to replace the entire unit if it goes bad.
I have seen one… had no idea what it was… weird they had the same questions 20 years ago. Lovely vehicle… looks amazing … wish it had a manual transmission
Keep an eye on local Craigslist postings. They usually show up for less than $1,000. They'll usually need a lot of work. Transmission problems were common for the SVX, most people just swap them with Forester/Outback transmissions. Keep in mind, it won't be cheap. If you're serious about buying one, check out the Regular Car Reviews two part episode about the SVX and you'll see a good number of reasons to (and not to) own one.
Nissan was gluing glass to steel at least as early as '89, on the S13 240SX. There was one bolt to locate the super-thin rear triangle windows on the fastback, and the rest was adhesive. Makes it really hard to get spares from a yard.
I had a '91 for 10 years. Beautiful car but really poor utility considering its size. The front seats were great but the back seats, while having enough leg room (barely) that pretty, pretty roof line really killed the headroom. The fold down rear seat was good but the actual trunk space was mediocre and the trunk height was so low that if I had carry something bulky I'd carry it in my 1990 Honda CRX Si. It was kind of like that long-ago girl friend who was drop dead gorgeous but you eventually walked away from. Years later you reflect on her with nostalgia until you remember her glaring deficiencies. Best to leave her in your past and be thankful for the lady you kept
We had one in the 90s, Svx we not into the JGT as the 3000gt vr4 or the 300zx, They r into their own category. Agility n cruising comfortably with style (especially in tight Japanese or Asian roads) rather than attack the lap time on track. That's why they r unique.
I want one, but they are so hard to find. My friend's mom had one and she let us take it out and I was hooked. These are the quirky cars such as the Pontiac Aztec, and I want one of each?
Peder: I'm surprised they sold that many. That said, here in the USA, I haven't seen one in years up until a ~week ago when I saw a really rough one on the back of a private vehicle transporter. I would imagine someone bought it with the intention of restoring it. It might be worth a LOT of money one day, but not in the near future.
And it doesn't help that most people in the Subaru community just look at them as engine donors these days because the auto trans died.. it's not that difficult to put a 5 or 6 speed manual in, they bolt right up to the engine
@Take the red pill That's the rule in Maryland. Unfortunately, a lot of people are taking advantage of this to put historic tags on daily drivers. To me, this is definitely a classic, bit I know that is subjective.
