Subaru shows off Viziv2 concept at Geneva Motor Show

Subaru brought a new concept to the Geneva Motor Show this week, dubbed Viziv2. It's hard to ignore the somewhat alien-sounding name, and it stands for "vision for innovation." And it's the second Viziv concept, Subaru having debuted a similar concept car at last year's Geneva Motor Show. Like the concept that came before it, Viziv2 is meant to preview design language and technologies working their way into Subaru production cars, and we can already see a resemblance between the 2015 Subaru Legacy, as well as the recently-revealed WRX STI, and the concept vehicle that Subaru has brought to Geneva.

But unlike a great many concept cars the Viziv2 is quite functional, though we're not sure if the inside of the expo hall is the best place to demonstrate what it's packing under the hood. That happens to be a 1.6-liter boxer diesel engine paired to a continuously variable transmission which sends power to all four wheels. And on top of that, the Viziv2 is a plug-in hybrid.

Subaru has stayed out of the hybrid game until recently, and it appears they've come up with quite a clever all-wheel drive system for this concept: the diesel engine and one electric motor power the front wheels, while an additional two electric motors power the rear wheels. The vehicle is meant to use just the electric motors for low speeds, with the 1.6-liter diesel engine kicking in when more speed is needed.

This novel setup is coupled with a start/stop system, which is something that is rapidly becoming de rigueur in just about every car that wants to be taken seriously, and the all-wheel drive system permits torque vectoring. In addition, the concept features a version of the company's SI-Drive control system tuned for a hybrid powertrain, which includes an Eco Cruise mode which works alongside the EyeSight safety system to monitor the road ahead and adjust engine output to preserve energy usage.

Autoweek
The long overhang already signals pedestrian safety requirements for production.

In terms of packaging, the Viziv2 is a four seat crossover with the front doors designed to open forward and up. Those doors are attached by a single hinge to the base of the A-pillar, while the rear doors retract backwards on two swing-away hinges. This novel approach probably won't make it into the production version of this vehicle, as you've probably guessed by now, but the rest of it is fully meant to preview a future crossover that uses the same innovative powertrain system.

If the production vehicle maintains the B-pillarless architecture demonstrated in this concept, it'll be interesting to see if the rear doors will extend all the way back to the C-pillar, at the very end of the car. Knowing Subaru, versatility is likely to triumph over things like novel door architecture, so we fully expect this to be a five-door crossover with a little extra room carved out for cargo, certainly more than this concept envisions.

By Jay Ramey