Subaru has a number of active safety systems that act
towards keeping you safe, instead of just passive safety systems that only come
into play once something bad has started to happen. Passive safety systems
include things like break-away engines that won't go inside of the passenger
compartment during a crash, whereas active safety systems include things like
Subaru's all-wheel drive system.
This system prevents both over steer and under
steer, two big problems when taking corners in front wheel and rear wheel drive
vehicles.
If you're in a front wheel drive car, when you drive around
a turn quickly, you'll often notice that you have a hard time keeping your car
pointed towards the inside of the curve. Because of centrifugal force, the
front of your car wants to tend towards the outside of the curve. This means if
you're taking a turn on a wet road or go
too quickly, you can easily go over through the curve and end up in the ditch
on the outside.
Under steer is similar but instead of your front tending
towards the outside, it's the back of your car. So while you might be doing
your best to control your turn, the back end of your car can slide so you're
taking the turn sideways. In a worst case scenario, this means that you can
quickly spin out and lose complete control of your car in bad conditions or if
you're taking the turn too quickly.
All-wheel drive is the only solution to over and under steer
problems because when you have power to all four wheels, your Subaru
compensates for centrifugal forces and gives power to the right wheels to keep
you on the middle of the curve. This means you can more safely get around turns
without worrying about driving in rain, snow, or ice and going off the side or
spinning out of control.
The extra measure of safety is one of the most important differences between Subaru and the average car.
