Subaru EyeSight To Debut In Malaysia In H2 2019

Subaru’s signature advanced driving assistance feature EyeSight will be launched in Malaysia in the second half of 2019, said Glenn Tan, Managing Director of Tan Chong International Limited (TCIL), the parent company of Subaru distributor Motor Image.

Expected to be made available in a new, higher specification variant of the XV starting second half of 2019, the feature will also be introduced in other higher range variants of existing Subaru models including the Forester and Outback.

Analogous to Honda’s Sensing, Subaru EyeSight is an advanced driving assistance feature that works to mitigate/reduce the severity of an accident caused by a distracted driver. It consists of six functions: Pre-Collision Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Pre-Collision Throttle Management, Lane Departure Warning, Lane Sway Warning, and Lead Vehicle Start Alert.

However unlike Honda’s Sensing, Subaru’s EyeSight is not capable of performing corrective steering action. It merely warns the driver and if necessary, applies full braking. On the plus side, EyeSight uses simpler stereoscopic cameras to perform similar vehicle and pedestrian detection functions, allowing Subaru to introduce the feature at a lower cost.

Although prices have yet to be confirmed, Glenn says EyeSight is unlikely to add more than RM8,000 to the total cost of the vehicle.

EyeSight has just been introduced for the first time in the ASEAN region at last week’s 2018 Singapore Motor Show, in the Subaru Outback and XV. In Taiwan, which is Motor Image’s biggest market, the take up rate for EyeSight is between 70 to 80 percent, depending on model.

Although simpler in design, Subaru’s EyeSight has been independently verified by USA’s IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) and the Japan New Car Assessment Program (JNCAP) to be the best performing advanced driving assistance feature.