Base horsepower from its standard 1.8-liter flat-four engine wasn’t the most impressive at 94 horsepower. The turbocharged version pumped out 111 horses, but later in the production run, the XT could be equipped with a 2.7-liter flat-six engine that boosted power to a considerable 145 horsepower. The all-important 0-60 miles per hour sprint could be accomplished in 11 seconds with the earlier model, and while that seems practically lethargic today, it was fairly competitive 38 years ago.
From a purely subjective end, how could you not absolutely love the styling? If you typed “Vaporwave Cyberpunk 2077 Blade Runner car” into an AI image-generator, you wouldn’t get anything even half as cool as the XT — especially with its pop-up headlights and positively wacky interior. Subaru may have the reputation today as a family car brand with a little bit of off-road cred today, but back in 1985, it was the maker of one of the wildest cars of the 1980s.
