Subaru will unveil the world’s first horizontally-opposed turbo diesel engine at next month’s Geneva Motor Show ahead of the launch of the all-new Impreza at the New York Auto Show. The first models to get the new diesel engines will be Subaru’s Legacy and Outback range early next year, which should help Subaru’s standing in Europe where oil-burners have become more popular than their gasoline counterparts.

Boxer engines are renowned for being more compact than inline units enabling them to have a lower center of gravity, which in turn reduces body roll for safer cornering and also improves handling. The highly rigid engine avoids common problems of noise and vibration that are commonly associated with diesels due to its reinforced construction, but overall size remains the same as the gasoline version.