POLL: 2025 Subaru Brumby imagined, but which version would you prefer?

The more that time passes, the more it's actually quite surprising that Subaru has never returned to the pickup game – or that it ever left the arena at all.

After all, with the likes of the Hyundai Cruz and Ford Maverick launching in recent years, let alone the nonstop run of small car-based utes in South America, there's always been an appetite for this style – and Subaru was once very well-known for it.

It's no surprise then that our mate Theottle can't resist imagining a new Subaru Brumby or Brat every time Subaru reveals a new car! (Although we've yet to see him do a BRZ ute...)

The Japanese brand is no closer to revealing the slightest hint of a new ute project, but that won't stop us goading encouraging it through posts like this.

The question: Which do you prefer, this new Forester-based ute, or the Impreza-based version we published in December?

Jump into our poll below to make your call!

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New-gen Subaru Forester Brumby ute imagined | Theottle [↗] | Video [↗]

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New-gen Subaru Forester Brumby ute imagined | Theottle [↗] | Video [↗]

December 2023: Impreza-based Brumby imagined

A new Subaru Brumby? No chance, but it's fun to dream.

I couldn't resist. When our mate Theo Throttle threw a new 2023 Subaru Impreza-based Brumby rendering over the transom, I just had to run it.

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2025 Subaru Brumby rendering by Theottle

So, here it is. What do you think?

It's no more a chance for production than any previously imagined Brumby – and more's the pity – but I reckon it looks ace.

Tell us in the comments which one you prefer, this latest Impreza-based version of the WRX/Levorg-based design published earlier, further down in this story.

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2025 Subaru Brumby rendering by Theottle

June 2021: New WRX / Levorg imagined as a Brumby

A new Subaru Brumby? Well. It was only a few years ago that Subaru Australia boss Colin Christie (now in charge of Inchcape, the distributor that runs Subaru here) told this writer in a previous life that such a model is “not even close to being in the product pipeline at any stage, anywhere”.

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2025 Subaru Brumby rendering by Theo Throttle

Nothing vague or ambiguous about that, is there? While most brands can change direction on strategy faster than I can change my mind on dessert, it seems clear that for now, we shouldn’t expect to see Subaru getting back into the compact ute market.

Still, there’s never been a better time to dive in – at least, in the United States, where Hyundai has finally revealed its long-anticipated Santa Cruz pickup and Ford’s little new Maverick has also debuted.

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It’s hard to really describe either ute as ‘compact’, though. The Santa Cruz sits on a 3005mm wheelbase and measures 1905mm wide – which exceeds the long-wheelbase version of the mid-sized Tucson SUV’s equivalent figures by 250mm and 40mm respectively.

Likewise, the Maverick has a 3076mm wheelbase, giving it a 366mm longer footprint than the mid-sized Ford Escape SUV.

Compare these numbers to the 2456mm wheelbase of the Brumby – shorter even than the 2550mm wheelbase of the little Toyota Yaris – and it’s easy to figure we’re never returning to the true compact pickup space.

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Still, if Subaru did decide the Hyundai Santa Cruz and Ford Maverick were compelling rivals to square off against… could a new Brumby look something like this?

Rendered by digital art wiz Theo Throttle, this modern Brumby takes the new-generation Subaru Levorg and turns it into a convincing two-door unibody pickup – just like its grandfather.

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2025 Subaru Brumby rendering by Theo Throttle

With the Levorg as its donor, we could expect the new Brumby to get an all-wheel drive system and Subaru’s new 130kW/300Nm 1.8-litre turbo petrol boxer engine.

Wishful thinking, probably, but if enough willing buyers were to drop a deposit with their local dealer… who knows?

For more speculative renderings and more Subaru news, see our coverage at the links below.