The new Impreza 5-door hatchback. Photo courtesy of Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru has always been a bit of a niche player in the U.S. market. Building no-nonsense cars with all-wheel drive gets you a loyal following of snowbound northerners, weekend rally drivers, triathletes and Yankee cranks. Outside of those demographics, Subaru is a non-entity: Only those with dissociative identity disorder have ever cross-shopped a Legacy and a Lexus, and the Arkansas Subaru Dealers’ Association could have their annual meeting in a single booth at Shoney’s.
Once you fall down the Subaru rabbit hole, however, the cars on offer are quite diverse. In election-year parlance, that’s called “microtargeting” — tailoring a particular combination of a candidate’s attributes to appeal to extremely specific audiences, which is why you’ll undoubtedly see the Romney campaign aim TV ads specifically at gun-owning dressage competitors who live in Ohio.
It’s also why Subaru’s all-new 2012 Impreza evolved separately from the performance-oriented WRX lineup, to appeal to a wider group of consumers. The cars got a new look inside and out, a stiffer chassis and lighter curb weight. A new 2.0-liter all-aluminum engine lost horsepower and displacement from the previous generation’s 2.5-liter mill, but Subaru claims the new, lighter engine is actually more sprightly than its predecessor. Most importantly, the Impreza can now be ordered with a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) that helps to boost fuel economy by a whopping 36 percent, up to 27 mpg city and 36 mpg highway.
Style-wise, the smallest Subie has come a long way from its bug-eyed youth.
To reflect that repositioning, the Impreza’s advertising campaign got a slight tweak, too. There are still the usual spots with bearded thirty-somethings, dogs and bicycles, but there are also ads targeted at those first-time new car buyers who might find the other small, affordable, high-mpg offerings a little too ubiquitous. In other words, the new Impreza is a hipster Corolla.
I got two weeks with two Imprezas — one an entry-level Premium hatchback, the other a fully loaded Limited sedan, both equipped with CVTs — and came away from the experience with mixed impressions. Everything that makes a Subaru a Subaru — the all-wheel drive, the hose-it-off interior, the boxer engine — still shines, but some of the changes that cater to new fans may end up making some enemies.
Style-wise, the smallest Subie has come a long way from its bug-eyed youth, and flared fenders make the family resemblance to the larger Legacy more clear. Bonus: Windows you can actually see out of. In both sedan and hatch form, the Impreza has a tall greenhouse with plenty of glass, negating any need for blind spot sensors and back-up cameras. It’s an intentional improvement, and a welcome one among the embrasures that pass for auto glass these days. Just set your mirrors and go. On the hatch, you can even see your tail lamps in the rear-view mirror.
Inside, no-nonsense Luddites will find plenty to love. The center stack is made up of knobs and dials — just like Dad’s Heathkit! — and acres of hard, textured plastic. Cars equipped with navigation also use a touch screen to control the radio, but virtual “buttons” are big and easy to see. There’s plenty of legroom in the back, but the front seats lack support for long drives. Both our testers also featured noticeably loud blower motors, as if Fuji Heavy Industries had pulled parts from some Swedish junkyard.
The new Impreza 5-door hatchback. Photo courtesy of Subaru of America, Inc.
The new Impreza 4-door sedan. Photo courtesy of Subaru of America, Inc.
On the road, the microtargeting is a little more apparent. Subaru makes plenty of cars for people who enjoy driving, but this is not one of them. Sure, the Impreza is a pleasure when it’s driven lightly. Even under heavy cornering, the electric power steering is quick and responsive. But barely push the car towards it limits, and its shortcomings immediately become apparent.
Most glaringly, there’s a depressing lack of midrange torque. That means if you’re passing or merging, you’ll be alarmed at the lack of response when you step on the throttle. At first, the only sound you’ll hear is the gas pedal reaching its limit of travel — the proverbial “to the metal,” if you will. Then, with the clamor of a hornets’ nest inside an InSinkErator, the CVT and boxer engine duke it out all the way up to about 4,000 rpm, at which point the cacophony continues but the acceleration ends. Lay off the throttle and the revs will hang for a good two or three seconds before returning to regularly scheduled programming.
Barely push the car towards it limits, and its shortcomings immediately become apparent.
I’m not a blanket CVT hater — I even own a car with one — but the Impreza’s thrashes and snarls like a Victorian shredder. The paddle shifters behind the steering wheel don’t offer much help, as their simulated downshifts are nearly as useless as the CVT left to its own devices.
Another gripe: There’s a definite lag when shifting from drive to reverse and vice versa. A good two second pause follows every movement of the shifter, which makes parking take far longer than it should and turns backing out onto a busy road into an experiment in terror.
All that would be worth if it the Impreza delivered outstanding gas mileage, but I got no such reward for the penance of a CVT. On the highway, I averaged about 31 mpg. Around town and in stop-and-go traffic, I got 26.1. That’s impressive for a car that’s lugging around the extra weight of all-wheel drive, but plenty of cars in the Impreza’s price range get better mileage and offer more fun.
Unless you’re braving mud season in Vermont, a good set of winter tires on a Mazda3 should do the trick in snow. If it’s all about the gas mileage in stop-and-go traffic, the Prius can’t be beat. A slightly pricier Honda CR-V almost matches the Impreza’s mileage and offers more interior space. Or you could just get an Impreza with a stick shift, save $1000, and enjoy your time spent behind the wheel.
In Subaru’s microtargeted lineup, there’s a car for everyone. The pair of Imprezas we drove both proved to be fine machines for no-nonsense commuters who don’t want to spend a ton of money but still want a new car with all-wheel drive. If you’re one of them, the 2012 Impreza might just be targeted at you.
WIRED Good mileage, even with AWD. High visibility. Plenty of rear-seat legroom.
TIRED Midrange torque nonexistent. Loud CVT. Lag when shifting between reverse and drive — stick with a stick.
It's not a taxi. Photo courtesy of Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru has always been a bit of a niche player in the U.S. market. Building no-nonsense cars with all-wheel drive gets you a loyal following of snowbound northerners, weekend rally drivers, triathletes and Yankee cranks. Outside of those demographics, Subaru is a non-entity: Only those with dissociative identity disorder have ever cross-shopped a Legacy and a Lexus, and the Arkansas Subaru Dealers’ Association could have their annual meeting in a single booth at Shoney’s.
Once you fall down the Subaru rabbit hole, however, the cars on offer are quite diverse. In election-year parlance, that’s called “microtargeting” — tailoring a particular combination of a candidate’s attributes to appeal to extremely specific audiences, which is why you’ll undoubtedly see the Romney campaign aim TV ads specifically at gun-owning dressage competitors who live in Ohio.
It’s also why Subaru’s all-new 2012 Impreza evolved separately from the performance-oriented WRX lineup, to appeal to a wider group of consumers. The cars got a new look inside and out, a stiffer chassis and lighter curb weight. A new 2.0-liter all-aluminum engine lost horsepower and displacement from the previous generation’s 2.5-liter mill, but Subaru claims the new, lighter engine is actually more sprightly than its predecessor. Most importantly, the Impreza can now be ordered with a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) that helps to boost fuel economy by a whopping 36 percent, up to 27 mpg city and 36 mpg highway.
Style-wise, the smallest Subie has come a long way from its bug-eyed youth.
To reflect that repositioning, the Impreza’s advertising campaign got a slight tweak, too. There are still the usual spots with bearded thirty-somethings, dogs and bicycles, but there are also ads targeted at those first-time new car buyers who might find the other small, affordable, high-mpg offerings a little too ubiquitous. In other words, the new Impreza is a hipster Corolla.
I got two weeks with two Imprezas — one an entry-level Premium hatchback, the other a fully loaded Limited sedan, both equipped with CVTs — and came away from the experience with mixed impressions. Everything that makes a Subaru a Subaru — the all-wheel drive, the hose-it-off interior, the boxer engine — still shines, but some of the changes that cater to new fans may end up making some enemies.
Style-wise, the smallest Subie has come a long way from its bug-eyed youth, and flared fenders make the family resemblance to the larger Legacy more clear. Bonus: Windows you can actually see out of. In both sedan and hatch form, the Impreza has a tall greenhouse with plenty of glass, negating any need for blind spot sensors and back-up cameras. It’s an intentional improvement, and a welcome one among the embrasures that pass for auto glass these days. Just set your mirrors and go. On the hatch, you can even see your tail lamps in the rear-view mirror.
Inside, no-nonsense Luddites will find plenty to love. The center stack is made up of knobs and dials — just like Dad’s Heathkit! — and acres of hard, textured plastic. Cars equipped with navigation also use a touch screen to control the radio, but virtual “buttons” are big and easy to see. There’s plenty of legroom in the back, but the front seats lack support for long drives. Both our testers also featured noticeably loud blower motors, as if Fuji Heavy Industries had pulled parts from some Swedish junkyard.
The new Impreza 5-door hatchback. Photo courtesy of Subaru of America, Inc.
The new Impreza 4-door sedan. Photo courtesy of Subaru of America, Inc.
On the road, the microtargeting is a little more apparent. Subaru makes plenty of cars for people who enjoy driving, but this is not one of them. Sure, the Impreza is a pleasure when it’s driven lightly. Even under heavy cornering, the electric power steering is quick and responsive. But barely push the car towards it limits, and its shortcomings immediately become apparent.
Most glaringly, there’s a depressing lack of midrange torque. That means if you’re passing or merging, you’ll be alarmed at the lack of response when you step on the throttle. At first, the only sound you’ll hear is the gas pedal reaching its limit of travel — the proverbial “to the metal,” if you will. Then, with the clamor of a hornets’ nest inside an InSinkErator, the CVT and boxer engine duke it out all the way up to about 4,000 rpm, at which point the cacophony continues but the acceleration ends. Lay off the throttle and the revs will hang for a good two or three seconds before returning to regularly scheduled programming.
Barely push the car towards it limits, and its shortcomings immediately become apparent.
I’m not a blanket CVT hater — I even own a car with one — but the Impreza’s thrashes and snarls like a Victorian shredder. The paddle shifters behind the steering wheel don’t offer much help, as their simulated downshifts are nearly as useless as the CVT left to its own devices.
Another gripe: There’s a definite lag when shifting from drive to reverse and vice versa. A good two second pause follows every movement of the shifter, which makes parking take far longer than it should and turns backing out onto a busy road into an experiment in terror.
All that would be worth if it the Impreza delivered outstanding gas mileage, but I got no such reward for the penance of a CVT. On the highway, I averaged about 31 mpg. Around town and in stop-and-go traffic, I got 26.1. That’s impressive for a car that’s lugging around the extra weight of all-wheel drive, but plenty of cars in the Impreza’s price range get better mileage and offer more fun.
Unless you’re braving mud season in Vermont, a good set of winter tires on a Mazda3 should do the trick in snow. If it’s all about the gas mileage in stop-and-go traffic, the Prius can’t be beat. A slightly pricier Honda CR-V almost matches the Impreza’s mileage and offers more interior space. Or you could just get an Impreza with a stick shift, save $1000, and enjoy your time spent behind the wheel.
In Subaru’s microtargeted lineup, there’s a car for everyone. The pair of Imprezas we drove both proved to be fine machines for no-nonsense commuters who don’t want to spend a ton of money but still want a new car with all-wheel drive. If you’re one of them, the 2012 Impreza might just be targeted at you.
WIRED Good mileage, even with AWD. High visibility. Plenty of rear-seat legroom.
TIRED Midrange torque nonexistent. Loud CVT. Lag when shifting between reverse and drive — stick with a stick.
It's not a taxi. Photo courtesy of Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru 2012 Impreza
FACEBOOK Rating: 4.5 out of 5Subaru 2012 Impreza