Yahoo News 2018 Subaru Impreza review: gripping stuff, but it needs more sparkle
Subaru is suffering from a hangover, it says. Giddy with excitement from its explosion from a niche-brand oddity making sturdy working tools for use on remote farms to a marque steeped in desirability, courtesy of its 1990s and 2000s World Rally Championship (WRC) exploits, Subaru is now suffering the post-euphoric comedown of that brief motorsport-inspired high.
It makes dependable cars. Safe cars. Affordable four-wheel-drive cars. It wants to become known as an SUV brand primarily, rather than something with a racier bent. And nowhere is this more evident than with Subaru’s most recognisable nameplate, the Impreza, the very car that once roared, burbled and slid its way to WRC glory in the hands of legendary drivers such as Colin McRae and Richard Burns.
Think Impreza and you likely invoke rose-tinted mental images of blue paint, gold alloy wheels, big spoilers and supercar-humbling cross-country pace.
Well, no more. In fact, Subaru has long been working at divesting the Impreza of any of that WRC credibility, divorcing the faster WRX STI model from the humdrum hatchback in 2014. That left the previous Impreza, a rather ugly thing, to be sold only as a dull-as-ditchwater 1.6-litre petrol in the UK.
For the fifth-generation Impreza, things have improved, but there’s still no link to Subaru’s motorsport heritage. This is a C-segment hatchback where the sole USP is its four-wheel-drive capability, when anything else in this class with power going to all corners is either a hot hatch (Ford Focus RS, Volkswagen Golf R) or a premium German rival with optional AWD and a £30,000-plus price to match (Audi A3 quattro, BMW 1-series xDrive, Mercedes A-class 4Matic).
The new Impreza costs less than that, Subaru selling its machine in a simple-to-fathom two-car line-up. There’s just one specification, called SE, which is generously laden with equipment and safety kit, but a total lack of options beyond a few £550 colour choices mean items such as leather upholstery, factory-fit satnav and a sunroof are simply not available; you do, at least, get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as part of Subaru’s seven-inch touchscreen Starlink infotainment, allowing the intuitive transfer of smartphone mapping apps to the Impreza’s display.
All Imprezas use the company’s symmetrical AWD system and a Lineartronic continuously variable transmission (CVT), so the only choice you can make is whether you want a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder engine, with 112bhp and 111lb ft of torque for £23,995, or this bigger 2.0-litre, with 154bhp and 145lb ft for £24,995.
Both of these are horizontally opposed "boxer" petrol engines that make do without a turbocharger. And, sadly, it’s the limp drivetrains that let the Impreza down. Neither engine is punchy and they both sound extremely coarse when being revved out, which of course the CVT is wont to let the boxer engine do; Lineartronic, to be fair, is probably the best CVT going, but a good twin-clutch or torque converter-equipped auto still makes it look laughably unrefined.
That's a shame, because in many ways the new Impreza impresses. The interior quality is leagues apart from the old car’s brittle plastics-drenched cabin, and there’s plenty of space and practicality on board as well.
Furthermore, the Impreza’s new Subaru Global Platform – which will underpin all Subaru models – is a jewel, the Japanese hatchback having great body control, a comfortable if firm ride and some real dynamic highlights such as a notable lack of understeer, enormous grip and traction, plus decent, communicative steering.
All ingredients that are just crying out for a better drivetrain. Something like you’d find in an Impreza Turbo or WRX STI from the past, maybe.
But Subaru is proud of its safety. It is proud of its durability. It is proud of its slightly dull worthiness. And that’s fine, for keeping a core brand of loyal buyers happy, but it’ll do nothing to tempt new customers from rival manufacturers.
A pity, because there’s the basis of a very, very good car in the Impreza MkV, one that’s sure to be bypassed by people dreaming of forgotten Subarus tearing up the Kielder Forest at night.
THE FACTS
Subaru Impreza 2.0 SE
TESTED 1,995cc four-cylinder petrol, Lineartronic CVT gearbox, four-wheel drive
PRICE/ON SALE range from £23,995 to £24,995 (as tested £25,545)/now
POWER/TORQUE 154bhp @ 6,000rpm/145lb ft @ 4,000rpm
TOP SPEED 127mph
ACCELERATION 0-62mph in 9.8sec
FUEL ECONOMY 42.8mpg/33.6mpg (EU Combined/Urban)
CO2 EMISSIONS 152g/km
VED £500 first year, then £140
VERDICT Major improvements in the quality of the chassis and the interior finishing of the Impreza are let down by a lacklustre pair of CVT-equipped, naturally-aspirated drivetrains. Turbocharging and a different gearbox would help this car no end…
TELEGRAPH RATING Three stars out of five
THE RIVALS
Honda Civic, from £18,890
Subaru sees Japanese cars as its main competitors and of course none of the rivals listed here have all-wheel drive. However, what the Civic has are two infinitely nicer turbocharged petrol engines and the option of a manual gearbox, although Honda also uses a CVT as its automatic.
Mazda3, from £17,995
Mazda does sell petrol engines in its 3 hatchback that lack turbocharging, but they’re more refined than the Impreza’s offerings. And if you don’t like working the Mazda3 hard, then one of the two turbodiesels – probably the 2.2-litre engine – should suffice.
Toyota Auris, from £15,995
Has the distinction in this particular company of being the only vehicle available as a hybrid, although that then means you’ve got to grapple with a CVT again. The Auris is great value and a lot better than it used to be, although the Impreza is a match for the Toyota.
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