Subaru Impreza 2017 Review

Subaru Impreza review
Local Launch Review
Canberra, ACT

The Subaru Impreza is a household name in the passenger car segment. But to who? With the Japanese manufacturer acutely aware of a need to channel younger buyers through its doors, the new fifth-generation Impreza offers more safety, more technology and larger proportions. Will it pay off?

The more things change the more they stay the same, right?
At first glance, that would appear the case with Subaru’s 2017 Impreza. The fifth-generation model launched in Australia this week represents no wholesale departure in the styling stakes, features a familiar if largely unchanged horizontally-opposed engine and carries over Subaru’s much-vaunted symmetrical all-wheel drive system.

But the latest Impreza is much more. As the first model underpinned by Subaru’s new global architecture – the aptly named Subaru Global Platform – the new sedan and hatch pairing also form the basis for every new Subaru model from now until 2025, including fledgling hybrid and eventually electric drivetrain technology from the Japanese manufacturer.

First, though, Subaru has gone back to basics with its new small car, a vehicle it claims is 95 per cent new. Intent on targeting younger and particularly female demographics more so than in the past, Subaru has loaded its small car with more technology and new safety inclusions.

Two different versions of the Impreza are available, one a hatch that will command about 75 per cent of sales, the other a sedan, which is $200 cheaper across all variants.

As detailed in our separate pricing story, Subaru Australia has devised a four-pronged Impreza attack, starting at $22,400 (plus on-road costs) for the 2.0i and topping out at $29,190 (plus on-road costs) for the flagship 2.0i-S.

The standard model gets a 6.5-inch colour touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto,  Bluetooth, reversing camera, climate control, cruise control and 17-inch alloy wheels.

The base model car misses out on Subaru’s Eyesight technology, which includes forward pre collision warning, blind spot detection and other important safety features, but still earns a five-star safety rating thanks to full airbag coverage (including driver’s knee airbag), stability control and ABS.

Further up the food chain the Impreza range receives a larger 8.0-inch touchscreen, front fog lights with daytime running lights and premium seat trims.

Dimensionally the Impreza is slightly larger than its predecessor. The wheelbase has grown 25mm to 2670mm while the overall body length has increased 46mm to 4631mm. This has liberated more cabin space.

Evergreen engine
All four Impreza grades are fitted with the same 2.0-litre horizontally-opposed four-cylinder petrol engine, tied solely to a seven-speed continuously variable transmission (CVT) featuring a new short-pitch connecting chain. Power is up 5kW to 115kW overall – thanks in part to the addition of direct injection – while torque is unchanged at 196Nm but its peak is available across a broader rev spectrum.

Potentially conflicting with Subaru’s younger buyer mantra is a decision to axe the Impreza’s manual transmission. Stakeholders say only 13 per cent of buyers now opt for the stick in this segment, but the potential extra driver involvement afforded by a six-speed cannot be underestimated.

Instead, the Impreza engine is a fairly modest unit, reaching peak power at a heady 6000rpm and torque from 4000rpm. Playing a familiar bassy Boxer engine tune, it occasionally lacks the low-down torque of other rivals and can feel languid in the lower echelons as a result. But in ordinary driving, it is nonetheless a solid accomplice, dispatching 0-100km/h in 10.1 seconds (1 second off the car’s previous time).

The matching CVT feels smooth and linear in its applications, enabling smooth take-offs and nice upward changes in daily conveyance.

Up the ante and the engine-CVT combination tends to become flustered. The CVT breaks into a default whine and the engine feels thrashy as it approaches redline. Sure, the Impreza isn’t likely to be driven like this often, but even when getting up to speed or during overtaking manoeuvres, there is plenty of noise from under the bonnet.

The all-wheel drive system endows the Impreza with a surefooted driving feel, thanks to its ability to apportion 60 per cent of drive to the front wheels and 40 per cent to the rear wheels.

A revised stop-start idle function and low rolling resistance tyres has enabled Subaru engineers to lower the official fuel claim of the Impreza, to between 6.6L/100km and 7.2L/100km depending on model. We saw about 9.5L/100km in a mix of conditions, including an extended dynamic stint.
Smooth operator

Rather, it is the Impreza’s dynamic skillset that impresses most during this week’s launch on  roads around Canberra.

Boasting more rigidity than before – aided by a new torque vectoring function fitted to the flagship 2.0i-S – the Impreza’s lighter architecture sets a solid first impression on the road.

On a snaking piece of mountain road the Impreza impresses with its cornering ability, its efficacy through quick directional changes and its overall competence when thrown hot into a corner.

The steering possesses ample weighting and feedback while the body is well controlled, with moderate amounts of body roll. Back in the city, the car is extremely easy to place on the road, with large side mirrors and decent vision front and rear. Its steering is also light for low speed manoeuvres, and the car is equipped with a 10.6 metre turning circle.

Similarly, the Impreza’s bump compliance has also been improved by the chassis in the form of less body vibration, and inclusion of high-tensile steel in key locations.

On the standard car, rolling on 17-inch alloy wheels and Bridgestone tyres, the Impreza feels well acquitted across a combination of city roads and winding country bitumen. The chassis irons out pitter-patter imperfections with aplomb and  also recovers from larger undulations impressively, resisting any temptation to crash through the cabin.

The larger 18-inch wheels and Yokohama rubber fitted to the 2.0i-S relays bumps in the road more prominently, but the cabin still feels well insulated from the outside elements.

Easy to live with
The Impreza’s enhanced interior proportions bode well for Subaru.

The increase in body width has afforded an additional 29mm in shoulder room, while rear seat legroom is up 26mm. Unfortunately, the more aerodynamic body shape has cut into rear head space, with engineers lopping 10mm from the roofline. There are no rear air vents either.

Further back, the 465 litre boot (up 5 litres) is accessed via a larger aperture from the rear, or split-folding rear seats from the front.

The car’s instrumentation and dials are more concise than before, with clear digital displays and a familiar analogue theme to the driver instrument cluster. The Impreza thankfully now boasts a digital speedo, and benefits from a clear step up in interior materials and presentation.

Subaru stakeholders claimed to have unshackled typical Impreza conventions at this week’s launch. Impreza followers will note a few differentiations from before, but this is still very much a Subaru at heart.

On the practicality front, the Impreza boasts decent in car storage and space, including bottle holders in all doors and two cup holders between the front seats, a cargo blind and cargo hooks in the hatch and a cargo area light.

Sedan variants aren’t compatible with towing, therefore missing out on the hatch’s 1200kg braked rating.

Another win for buyers is reduced servicing intervals and cheaper servicing costs. Intervals are now rated at every 12 months/12,500km (formerly six months), with a combined servicing costs rated at $1300 for the first three years – some $900 less than before. The three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty also remains.

These changes, combined with important technology and safety inclusions, improve the Impreza formula – and importantly, set some solid building blocks for Subaru’s future.
The telling feature now will be whether buyers agree.

2017 Subaru Impreza pricing and specifications:
Price: $22,400-$22,600 (2.0i), $24,490-$24,690 (2.0i-L), $26,290-$26,490 (2.0i-Premium), $28,990-$29,190 (2.0i-S) *plus on-road costs*
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 115kW/196Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed continuously variable automatic
Fuel: 6.6-7.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 152-163g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP

Also consider:
>> Hyundai i30  (from $21,450 plus ORCs)
>> Mazda3 (from $20,490 plus ORCs)
>> Toyota Corolla (from $20,190 plus ORCs)