There’s an old saying that Subaru aficionados – and Subaru itself – like to trot out: once you’ve driven a Subaru, you’ll never want to drive anything else.
I’ve heard it many times over the years, and, in principle, I agree with it, though my budget hasn’t extended to a Subaru, not even an Impreza.
Over time, the Impreza has evolved into a much more mainstream-looking car in the style of its most compelling rival, the Toyota Corolla hatch.
It’s good-sized—4490mm long, 1780mm wide, 1480mm high—and its 2670mm wheelbase provides good on-road stability, enhances handling, and provides a roomy interior and good luggage space of 291 litres (883 with the rear seatbacks folded down).
Especially impressive is the excellent legroom for rear passengers, which is only sometimes given in this car’s size.
A flat four-boxer motor powers the Impreza. Currently, it’s a 1995cc double overhead camshaft unit, drawing 95-octane petrol from a 50-litre tank and developing a helpful 115kW at 6000rpm and 196Nm of peak torque at 4000rpm, both relatively high in the rev range.
That’s enough to propel the 1458kg five-door to 100km/h in 9.8 seconds. It’s nothing special, but in the real world, it’s enough, and the mid-range punch is good.
The Impreza’s only drawback is its continuously variable (CVT) automatic gearbox.
In cars with “peaky” engines that deliver power and torque relatively high in the rev range – like the Impreza and its close rival, the Corolla – CVTs produce a rubber-band feel accompanied by a cacophony as the engine races, seeming to struggle against the transmission under moderate to hard acceleration. That’s particularly the case in the city.
The Impreza’s CVT has eight steps, which can be controlled by steering column-mounted paddles. This may lessen the racket in the city running, but it all seems so fussy to operate.
On the open road, all is fine. The CVT is unfussed at speed, and on motorways, state highways, or tight and twisting country roads, the Impreza comes into its own.
If you like to drive and get the most from a car without exceeding the speed limit, an Impreza will not disappoint you.
In tough going, it maintains momentum with minimum braking and will achieve impressive open road progress without exceeding 100km/h.
Dynamically, it’s in a class of its own, and no mainstream mid-sized hatch can match its blend of fully exploitable performance and stunning, unshakeable handling.
You don’t quite “think” it around corners, but the Impreza goes precisely where you point it, never strays off-line, and the all-wheel drive keeps it planted firmly.
It achieves rapid progress with minimal physical effort from the driver and discomfort for passengers. At the end of a long run, you get out of the car fresh and relaxed.
The MacPherson strut front and double wishbone rear suspension soak up bumps impressively, and the ride is compliant without compromising cornering ability.
Impressive, too, is its quietness, both mechanically and in terms of road noise; even coarse chip-surfaced roads don’t raise in-cabin noise levels unduly.
Braking, by ventilated discs all around, is reassuringly solid and progressive.
Fuel economy is a mixed bag. We covered our usual urban/motorway/country road/suburban loop, and the fuel gauge hardly shifted from Full to pure city running, which saw petrol use rise rapidly.
Subaru quotes 6.2 litres/100km on the open road but 9.7 in the city for a combined 7.5 litres/100km. Expect to use more than that in real-world driving, but it’s no deal-breaker – the car’s other attributes more than compensate.
The leather-upholstered seats are well-shaped and comfortable; controls and instruments are well laid out and ergonomic.
The car’s exceptional dynamic safety is backed by technology and driver aids that include ABS and EBD for the brakes, traction control, Subaru’s Eyesight system, an apparent reversing camera, blindspot monitoring, a driver drowsiness monitor and warning, cross-traffic alert, lane keeping, and anti-collision equipment.
There’s a full suite of airbags, and two ISOfix anchor points for child safety seats.
There are LED daylight running and foglights, a security blind for the cargo area, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, and dusk-sensing headlights. The driver’s seat is power-adjustable.
The infotainment setup includes an 11.8-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, and a Harman Kardon 10-speaker sound system.
Imprezas are available in 10 colours, and the warranty is three years/100,000km.
This car was born to run, and if you’re looking for a fleet car for employees whose daily driving includes lots of open-road running, the Impreza is a no-brainer.
It mixes good equipment levels with above-average cabin space – especially in the rear – with handling and road-holding that’s a cut above the already high norm and excellent dynamic and passive safety.
Even in the wet, where it will run as quickly and predictably as it does in the dry, the Impreza is a forgiving car with a built-in ability to keep drivers from getting into trouble.
It’s a safe, agile, enjoyable package that ticks most boxes and won’t disappoint its operators.
Were I back in the market, with enough money in the kitty, the roomy Impreza would be at the top of my shopping list – right next to the under-sung Toyota Corolla station wagon. Perfect fleet cars, both.
With its all-around competence, good equipment levels, space, quality, comfort, and high safety for drivers of all levels, the Impreza offers good value for money at $44,990 RRP.
