Subaru 2012 Impreza Consumer Review

Subaru 2012 Impreza

Subaru has continuously been a trifle of a distinct segment player within 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 american cranks. Outside of these demographics, Subaru could be a non-entity: solely those with dissociative identity disorder have ever cross-shopped a Legacy and a Lexus, and therefore the Arkansas Subaru Dealers’ Association may have their annual meeting in an exceedingly single booth at Shoney’s.

Once you sink the Subaru rabbit hole, however, the cars on supply are quite various. In election-year parlance, that’s known as “microtargeting” — tailoring a specific combination of a candidate’s attributes to charm to extraordinarily specific audiences, that is why you’ll undoubtedly see the Romney campaign aim TV ads specifically at gun-owning dressage competitors who live in Ohio.

It’s additionally why Subaru’s all-new 2012 Impreza evolved separately from the performance-oriented WRX lineup, to charm to a wider cluster of customers. The cars got a brand new look within 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 a pair of.5-liter mill, however Subaru claims the new, lighter engine is really additional sprightly than its predecessor. most significantly, the Impreza will currently be ordered with a brand new continuously variable transmission (CVT) that helps to spice up fuel economy by a whopping thirty six %, up to twenty seven mpg town and thirty six mpg highway.
Style-wise, the littlest Subie has return a protracted approach from its bug-eyed youth.

To mirror that repositioning, the Impreza’s advertising campaign got a small tweak, too. There are still the same old spots with bearded thirty-somethings, dogs and bicycles, however there are ads targeted at those first-time new automobile consumers who may realize the opposite tiny, affordable, high-mpg offerings a bit too ubiquitous. In alternative words, the new Impreza could be a hipster Corolla.

I got 2 weeks with 2 Imprezas — one an entry-level Premium hatchback, the opposite a completely loaded restricted sedan, each equipped with CVTs — and came faraway from the expertise with mixed impressions. Everything that produces a Subaru a Subaru — the all-wheel drive, the hose-it-off interior, the boxer engine — still shines, however a number of the changes that cater to new fans could find yourself creating some enemies.

Style-wise, the littlest Subie has return a protracted approach from its bug-eyed youth, and flared fenders build the family resemblance to the larger Legacy additional clear. Bonus: Windows you'll really see out of. In each sedan and hatch kind, the Impreza contains a tall greenhouse with lots of glass, negating a need for blind spot sensors and back-up cameras. It’s an intentional improvement, and a welcome one in all the embrasures that pass for auto glass lately. simply set your mirrors and go. On the hatch, you'll even see your hind lights within the rear-view mirror.

Inside, no-nonsense Luddites can realize lots to like. the middle stack is formed from knobs and dials — rather like Dad’s Heathkit! — and acres of onerous, textured plastic. Cars equipped with navigation additionally use slightly screen to manage the radio, however virtual “buttons” are huge and straightforward to visualize. There’s lots of legroom within the back, however the front seats lack support for long drives. each our testers additionally featured noticeably loud blower motors, as if Fuji serious Industries had pulled elements from some Swedish junkyard.