Subaru Impreza 2.0R 2008 Review

Road Test

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.5/5.0
X-factor: 3.0/5.0

About our ratings

The latest incarnation of Subaru's small car, the Impreza, has looks that, in the words of some, only a mother could love.

Yet, for all the doom-saying, the new-look Impreza sold to 42.7 per cent more buyers in October 2007 than the superseded model did during the same month in 2006. October was the new car's first full month on sale, but even in November -- after the first flush of enthusiasm had passed -- sales of the new car were considerably ahead of November 2006 sales.

What this indicates is that buyers of the Impreza tend to look past the styling. Many punters claim to be put off by the Impreza's new clothes, but the styling looks better in the flesh and the new Impreza no longer looks under-tyred in the way that the previous model did. It still looks a little top-heavy above the swage line along the side, but to an extent, that is offset by the car's above average field of vision.

Earlier models of Impreza have been an acquired taste too but the new model is, without a doubt, a major step forward technically, and meets other small car segment competitors head-on -- without compromising all Subaru's traditional values.

There is one glaring point where Subaru has conceded defeat and that is immediately obvious to anyone with a passing familiarity with Subaru models. It's the window frames. For as long as anyone can remember, Subarus have always boasted frameless windows. The Impreza turns against this tradition, but is all the better for it, frankly.

The doors are now much easier to close securely. They also sound tight and the panel gaps are very close. You wouldn't think that doors could represent such a major advance over an old model, but there's just no need to slam them as you needed to do with the old car. They also contribute to lower levels of NVH and Subaru claims that they also enhance the Impreza's already decent passive safety.

Once seated in the car, occupants will note interior styling cues that are just as much in the eye of the beholder as the car's exterior. Some will find the sweeping crease lines in the dash (curving in and down from either side as they approach the centre fascia) to be ostentatious -- almost art deco. They're more apparent with a coordinating colour, as was the case with the entry-level Impreza 2.0R. The higher-spec Impreza 2.0RX was more conservative in colour matching.

The ivory coordinating colour was possibly overplayed in the interior of the Impreza R, especially for the steering wheel; ivory being the principal colour for the rim, spokes, hub and airbag cover. The satin finish around the door handles was generally applied with a bit more subtlety and worked better. The two-tone grey in the RX looked comparatively high-class.

Subaru went for an asymmetrical look in the dashboard design and whilst it's quite functional and easy to use, it's also attractive and unusual.

On start-up, the illuminated instrument needles do their little balletic sequence, flipping over to the opposite side of the dial before settling down in the appropriate operating position. That never gets old to watch.

We're not completely convinced that the plastics have made a significant leap forward over the old car, and the seats definitely haven't. Front seats in the previous entry-level model were more comfortable and more supportive, in the opinion of this writer.

Rear seat accommodation is substantially better than in the previous model. There's far more legroom now and the Impreza compares with big brother Liberty in that area. The previous model was more cramped than older front-wheel-drive designs from competitors.

Standard features for the base Impreza R included ABS/EBD/VDC, active headrests, dual front airbags, side impact airbags, air curtains, adjustable steering column for height and reach, CD audio system with four speakers, cruise control, driver's footrest, map lights, electric windows and mirrors, vanity mirrors in both sunvisors, 60/40 split-fold rear seat, 12V auxiliary power outlets and auto-off headlights.

Over the Impreza R's specification, the RX grade featured climate control, a six-stack in-dash CD player with 10 speakers, leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearshift knob, remote control switchgear on the steering wheel for the audio system, front fog lights and 16-inch alloy wheels in lieu of 16-inch steel wheels.

Rear visibility in the new car doesn't seem as good as that of earlier models, with the rear hatch windowline appearing to be slightly higher, detracting from the ease of reverse-parking.

On the plus side, the exterior mirrors are a very good balance of compact design and provide a wide field of vision. As a bonus, they don't contribute to wind noise.

The Impreza was pretty quiet at cruising speed. Yokohama tyres fitted as original equipment were noisier than either the Impreza's aerodynamics or drivetrain on the open road. In-gear acceleration was less harmonious than in earlier Imprezas, surprisingly. The variable valve timing two-litre boxer drones a little and sounds less refined in the mid-range.

In other respects however, the engine with its variable valve timing is so far ahead of the old 2.0-litre engine without the variable timing, it's like chalk and cheese. The variable valve timing engine is almost lazy in the way it produces torque at low revs -- happy to pull away from a standing start without revving to high heaven and it's also fairly muscular in the mid-range, reaching 5000rpm quite rapidly.

It will, of course, pull harder than that, but for day-to-day driving, acceleration in a higher gear will be as efficient, changing up from 5000rpm. For track days, there's still more performance left above 5000rpm.

The power available from the RX engine through the manual transmission has now tipped the power/traction beam balance slightly to the advantage of the power side. In the wet, it's now barely possible to provoke wheelspin. This may also be a symptom of the tyres as much as the power from the engine.

Don't be misled, even the RX engine is not what you would call extraordinarily powerful by the standards of other small cars, but it is a significant improvement on the naturally aspirated 2.0-litre boxers fitted (without variable valve timing) to earlier models and it is at least, comparable with or better than its competitors, developing 110kW of power at 6400rpm and 196Nm of torque from 3200rpm.

Subaru claims that the new car is lighter and more fuel efficient. The reduced weight will aid the engine going about its business and fuel economy certainly did seem better than what we've come to expect from older models.

Drive to all four wheels is handled by the automatic transmission, which was fitted as an option to the entry-level Impreza R or the five-speed manual transmission fitted as standard to the Impreza RX.

The automatic transmission works through a gated selector which is easy to use, including the sequential shift function -- despite some likelihood of complaints that the sequential plane works the wrong way around, with downchanges effected by pulling the lever back and upchanges forward.

Although the engine works hard to drive the auto, particularly in lower gears, the automatic itself feels like it suffers from a gap in the ratios between second and third gears.

The RX, being a manual, provided some insight into the way Subaru has addressed issues that previously afflicted Imprezas in the past. For example, there's none of the driveline slop that existed in earlier models of the Impreza. As a manual the new Impreza is a fair bit more pleasant to drive than the older cars.

Ride is considerably firmer than the previous (GX) model's. There's also far less body roll than was the case for the old car and turn-in is way better.

Those noisy tyres also let down the side in ultimate roadholding. Although they're Yokies, they squeal in the dry and raise the white flag at relatively low speeds. Allowing for the tyres' unsporting nature, the Impreza still handled and held the road well. Every indication is that it's vastly superior to the handling of older model Imprezas.

One little anecdote concerning the new Impreza: Subaru claims to have improved radio reception by adopting a rear-mounted roof aerial. For once, we can actually verify that the reception has improved, with a Victorian country radio station (at Ballarat, an hour's drive west of Melbourne) coming through loud and clear while driving through suburban Burwood, about 20 minutes east of Melbourne.

Among all the small cars currently available in Australia, the Impreza remains almost unique. Only the Suzuki SX4 offers a similar sort of package with all-wheel drive and we would have to say that, good car though the SX4 is, the new Impreza is a quantum leap ahead of it.

A lot of buyers will find the all-wheel drive of either car to be overkill in the Australian environment. Does the Impreza have anything else to offer?

In one sense, Subaru has brought the Impreza's performance up to the same level as other small cars. It's not class-leading and competitors without the weight penalty of all-wheel drive may still pull ahead of the Subaru in a straight sprint in the dry.

The Impreza is well equipped and safe. There are other considerations in making the buying decision, such as Subaru's resale value, durability and now, reasonable packaging. Would we buy one? If all-wheel drive were important to us, yes.

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