Subaru Impreza 2.0i 2012 review

Impreza 2.0i-L
Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $29,490
Options fitted (not included in above price): Metallic Paint $NCO
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: 91 RON ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 6.8
CO2 emissions (g/km): 157
Also consider: Honda Civic Sport ($27,990); Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback VRX (from $30,990); Suzuki SX4 S AWD (from $24,190)

Where the latest Subaru Impreza succeeds and the XV — based on the same car — doesn't, is the question of meeting design criteria. The XV is already doing ripping business for Subaru, the importer says, but the Impreza shopping trolley strikes us as a better conceived car, measured against its direct opposition.

Over a two-week period, motoring.com.au tested both the entry-level Impreza 2.0i and the more upmarket Impreza 2.0i-L. The aspect of both cars that immediately hits home is the styling, naturally. Like the XV, the latest Impreza has drawn fire for its looks, as did the model before it. This new Impreza is angular and masculine; there's nothing else around that looks like it (unless it's another Subaru) and that in itself is one argument in the Impreza's favour.

Being a Japanese design, the Impreza requires little familiarisation for right-hook Aussies. When it comes to instruments and controls, everything is placed where it's expected to be. In keeping with the best of Subaru's design, the instruments are practical and easy to read, without the steering wheel feeling larger than necessary. Everything is easy to reach and the illuminated ignition lock is one of very few in our experience that is visible without craning the neck and yet also allows the key to be slotted into the barrel just by feel anyway. As mentioned in our recent small-car mega test, the field of vision is outstanding in the Impreza. The A-pillars are well placed and well designed for optimum safety.

Finding a comfortable driving position presented no difficulties whatsoever, but the seats themselves don't represent a major step forward in design. They're supportive enough and this writer had no issue with the level of comfort, but the seats don't feel like they've progressed beyond the previous model's.

Rear-seat accommodation offers plenty of headroom for adults, and there's more than enough kneeroom, although adults won't be able to stretch out in comfort. That said, of course, it's a small car and the packaging is appropriate. The boot is not huge, as mentioned in the mega test; it occupies the median range for the small car segment, but is actually better than expected given the car's all-wheel drive components below the boot floor.

While the car was marked down in the mega test for lack of quality door closure, this writer reckons the Impreza's actually pretty good on that front. It requires little effort to close the doors, which seal with a subdued but drum-like feel — no tinniness or bounce back. Clearly there's a difference of opinion within the motoring.com.au fraternity on that score.

Still on build quality, many of the plastic fittings were up to scratch and the harder plastics were generally acceptable by the standards of the class. The style of the dash was a lot less ostentatious than the previous model's quasi art deco look. Conversely, the cloth upholstery for the seats of the base model won't win any awards for design. The fabric is drab and uninspiring, but it's serviceable trim in a base-grade small car. There's a bit of a lift in the 2.0i-L variant that motoring.com.au drove a week after the base model. Seat side bolsters are trimmed in leather and the inserts are a little more attractive, while remaining a hard-wearing fabric.

The centre fascia of the Impreza 'L' was a high-tech feature of the upgraded vehicle's interior and housed the useful reversing camera (when reverse gear was selected). There's plenty of graphic information displayed in the 4.3-inch LCD, not all of it especially useful — like the engine oil temperature, for example — but it's certainly easy to read and mostly worthwhile.

Audio streaming and Bluetooth phone connectivity from an iPhone 4 was a hit-and-miss affair. Frequently the Impreza took its own good time to connect to the smartphone. On top of that, it was a convoluted process, unlike the smaller and cheaper Kia Rio S motoring.com.au drove a few weeks back. The system would only pair one phone at a time and the car wouldn't connect automatically to the phone each morning unless the phone itself was manually connected first.

Once under way, the Impreza conveyed a sense of true progress from the previous model. While there are those who deride the continuously variable transmission (CVT), it represents a marked improvement on the four-speed epicyclic box of the previous model. It allows the engine to find its feet, around the point where peak torque is occurring, and there are no stepped 'hiccups' in the fluid delivery of power to the wheels.

When the CVT's selection lever is pulled over towards the driver for manual operation and the left-hand shift paddle is flipped back for downshifting, the Impreza emits a banshee-like wail to go along with the engine's own note. It's dramatic and fun, if you don't mind that sort of thing. When left to kick-down alone, the transmission is quieter, but still whines a bit, if you do mind that sort of thing. Even in the Impreza L, the transmission whine was noticeable and the drivetrain was demonstrably gruffer when the engine was cold.

The CVT works acceptably most of the time. In combination with the engine it makes for unfussed driving around town and the Impreza can trickle along below 1500rpm with nothing more than the barest of labouring. But when the driver applies the boot to the accelerator, the CVT will do its best to find a compromise between the standard drone of CVT-equipped cars, while allowing the engine to whip up some revs. There's even a modicum of engine braking available on hills. Among CVTs fitted to small cars the Subaru's is one of the better units and can deliver fast, responsive downshifts manually. As well as allowing the Impreza's boxer engine to potter along at low revs in a high ratio, it conversely provides the right sort of ratios for the engine when in power-on mode. The one misgiving about this box is that it's very occasionally inclined to shunt, adjusting ratios on a hill as the driver lifts the foot, for example. This was more likely to occur at lower revs and on light throttle.

When pushed as hard as it would go, the Impreza's boxer engine has a very sporty note to it and is a major improvement on Subaru's naturally-aspirated boxer powerplants from the past. Subaru has engineered some of the distinctive boxer note out of the engine, but the end result is an improvement, we would say. This all-new engine retains some of the previous engine's character, but has enough torque to make driving around the city and suburbs effortless, thanks in good part to the CVT. However, it will also kick down readily and whip up to 3000rpm for a decent surge of acceleration, but there's a further step up in power from 4000rpm and above. The engine doesn't discourage using maximum revs and even with the CVT being operated manually (via shift paddles that rotate with the steering wheel), the engine will reach the redline and then the CVT will change up to the next 'gear', which is a programmed step in fact.

Fuel consumption, according to the base-grade car's trip computer, was 10.0L/100km for the week. That reflects a lot of commuting and just 40km of open-road travel; not to mention the weight and mechanical drag of the Impreza's all-wheel drive system. More open-road driving brings that figure down, as we found the following week in the case of the Impreza L. With a bit more cruising, the higher-grade Impreza posted a figure of 9.0L/100km with the same drivetrain.

Gut feeling was that the Subaru's idle stop-start setup probably did help reduce fuel consumption over the seven days. It fires up the engine very quickly when the light changes to green, and because the boxer is a well balanced unit there's little of the torque-related rock and roll frequently experienced in other cars with such systems. Unlike other systems however, it will restart the Impreza after a very short space of time, rather than run the risk of the battery losing too much charge. The briefest period we observed was just 35 seconds stopped. It makes you wonder at what point stopping the engine is actually more wasteful of fuel than leaving the engine running.

Like some other cars that stop and start automatically at standstill, the Subaru will refrain from stopping the engine if the driver's foot is not completely relaxed (a dead weight on the pedal). The system reads a brake foot tensed to mean the driver is anticipating the light will change to green shortly. It's a good system, fairly well sorted. But the Subaru's starter motor is relatively loud in the entry-level model and does its thing with a conspicuous shriek, so it's very noticeable to nearby pedestrians when the engine restarts. Still, we could live with that if the upside is keeping up with traffic when the flag drops, figuratively speaking. The Impreza is fast to restart and the only delay launching from an intersection is the length of time it takes the driver to ease off the brake and get on the gas.

NVH was a mixed bag in the case of the base model Impreza. Wind noise was apparent at freeway speeds and seemed to emanate from around the door mirrors. Other sources of noise while cruising on the open road included the tyres and a whisper from the driveline. While the Impreza 'L' was quieter overall, there was still some wind noise present and about an equal level of road noise.

Ride comfort was well resolved and the suspension was appropriately damped in both cars. Subaru chassis engineers appear to have benefited from starting with a body that feels taut and strong. There was very little body roll in corners and the all-wheel drive grip delivered on its promise. Accelerating out of a corner at speed eventually provoked some protest from the tyres, but little else. The car is more prone to push on in tighter turns. Steering, which our mega testers felt was light — the implication being too light — was weighty enough in the view of this tester and it delivered better feedback than many small cars from Asia. That's the point, presumably. Up against small cars from Europe the Impreza is a middle-ranking small car, but by comparison with many of its rivals from Japan and South Korea, the Impreza's steering is actually quite agreeable, especially once committed to changing direction.

Since it's actually a fairly good drive and its safety at least matches its purchase price, the Impreza is a car that should find plenty of homes in Australia, even with looks that only (some) mothers could love. Perhaps more importantly for Subaru, the new car reaffirms the faith of those who have bought Subarus in the past. They'll be back for more...

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