Subaru Impreza RS Hatchback 2008 Review

Road Test

Model: 2008 Subaru Impreza RS Hatchback

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 2.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 3.0/5.0

About our ratings

There is one problem when you keep asking for something -- sometimes you get what you ask for.

After fans kept asking for Impreza styling that didn't offend anyone, Subaru has delivered an inoffensive Impreza. And while a BMW 1 Series lookalike may be a big plus for entry level Impreza buyers, it leaves precious little to distinguish the top level non-turbo Impreza RS from a formidable army of $30,000-plus rivals.

The traditional Impreza buyer once attracted to the model's stand apart looks and specification is not going to be so easily impressed by generic looks that effectively combine the BMW 1 Series profile with a Mazda3 front. Just as the Porsche 911 artfully disguises the fact that its boxer engine hangs on the wrong side of the rear axle, previous Imprezas have hidden the boxer engine hanging over the front axle but not this latest one.

In the latest Impreza, Subaru has forced the front wheel arches almost against the front doors to accommodate the overhanging engine. In combination with its short BMW-style rear overhang (reduced by 120mm over previous models), it looks like someone has shunted the latest Impreza up the rear and pushed the body too far ahead of the front wheels. It marks a return to the look of the quaint early 1970s Subarus, the last time Subaru tried to imitate rear-drive rivals.

What Subaru has done to the latest Impreza is almost the equivalent of Porsche using the latest Mustang as the starting point for its next Boxster. At RS level, the Impreza buyer is now faced with an imitator, not an initiator, which then carries through the whole car.

Where the non-turbo Imprezas once offered standout 2.0 and 2.5-litre engines, virtually all rivals now offer equivalent or better performance from efficient 2.0-litre engines. Unless you are constantly driving in mud, ice, slush or gravel (which probably rules out 99 per cent of Australian small car drivers), the Impreza RS with its base model powertrain is not powerful enough for its all-wheel drive system to be a big plus over an ESP-equipped front drive rival, especially as an auto.

Other manufacturers not saddled with the 70-100kg weight and cost penalty that the AWD system generates have exploited this handicap by delivering better interiors, better performance and economy.

If you are paying over $30,000 for an RS, the handicap is a little too obvious as the cabin still feels cheap with basic storage, the auto is an old-fashioned four-speed unit and the five-speed manual is a ratio short. Despite the space saver spare, luggage space is also shallower than expected.

Despite Subaru's clever rework of its great little 2.0-litre boxer engine, it is now off the pace in performance and fuel economy thanks to this shortage of ratios and the extra weight of all-wheel drive. Even the basic Nissan Tiida with its clickety six-speed manual provides a more satisfying drivetrain than this Impreza RS. The US market Impreza gets the 2.5-litre engine at this level.

Most four-speed autos started life as a three-speed with an overdrive cruising gear which is exactly how the Impreza RS feels. Because the RS four-speed auto relies on torque-converter slip to cover the gaps, it already feels old.

When there is VW's six-speed DSG and any number of five or six speed auto options in this price range, the Impreza RS auto is effectively a no-show for serious drivers shopping in the over-$30K marketplace.

Even the addition of a sequential shift (with a shift pattern that is the reverse of most of today's sportier models) struggles to keep the willing engine in its sweet spot. Because slip is still needed to cover the gaps, there can be little crispness even in manual mode - this vital for a model carrying an RS badge.

As a result, the extra grip and traction of the Impreza RS's fine chassis are too often wasted.

Hold the Impreza RS manually in third through a flowing sequence of fast corners and you get a frustrating glimpse of how wonderfully this chassis could perform. The supple suspension, balance, powerful brakes and incredible grip (thanks to WRX-spec 17-inch rubber) are something to behold. Even the ride quality (despite some initial harshness from the low profile tyres) is so good that the quality of the driving experience holds up over choppy and loose surfaces.

However, throw some really tight corners and steep exits into the mix and not even the improved engine can cover the gaps in ratios.

It's back to the days of the flawed early 1.8 Imprezas where the auto had to constantly choose between screaming in the lower gears or slogging in the next higher ratio.

Under these conditions, fuel economy can soon slump back to 12L/100km. Better to load up the premium sound system and dial in the climate control in these conditions if you want entertainment.

Because this RS was tested over the very same route as Subaru's original 1996 Outback, the uncanny similarity in the way the powertrains behaved emerged all too quickly. The 1996 Outback had 115kW/221Nm hauling 1420kg compared to this new Impreza's 110kW/196Nm lugging close to 1400kg fully-equipped.

When both rely on similar four-speed autos with identical ratios, seasoned Subaru Liberty and Outback drivers who are downsizing won't feel as if they have progressed a decade.

When so many basic but larger family cars, including the Toyota Aurion and Ford's six-speed auto-equipped Falcon, now offer a seamless flow of power and better fuel economy without this fuss, there is no excuse for such behaviour in a brand-new premium Impreza. The six-speed DSG on its way for the Ford Focus will highlight this even further.

If the Impreza was back in the lead in terms of driving, the generic styling would matter little. And even if the RS styling additions are tasteful, they set up unfulfilled expectations.

Nor would the 'poverty pack' cabin be such an irritation but as it stands, the hard plastics and the contrived swoopy curves of the dash are further reminders that substance may no longer be an Impreza core value.

The RS sports seats are good when they manage to combine aggressive side bolsters with ease of entry and exit thanks to flat cushions. There is little cabin storage but there are decent reading lights.

There is no temperature gauge, a feature which becomes more critical as a car ages, which might indicate shorter term priorities. At least there is a blue warning light that stays on until the engine is warmed-up.

There was a time when the Impreza's rally-tough body shell was the exception in the small car stakes. As more everyday manufacturers shoot for a five-star crash test result, the latest Impreza can sometimes feel flimsier than cheaper rivals in some areas such as the doors.

The non-turbo Impreza has reached a similar stage to the non-turbo Porsche 911 in the late 1970s when all the extra complication, cost and technology did not deliver a significantly better outcome against new rivals. The problem is not with the RS model on test here but the base Impreza levels. They may have turned entry-level small car buyers into winners but not those in the $30,000 plus range.

After maintaining the complexity of all-wheel drive and a boxer engine that still needs duplicated cylinder blocks, heads and camshafts at all price levels, Subaru cannot easily upgrade what's left just for the top-end models.

When this cost-paring also seems to have limited the choice of up-to-date transmissions for the RS, the cost of Subaru's local all-AWD policy across the board may have become too high.

For the first time since the Impreza was launched, there isn't a stand-apart model that raises the bar in drivetrain or styling terms for the top-end small car buyer who doesn't need a WRX. And that, is a real loss.

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