The writer was a guest of the auto maker. Standard all-wheel drive turns a good-but-not-great compact sedan into a poor man's Audi Quattro, though without the classy interior trim. And, don’t forget, Impreza comes as a hatchback, too. But even the base model has a 60/40 folding seat.
Cargo: One downside of AWD – real-estate occupied by the rear axle means the trunk is one of the segment’s smallest.Technology: Even the base 2.0i has a 6.2-inch screen, smart-phone integration with Aha, Bluetooth, SXM and steering-wheel aux controls.Add snow or rain, and the AWD Impreza will pull away while its FWD rivals are struggling for traction. Performance: In terms of straight-line speed, expect a 0-100-km/h sprint in the mid-10-second range – at the slow end of the compact-sedan spectrum.From a design standpoint, sound ergonomics take priority over pretty shapes or plush materials. Most compact-sedan interiors have been expanding in recent years, but the Impreza still ranks near the top for passenger stretch-and-sprawl space. Looks: It’s not as frumpy as past Subarus but still, we expect Impreza buyers place more value on a car’s personality and capabilities than on its superficial beauty.Alternatives: Chevrolet Cruze, Dodge Dart, Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Forte, Mazda3, Mitsubishi Lancer, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, VW Jetta.Fuel economy (litres/100 km): 9.5 city 7.0 highway (5MT)/8.5 city 6.4 highway (CVT).Transmission: Five-speed manual or CVT automatic.All-wheel drive makes sense to you, but you'd rather drive a car than a CUV – and your budget doesn't stretch to a luxury sedan. As Subaru likes to say, it makes "uncommon sense." If you like to zig when everyone else zags, this could be your kind of car. Subaru is never going to be a heavy hitter in the compact car segment, but its AWD not-a-CUV formula is already striking a chord. The Impreza is a nice-handling car on dry pavement, but when weather and road both throw you a curve, its AWD security and stability – backstopped by Bridgestone winter tires and stability control – enable back-road average speeds that most people wouldn't attempt on warm, dry pavement. Our fiendish Subaru hosts instead devised a rambling, dog-legged 330-kilometre itinerary that went out of its way to include every winding winter-coated D-road in the regions of Dufferin, Simcoe and Muskoka. Our test drive in the Impreza from Toronto to Muskoka's Lake Rosseau could have been a 215-kilometre straight shot along plowed and salted major highways, but no. As well, the CVT has a soothing effect on engine vibration, delivers highway cruising at lower rpm than the manual and achieves better fuel economy. We know from past experience the manual-shift quality isn't quite a tactile delight, and the automatic is one of the industry's better CVT installations.
Our test sample was the automatic, which suits the car well. The only other compact sedan available with AWD is the aging Mitsubishi Lancer. Plus, of course, standard all-wheel drive.
At $19,995, the base Impreza has A/C as well as a touch-screen display, rear-view camera, cruise and satellite radio (but not seat heaters). Subaru says its buyers tend to be better educated than most, which may be why they don't get suckered in by the "disingenuous" sub-$16,000 starting prices of rival compact sedans that lack A/C and can't be optioned with automatic transmission. That's just as true of the common-or-garden Impreza compact sedan as it is of the five-door hatch versions of Impreza or the cult WRX and STI street-racer sedans. While its Outback, Crosstrek and Forester utes have the CUV frenzy well covered, its four-door cars are growing sales in an overall sedan market that's going the other way. Subaru, for sure, is already in that space. Then, light trucks went mainstream, and now sedan buyers are becoming outliers, the go-their-own-way independent thinkers who buck the trend. Funny thing about sedans: For most of automotive history, the four-door, three-box passenger car has been the epitome of everyday, conventional automotive conformity.
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