Subaru Impreza
With Canadian winters being as brutal as they are, it's surprising
that the Subaru Impreza isn't the bestselling compact in the land.
With standard all-wheel drive, its foul-weather capability is head
and shoulders above any front-drive compact.
All-wheel drive pays dividends in the dry as well. The
Impreza&emdash;I tested a top-of the-line, accessorized-to-the-gills
2.5 RS coupe&emdash;charges through corners with a flat cornering
stance and bundles of grip; in situations where front-wheel drive
cars would be scrabbling for traction, power would simply be diverted
to the rear wheels, which carried the car through corners
effortlessly. Granted, the tires fitted to the 2.5 are a lot larger
than standard&emdash;16-inchers instead of 15s&emdash;but the
traction, in any of the Impreza's versions, is excellent.
There's a lot of power, too, even in standard form, where the
Impreza's motivated by a 2.2-litre engine making 137 horsepower and
145 lb-ft of torque. (The RS is pushed along by a gigantic roaring
2.5-litre, 165-horsepower unit.) The standard five-speed manual
transmission has short throws and feels solid; a four-speed automatic
is a $1000 option, and buys an even more sophisticated electronic
four-wheel drive system.
Despite the car's official subcompact EPA classification, the
Impreza's interior feels roomy and well-sorted. The seats, especially
up front, are comfortable and supportive. The rear bench is not
surprisingly flatter; headroom, even in the rear of the coupe, is
generous&emdash;the car's really square roofline undoubtedly helps
things here. The roofline also helps visibility, which, despite the
RS' gigantic rear spoiler, is excellent all around. The fold-away
mirrors, especially, are huge for this size of car.
Impreza's dash was redesigned last year, and shares a new, logical
layout with its Forester cousin. A lot of handy touches abound, from
a lidded storage compartment at the top of the dash to a foldaway
cupholder hidden underneath the centre armrest. The materials here
are of pretty good quality, though some of the parts' fit could use
some work.
Outside, the body panels fit just fine, but the car's look just
doesn't do it for me. The frameless glass is a nice touch, but the
Impreza's many goofy styling touches&emdash;the RS, especially, is
full of them, with nonfunctional scoops and ducts
everywhere&emdash;ruin what I think is a pretty good-looking body
with a cute pug nose.
It must be said, however, that the car's tall rear spoiler and
gold wheels elicited no shortage of stares and thumbs-up from my
hooligan fourteen-year-old brother and his hooligan friends. (He
pointed out, grinning, that the car's paint job matched, right down
to the gold wheels, the scheme of the Dodge Viper parked on his
shelf.)
As seems Subaru policy, the most useful and practical
Impreza&emdash;and the one I would buy&emdash;is the cheapest one;
the Brighton "sport wagon" lists at just $17,295. The car's also
available as a sedan ($21,695) and in a tarted-up Outback version
with even more aesthetic frippery ($24,995). The only coupe on sale
now is the 2.5 RS, which stickers at $26,395. All versions of the car
have the nasty hood scoop; only the RS has the wing.
All Impreza iterations get you all-wheel drive, four-wheel
independent suspension, and big fifteen-inch tires. Inside, dual
airbags, power door locks, and a remarkably awful 80-watt stereo are
standard equipment.
All the car's versions also buy a really mechanical feel that some
drivers may find off putting; the Impreza is no compact cloud on
wheels and is proud of it. After a couple of days, though, the
flat-four's distinctive woofly exhaust note, the steering's slightly
heavy feel, and the shifter's clonk as I engaged reverse, were
endearing touches rather than annoying ones, touches that gave the
Impreza a distinctive personality&emdash;something that most of the
cars in its price class are sorely lacking.