2024 Subaru Impreza review

Subaru has decided to release just a single well-specified Impreza hatch here. Is it the right move?

It used to be the norm back in the last millennium but hatches with naturally aspirated engines are a rarity now, at least those with no electrification for torque infill.

Thinking about it, hatches themselves are an increasingly rare breed, just like sedans. Will we all be driving crossovers or SUVs in the end?

Here’s hoping not, after exiting the latest sixth-generation Subaru Impreza. It arrives here as a lone high-spec model, in contrast to how we used to take our Imprezas; for generations Subaru would import a base model that came in at just under $30k.

It was the only small car with AWD you could buy for that sort of coin. Ah, the good old days.

Now you’re getting a fully laden offering instead, still with the naturally aspirated 2.0L direct-injection engine. While many Kiwis want high-spec models, we’re in a cost of living crisis.

I’d have thought offering a base model at a modest price would have gone down rather well under the circumstances. That’s why Australia offers three models. But then it’s a bigger market.

So it’s a lone Impreza with an eight-step CVT and all the mod cons for us Kiwis. There’s safety gear to beat the band – Eyesight has its peepers on everything and there’s now traffic sign recognition and lane centring – and convenience items galore.

Only you’ll be paying $44,990 for the sixth-generation offering. Sure, it’s loaded, with items like Qi charge pad, leather trim and heated seats, nine airbags, LED headlamps with cornering lights and 360 degree camera, but you’re still playing a fair old whack for a machine that only has 115kW of power and 196Nm from its 2.0L boxer engine.

That’s barely enough to cut out the 0-100 quickstep in 10sec.

However, it does make extremely good use of its modest figures, and you might find point-to-point times are more akin to those of a WRX because that’s what this car thinks it is when you head for the hills.

Styling stuck?

The sixth-generation Impreza continues the design themes of its forebears. Initially, you’d swear they haven’t done anything much on the styling front but there are new C-shaped taillights, a bigger hexagonal grille and the overall look is said to be more athletic.

Certainly the 18-inch rims shod with 225/40R18 rubber suggest it has sport on its mind. And the sweep of the roofline is rather dramatic. Despite that and a powered sunroof, headroom in the rear is fine, and so too visibility from the driver’s perspective.

Underneath it all is a shored-up version of the Subaru Global Platform, extra strengthening and adhesives said to impart a 10 per cent lift in torsional rigidity and improvements in NVH.

We thought that on the initial launch drive and after a week driving it on familiar roads. However, the SPL meter suggested otherwise with average recordings in the 73dB range, a bit of a surprise.

Perhaps that’s because the car is otherwise so quiet; it’s the low-profile Yokohama Advans that are responsible for most of the in-car sounds.

Mention of which, the Harmon Kardon 10-speaker system is rather tasty, especially after playing with the EQ. Why do people pump up the bass and treble, and back off the midrange?

The exact opposite gives a more coherent result because voice dominates the midrange frequencies.

Drives like a dream

The Impreza is one of the more analogue cars we’ve driven in a while, with buttons for things like rezipping the odo, and a well sited volume knob. Saving favourite stations is a breeze, as is demisting, initiated by pushing a button.

Adaptive cruise works well, right down to a stop in heavy traffic. You can cancel autonomous steering at the push of a button. Talk about simple to drive.

Not that Impreza doesn’t bong at you like most other modern cars! The interior camera is on your case, forever telling you to stay alert. So we put the kibosh on that. Same for lane keeping and lane departure warnings.

Not that it doesn’t still bong loudly on occasion. Eventually we twigged that it was alerting us to the proximity of a speed camera!

We had to make an evasive manoeuvre on the motorway in this, when a car swerved across lanes suddenly ahead of us; the brakes are top notch, with good pedal feel and the Advan rubber helped avoid a disaster.

It hangs tough through corners too. Naturally the AWD contributes to grip, but you’d not credit how well this low slung compact darts through turns.

Keep on pushing and there’s no tyre squeal, no incipient understeer, and little obvious brake intervention. This is a case of the chassis comfortably outperforming the engine.

The ride is accomplished too. Its dynamic performance is amongst the best you will encounter in this vanishingly small sector.

Not quite track material

Actual performance, on the other hand, not quite so much. This weighs in at around 1475kg and is meant to get to 100 in 9.8sec. We didn’t quite manage that, with a best of 10.50sec.

That’s likely because it had only done around 500km; Subaru flat fours don’t give of their best until 3000km or so. Fuel use likely will also improve on the 8s we mainly saw during our time with the vehicle.

If you’re up for a spot of sporty driving, best select the S aspect of the Si drive. This amps up throttle response and revs at any given speed, so the engine can work in its most effective rev range.

Most of the time, especially in town, this goes just fine in the regular ‘i’ mode. But for overtaking, definitely select S first – it really puts more pep in its step.

The engine sounds a bit interesting too, being a flat four, although we’ve heard better. What a sweet package this would be with a 1.6T engine. CVTs and turbos are a nice mix.

Cabin much improved

It’s a rather pleasant place to be within the Impreza cabin, except when the speed camera warning alarm goes off. It’s loud and sure wakes you up. Seats have come in for a complete redesign and feel good, though comfort fades some over the longer haul.

The centre console edge is a bit hard, something you notice more in summer wearing shorts. The cabin looks so much more orderly than it used to.

There are plenty of quality soft plastics and no unexpected noises; the build feels solid. Round back and it’s a conventional fifth door, opened manually.

While capacity is hardly generous at just under 300L, there’s a space saver spare beneath the floor, an increasing rarity, and simple split folding leads to a much larger 883L capacity.

Pleasingly, the rear seat belts are sited away from the seat back locking mechanism.

What does the Impreza compete with? Well, there are not many hatches left, and only the really hot ones boast AWD. The rest are hybrid or turbo, moreover, and are quicker.

Which leaves Impreza as a niche offering, and that’s oh-so Subaru.

This story first appeared in the March 2024 issue of NZ Autocar magazine.