Test Drive: 2012 Subaru Impreza Sport Package 5-Door

By Kevin Harrison

Bigger is better. We hear that cliché all the time, but just how true is it? I recently went for a six inch sub at Subway instead of the foot long and I must admit, my stomach sure did appreciate that rather than stuffing it with another half of sub. Surely I alleviated myself of stomach cramps by going for less.

The bigger is better notion is a problem we hear all the time, and the auto industry is among the worse for employing it. Every car has grown in size from its original inception and every car now has a bigger engine. For Subaru they had a somewhat similar problem.

The motto: Most true Subarus should have all-wheel drive standard.

The problem: All-wheel drive means increased fuel consumption.

Subaru has been struggling with this dilemma for the past few decades as gas prices climb and show no signs of slowing down. Not wanting to fully abandon their all-wheel drive heritage (making the rear-wheel drive BRZ is probably as far as Subaru is willing to go), the only solution seemed to remain in the power plant.

But increasing horsepower or making a bigger engine would surely affect fuel consumption. Famous for their boxer engines, Subaru has concluded that to ditch the boxer could mean losing some of their loyal fans, so rather than putting in a diesel or making a hybrid powertrain, Subaru has gone to the drawing board with a new smaller engine – bucking the trend to upside, to match their newly redesigned compact offering.

Have they come up with a credible solution to their dilemma or is this just some great spin from their marketing department? I drove one to find out.

Traditionally, the styling for most Subaru’s were quirky and polarizing with the Impreza being the most guilty of all the models. When a complete redesign came in 2002 with a ‘bug-eyed’ look, most Subaru most were shouting blasphemy, while regular folks couldn’t quite decide if they liked what they saw. Today, the Subaru has evolved from awkward looking to sharp and chiseled. The new front end mimics that of the Legacy and the side profile has some style injected in the Sport trim level with mutlispoke 17 inch wheels, side skirting and a large roof spoiler out back. A colleague of mine complained that the sharp lines particularly in the back end made it look too much like the artless and chunky Dodge Caliber while another complained that the roof spoiler was too much. I disagree with both of their analyses as I think the new look is quite attractive to the eye and is probably the best looking Impreza to date.

 The interior has also been reworked and there is no polarization here. It’s all around a good looking interior with decent feeling materials that are laid out in a smart manner. The controls on the centre stack are noticeably placed higher and are easier to reach and rear legroom is much improved as well. The Impreza can be had in either sedan or hatchback and the latter provides an increased cargo area of 638 litres and around 1,485 litres with the seats folded down for a nearly flat cargo area. Basically the Impreza is definitely versitile enough for most of your stuff and is one of the few in the segment to offer a hatchback version of their sedan. Kudos to Subaru for making both available, which the hatch only costing $900 more than the sedan.

 So that new engine that I alluded to? Well believe it or not Subaru has bucked the trend of upsizing engines for new models. The new 2.0 litre 4 cylinder replaces the 2.5 litre four for 2012. Don’t worry Subie fans, this engine is still horizontally opposed, but it makes less power. The 148 horsepower and 143 pound foot torque is a lot less than the 170 horses and 170 pound foot torque that the old unit used to produce, but in actuality there’s only a 1 second gain from 0-100 and let’s face it, in real world driving one second really doesn’t matter a whole lot. If you want to track race your Impreza, Subaru will be happy to offer you their performance laden WRX or STi, however for most city dwellers, this kind of power is adequate. With that said, 0-100 is a rather longish 11.1 seconds.

So, performance is a bit of a sacrifice, however that means that the Impreza returns some impressive fuel efficiency numbers. It’s rated at 7.5 L/100 kms city and 5.5 L/100 kms highway with my CVT equipped tester, which is the most fuel efficient vehicle sold today with all-wheel drive. Considering most compact offerings is the segment get similar numbers with just front wheel drive, Subaru has essentially eliminated any worry of fuel efficiency penalty for anyone who prefers all-wheel drive. Looks great on paper, however my real world test revealed a combined highway and city driving rating of 10.1 L/100kms. The Impreza can’t necessarily be blamed for this higher fuel consumption, however. Most of my time with the Impreza was spent in rather cold temperatures which negatively affects fuel efficiency no matter what you drive, and on top of that, I live about a 10 minute drive from my day job.  Shorter trips generally mean the vehicle has less time to adequately warm up which means more fuel consumption. And no, idling a vehicle in your driveway does nothing to warm it up, it just wastes more gas.

While the CVT transmission is not ideal from a performance perspective it is part of the puzzle of why the Impreza achieves such amazing fuel efficiency number. However Subaru fitted the Impreza CVT with paddle shifters which gives the allusion of performance. While shifts are quick and smooth while using the paddles, they are pretty much useless from a performance perspective. It doesn’t matter how quickly you can shift gears with an 11 second run to 100 kph. With that said it’s a smooth transmission, however it can be a bit intrusive to the cabin when pushed. Once the Impreza is all warmed up, however, engine noise is less noticeable.

 

Despite that all-wheel drive system, the Impreza reaches its limit of grip sooner than expected in the corner, and this is where the Impreza actually feels like a heavier car. Granted my tester was equipped with less grippy winter tires, however if you’re not careful you can get the Impreza out of shape fairly easily. The traction and stability control ensures that there are no unfortunate consequences, however.

Recently Subaru earned the top spot on Consumer Reports Rankings list and a big reason why was due to the redesigned Impreza. It’s redesigned, more user friend and upscale interior along with its impressive fuel efficiency rating helped Subaru’s smallest offering achieve that accolade. And for its few shortcomings, I can safely conclude that Consumer Reports was bang-on to praise this new Impreza. I’d be curious to see if the Impreza can meet or even beat it’s fuel efficiency ratings in warmer weather because if it can, Subaru has essentially come up with proof that bigger is not better. They got essentially the same power from a smaller engine which is more efficient without having to sacrifice something that is synonymous with their brand name: all-wheel drive. Bigger is better? Not where the Impreza is concerned. While other brands continue to put foot long subs for their engines, Subaru has proved that you can go with a six inch and still be satisfied.

Base Price: $26,490

Pros:

  • Best looking Impreza to date
  • Attractive re-worked interior
  • Lots of usable cargo space
  • Good fuel efficiency without sacrificing all-wheel drive

Cons:

  • Engine noise can be intrusive
  • Feels heavy when cornering
  • Generally can be slow

Overall: 7.5/10

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