Subaru’s new Impreza impresses (for less than the Crosstrek)

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What looks like a Crosstrek, drives like a Crosstrek and costs a bit less than a Crosstrek? That would be Subaru’s new 2024 Impreza hatchback. Priced at $2,200 less than its Crosstrek cousin, it’s Subaru’s least expensive vehicle.

Although it’s built on the same platform as the Crosstrek, the Impreza gets only a fraction of the Crosstrek’s sales.

Subaru sold more than 15,000 Crosstreks, its most popular vehicle, last year, and hopes to sell at least 20,000 this year. That compares with about 3,600 Imprezas and the Japanese carmaker forecasts that number will stay about the same for the 2024 version.

“That’s pretty conservative when you’re talking about 20,000 Crosstreks,” said Brad Evans, Subaru Canada car line manager. “That said, the new Impreza should hopefully cast a wider net.”

Subaru calls the 2024 Impreza, the car’s sixth generation, all-new from the ground up. But the company didn’t start from scratch. Like the 2024 Crosstrek, the 2024 Impreza has had “hundreds of incremental” changes to improve handling, ride comfort and safety.

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For the new generation, the sedan version and the manual transmission won’t be offered at all. That’s not new – Subaru stopped selling the sedan and stick shift in Canada last year because of low sales.

“Maybe like 10 to 15 per cent of sales were manuals, at best,” said Anton Pawczuk, senior director of product management for Subaru Canada. “Everyone’s like ‘Save the manual!’ But [for that to happen], you’ve got to buy one.”

While the base model loses the stick, it gains standard EyeSight, Subaru’s driver assist system. It also gains standard dual-zone automatic climate control, Sirius XM radio and steering-responsive LED headlights.

At $26,795, that’s a $1,700 price increase over the previous base model.

While Evans acknowledges that compact car prices are climbing, he said that’s largely because most buyers today expect safety tech features and comforts like heated seats and automatic climate control.

There are four models: Convenience ($26,795), Touring ($29,995), RS ($31,795) and Sport-tech ($34,795).

The first two use the same 152-horsepower two-litre engine as the previous Impreza. It’s also in the two lower-tier Crosstreks. The top two trims get the same 182-horsepower 2.5-litre engine as the Crosstrek’s top two trims.

While the base model is geared to younger buyers who are new to the brand, the RS, which Subaru expects to be the top seller within the Impreza stable, is geared to drivers wanting more pep and who may be considering a Mazda3 Sport or a Civic Turbo, Evans said. The Sport-tech, which comes with leather seats and navigation, is geared to older buyers who may have been in a Subaru SUV and want to downsize.

In Subaru’s surveys of buyers who chose a Subaru over rivals, including the Civic, Corolla and Mazda3, nearly 73 per cent said their key reason was the standard all-wheel drive, which isn’t an option on the Civic or Corolla, and is $6,300 extra on the Mazda3. Nearly 20 per cent said it was because of Subaru’s safety ratings.

With a market crazy about SUVs, why keep a compact car at all?

“We still think there’s room for a compact car, even though the segment is declining,” Pawczuk said. “There are still some people who just want a car; they don’t necessarily need to have an SUV.”

Because the Impreza and the Crosstrek are so similar – the Impreza has less rugged looks and is 90 millimetres (3.5 inches) lower to the ground – is Subaru worried that it might lure buyers away from its top seller?

“It’s good for us either way,” Evans said.

Tech specs

2024 Subaru Impreza

• Base price/as tested: $26,795 / $31,795 plus $1,995 for freight and predelivery inspection, plus taxes
• Engines: Two-litre, four-cylinder with 152 horsepower / 2.5-litre, four-cylinder with 182 horsepower
• Transmission/drive: Continuously variable transmission (CVT) / All-wheel drive
• Fuel consumption (litres per 100 kilometres): 8.8 city, 6.9 highway (2.0-litre); 9.0 city, 7.2 highway (2.5 litre)
• Alternatives: Honda Civic hatchback, Mazda3 Sport, Toyota Corolla hatchback

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Looks

The Impreza looks like a junior Crosstrek – in a good way. It’s sharper, more athletic and less bland than the previous version, but not as rugged or bulky as the new Crosstrek. In front, it gets smaller headlights than before and a bigger, sexier grille. In back, it gets a more sloped tailgate and Subaru’s signature C-shaped LED taillights. Over all, it’s a handsome car.

Interior

The cabin is clean and modern. Controls are simple and convenient. There are buttons for volume and adjusting the temperature, but setting the climate control to automatic required some fiddling with the touchscreen. It’s surprisingly quiet inside and the seats are comfortable. Interior space is nearly identical to before (and identical to the Crosstrek) with plenty of room front and back, although taller drivers might complain about headroom. As in the Crosstrek, the driver has a power seat but the front passenger doesn’t. There’s no power tailgate.

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Performance

We drove the RS, which has the peppier 182-horsepower 2.5-litre engine, on 260 kilometres of twisting, harrowing roads from Whistler, B.C., to Lillooet and back. The Impreza’s handling was impressive and its steering was responsive. It’s more fun to drive than the Crosstrek. It had plenty of power for passing. Over all, the ride is comfortably firm. Like all Subarus, it has standard all-wheel drive, but we did no off-roading. Its 13 centimetres of ground clearance is nine centimetres lower than the Crosstrek’s 22. The Impreza isn’t designed for deeply rutted roads.

Technology

Subaru’s EyeSight driver-assist system, including adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist, is standard on all trims. But other safety tech, including blind spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert is only available on the top three trims. The top three trims also get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto; the base trim gets a wired version of both. The Sport-tech, which is geared to older buyers who may not use their phones for navigation, gets GPS.

Cargo

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The cargo space is about the same as the previous generation’s hatchback: 578 litres with the rear seats up and 1,586 litres with them down.

The verdict

With better looks than before and a peppier engine in the top trims, the quietly impressive new Impreza might make more sense for buyers who don’t need the pricier Crosstrek’s higher ground clearance.

The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story referred to Subaru as a South Korean carmaker. It is a Japanese carmaker.

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