To my knowledge no one else has reviewed the base, vanilla version of this car, so here goes.

Over the last 15 years, there have been several Subarus in my family, all of which I have driven, Imprezas, Legacies, and Foresters. I too have test-driven the current (2008) WRX, but not a previous model, so I can’t easily compare. I would have gone for the WRX if I could’ve afforded the roughly $7000 price jump.

My point of comparison for this review however is not a Subaru, but my former vehicle, a 2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V, which was easily the hottest little sedan of that model year. (link) Mine was even arrest-me red, and gratuitous traffic stops are one reason I’ve moved on to something a little more adult and a little more laid back.

My Impreza is silver, with steel wheels, built-in mudguards and an elegant little spoiler, with a 5-speed manual transmission. Black (not body color) mirrors, almost nothing in the way of options, as the lease deal I got was strictly for dealer stock. You do get all the niceties you would get on any car in this price-range these days, air conditioning, power windows and locks, etc., those are standard on any Hyundai, but nothing special in terms of equipment. I typically only commute to work with the car, as we have a family vehicle already (link), so I’m putting less than 8,000 miles annually on whatever I drive—perfect for a lease.

Exterior:
I do live in a very harsh climate for cars, featuring tons of snow and ice, salt and sand blasting the bodywork, which is another reason not to invest too much in them, and completely justified in this case by the fact that I’m seeing rust already on the back trunk lid. The car is less than a year old, from date of manufacture (I checked), and I’ve personally owned it just over six months, so this is completely unacceptable to me. I’m a guy who has been known to spend a couple HOURS washing and babying my car, I’m a fanatic about it—I even brave the car wash in the depths of winter, so I’m very disappointed by this. My old Nissan had nearly 50,000 miles on it and plenty of imperfections in the paint but no actual RUST. The Subaru warranty of course only covers rust-THROUGH, which may become a problem between me and the dealership, as I’m going to ask them to repaint the trunk come spring. I don’t care if the car functions perfectly, I’m paying the cash to have a NEW car, it better not have any rust on it—I see this as a bad sign of long-term reliability. It’s true that growing up I’ve seen and used plenty of cars that were ugly rust-buckets but mechanically worked just fine—and I’m not looking for fairy tales, I understand that fenders rot out, it is the way of all iron. I just think it is utterly ridiculous on a car with so little use. How well-built can a car be if it starts disintegrating before the first oil change?

And for a company that actively markets it’s products for winter conditions, in my experience the bits that are supposed to help don't help much.  The heated exterior mirrors for instance do nothing but fog up in certain temperature ranges. It’s true they stay clear at LOWER temperatures, but between around 25 and 30 degrees they are nothing but fog for several minutes at a stretch if there is even the slightest amount of moisture in the air. What is up with this, Subaru? That’s a normal winter temperature range for the upper half of the country. It’s true the boys at Fuji Heavy Industries have laminated the body work at certain spots (specifically between the rear doors and wheel-wells), to prevent stone chipping and other damage from the rear wheels flinging stuff. This was first used on pickups, to my knowledge, and it’s a good idea for this vehicle, which builds up a lot of frozen debris AHEAD of those back wheels, somehow.  We'll see how long it lasts.


Drivetrain:
It has also taken me some time to get used to having all-wheel-drive. I’ve always owned manual-shift front-wheel-drive cars; some were better in the snow than others. This Subaru has taken some real adjusting on my part when driving in the snow. My problem is, this all-wheel-drive system is smarter than I am, or at least reacts faster. Previously, if I detected wheelspin, or a slide caused by loss of traction in the snow, I would take my foot off the gas or even take the transmission out of gear, and maybe even countersteer if I sensed the trouble is bad enough. This has always kept me out of the ditch, in 14 years of winter driving. But in this car, those techniques not only don’t work, they seem to work AGAINST the all-wheel-drive. The system will keep you pretty much stable and straight if you let it and the tires aren’t overwhelmed (more on that later), but it is sometimes doing things (especially at the rear axles) without my knowledge or consent. You can hear it and feel it in the seat, sometimes powering only one rear wheel or only the wheels on one side of the car. It *is* amazing for doing parking-lot donuts, which is what I ended up needing to do to get comfortable with the system.

Now that I’ve gotten used to it, I’m not scared of the thing anymore—I know just to keep the revs up and steer straight, ignoring the shifter and focusing on the path of the car. Basically it’s just point and shoot, aim where you want to go and let the car figure out how to get you there, traction for dummies. I’m really not sure I like it—I don’t feel like I have more control, I feel in some cases like I have less than I would in a regular front-wheel-drive car. Overall I think AWD could get a guy into trouble he can’t easily get out of, the same way I see these overconfident SUV drivers ending up on their roofs because they think having a 4x4 means they can drive 60 in the snow. In the beginning of the season I personally almost slid sideways into a line of cars in a bad storm because (I admit) I was going too fast for the turn I was making. It wasn’t a familiar road or turn, I tell myself, but still scared me witless when my attempts to correct my path actually seemed to make it worse, leading to an almost perfectly curving (but sideways) drift. I’ve also never had a car with ABS, which activates far more often than I expect in the slushy stuff. I can’t say if that is normal or not, but again, I can say I don’t like the experience. Braking distances for the size and weight of the car are good, but (having rear drums) nothing special.

I do actually prefer the steel wheels in the nasty weather, but I would like to try the car with some actual snow tires (instead of the all-season Bridgestone rubber that came stock), as I have seen them do wonders for some cars.  The Bridgestones aren’t bad, they’re just mediocre—but I do mean that as criticism. They do OK on packed snow but are plain skittery on anything loose, the compromise that all-season tires almost always end up being—good enough for most situations but not truly great in any. (I used to work in the tire business; these particular tires are designed for good dry braking and quiet highway ride.) To me this is clearly a vehicle that would benefit from seasonal tires, even in the dry weather I think it’s reflexes, cornering, and traction (not to mention my confidence) could be sharpened a whole notch or two with a more aggressive compound and tread. The downside would probably be some tire noise, but to me the trade-off is worthwhile. The factory spring rates and shocks are clearly meant for commuters rather than rally racers; personally, I would give up some of that cushiness for some more road feel.
Overall, the car is pretty well balanced; in my opinion the suspension could be lowered 5-10mm for a more sporting character (as the WRX model is already). But I’ll have to see how the rust issue comes out at the dealer before I spend any money on tires or parts. Subarus in general, over the last last twenty years, are notoriously hard on tires, eating them at all four corners, especially on the inside edge, so I may be lucky if this set lasts through the term of my lease.  The owner's manual only specifies rotation every 7,500 miles but personally I'm sticking to five thousand (or less if I end up buying snow tires).

I am bothered and confused by the tire-pressure-monitoring system (which I didn’t even know I had until the warning light came on, one bitter cold winter afternoon, driving home). I would not have ordered it as an option, personally, as I feel it’s just one more unnecessary electronic nanny that can then break. I feel justified in saying this because the stupid thing activates the dash warning nearly every time the outside temperature dips below about 10 degrees. The first few times, I dutifully went and checked my tires manually, with a gauge, and then double-checked them at a gas station air compressor (not something I really wanted to do when its zero out, y’know?). All four corners were within a pound of 32 PSI, on both gauges. At home I even used my engine-code checker to reset the warning, but the pattern is pretty consistent, so I don’t even bother anymore—has to be 6 or 7 times so far this winter. I think I understand why this happens, as hot air and cold air can give different pressure readings, but as far as I’m concerned, the system is worse than useless in the climate I live in—if it’s going to give false alarms, I may end up ignoring it when something is actually wrong. This is an oddly up-market thing to have on a base model car in the first place, and yet another thing that doesn’t perform correctly in the cold weather. So much for marketing!

The 2.5l engine can be felt and heard in the cabin, and even through the steering column and shifter, much more than you would expect in a similar size Toyota. This lack of isolation is a bit puzzling to me, as it retains the sort of industrial feel that older Subarus have. Some of the vibrations are just native to four cylinder designs, and this mill makes very good power and (for most situations) very good low-end torque for it’s size and being naturally aspirated. It isn’t as fast as my old Nissan, which was a torque monster—it actually made more twist than ponies, and tipped the scales at just more than 2800 pounds. Without the extra weight of the all-wheel-drive, this Impreza would probably really move a few tenths, maybe a whole second quicker to 60. This latest boxer design is rated at 175hp, but you feel all 3200 pounds of curb weight, as full-throttle off-the-line torque is probably below 150 foot lbs., unless you're actually dropping the clutch drag-strip style.  Perhaps by the time my lease is up Subaru will have a Direct Injection version of this engine, which could easily reach 200hp without being force-fed. That to me would be a viable alternative to the turbo; this engine bascially leaves you wishing for the WRX engine.  I’d be willing to try a cold-air induction with a straighter intake path for improved throttle response, and *maybe* an ECU re-flash (I doubt it would capture much power unless at the total sacrifice of fuel economy). This base model does have dual exhaust pipes/mufflers, though this is not a "true" dual exhaust; there is only one catalytic converter, and frankly, I doubt the design choice was performance related. The two manifolds are separate (being a boxer engine with two banks of cylinders) but collect to a single pipe for the cat, and then split again, forming an X. It could be a lot more aggressive sounding for my taste; usually that is the result of a freer-flowing system, which is usually the goal of having the dual exits. Some automotive journalists say things like "friends don’t let friends modify cars" but a single, larger diameter of pipe for the entire cat-back would be my first step after better tires.

This base drivetrain (engine, transmission, and most of the AWD system) can also be found on the more expensive Legacy; I drove one before I bought the Impreza, and back to back you can tell the Legacy does a bit better job of isolating the engine noises (as well as the exhaust note). But it’s also a couple hundred pounds heavier, so you get a slightly more sedate pace from the same horsepower, but it is better distributed weight, in terms of back-seat passenger comfort and the ultimate usefulness of the AWD. Size-wise, the measurements of the 08 Impreza and Legacy sedans are so close as to make it a tough choice between the base models; in my driving experience (on dry roads at least) they perform and handle quite similarly. You pay more upfront for a Legacy but it’ll likely have more options, plus better resale or trade-in value (and perhaps a better paint job).

The clutch is easy to work (could be stiffer, with a lighter/harder plate), with a fairly short travel (which I like), and the gearbox is easy to get along with but really could use a half-inch of throw removed and, oh, one more forward cog. Mid-throttle acceleration for freeway passing in fifth (at roughly 55mph) just is lacking oomph, requiring a fuel-sucking downshift to fourth. Again, a 6-speed is a performance enhancement reserved for the step-up WRX, but it could really benefit fuel economy on the highway especially. I’ve never gotten more than 28 mpg on 70-75mph highway stretches, I’m no engineer but I figure that sixth ratio could drop revs enough (from roughly 3200 to 23-2400) to bump that number to 30mpg. So it seems like strictly a cost-cutting choice, as we already know they have 6-spd unit for this engine, so this choice directly negates Subaru’s idea of marketing this larger, softer Impreza as a refined, upscale car.

Interior:
The dash-mounted trip computer overestimates fuel consumption consistently, by almost exactly 1 MPG, which is like a bad joke since it reads out not in whole numbers but tenths! If I calculate 24.3, the number on the dash reads 25.4, and so on. Even when I use the more scientific gallons-per-mile method, the onboard computer is either dishonest or misleading, depending on how cynical you are. The same little display above the stereo shows the passenger airbag deactivates when no one is riding in that position, which I guess might save some repair money. I would like to know what activates it, because I had a 50-pound box of tile on that seat and still the bag wasn’t armed.

I like the shape of the dash and the layout of the controls; the importance of placing the front cupholders behind the shifter is a big deal to me as I have my coffee with me everyday on my morning drive. There are even cupholders in the rear doors, which is nice if you have anyone riding back there—I usually don’t. The backseat in this car is much larger and more useable by adults than any previous Impreza model, almost as spacious as the one in the step-up Legacy. This car has a much larger trunk than my old Nissan Sentra, but I hope to fill some of that space with a subwoofer.

Speaking of which, this car has a lame stereo system, all around—cheap, cheesy display on the head unit, not enough speakers, not well-placed, not enough power for my taste. Especially having speakers in the rear doors instead of the back (package) deck is not ideal, to me. The spot the head unit occupies, high in the driver’s sightline, in what is known the biz as a double opening, is clearly meant for something a lot sexier, a touch-screen nav system or some similar over-priced marvel (a la the WRX or STI). It will play MP3s and WMA files, but I would bet that I’ve just spent more time writing about it than Subaru’s product designers did thinking about the base-level stereo unit. This is an entry-level car for this company, but not an entry-level price-point for the market; if you are an audiophile, there are cheaper cars with better stock stereo systems out there. In this same price range (within a couple hundred dollars), I test-drove a Mitsubishi Lancer that had a way better system. I mean, it doesn’t have any kind of equalizer or balance, even basic bass or treble adjustment. The bottom-end cheapest aftermarket units have three band equalizers and many have pre-amp sub-outs. The speakers, even with a wide range of CDs, seem pretty muddy in the midrange and too harsh in the tweeter ranger, but the high-end squeal could be the fault of the stereo. Being a lease, the point is saving money, so I may just live with it and never find out.

I do miss having a sunroof; with all the dark fabrics and materials of the "gray on gray" color scheme, the interior is pretty gloomy, even without tinted windows. This model does have full-frame doors, which reduces a lot of cabin wind noise compared to older Subaru models (even as recent as 2007 the Impreza and Forester models didn’t have frames for the windows). The materials (especially the plastics) seem a bit improved from previous generations, and compare favorably to other cars in this class (including even the new Sentra, and of course pretty much any American models). I would like a slightly firmer thigh bolster in the driver seat (my old Nissan had stellar seats, but with cheap fabric—these are nicer but not quite as supportive). There is no lumbar support, just for instance--again another demerit when marketing the car as "upscale" to adults instead of boy-racers. I will update long-term if I notice any interior wear issues.

In the end, other than the rust issue (grrr…) the Subaru Impreza 2.5 does a lot of things pretty well, probably well enough for most people. Even for me, a guy with sports-car tastes and a lame-car budget, there’s no real glaring deficiencies that can’t be corrected without a couple grand of aftermarket thrown at it. If I was in charge of Subaru, I wouldn’t have any problem offering an Impreza Sport model with all the WRX improvements minus the actual expensive turbo engine, something they used to do a decade ago. If I recall correctly, they offered an RS version of the Impreza for several years which was exactly that, basically rally-prepped but naturally aspirated. There must be some compromise between mild (this car) and wild (the WRX), and I don't think the Outback (with an even higher center of gravity) is it.
Amount Paid (US$): 18,750
Condition: New
Model Year: 2008
Model and Options: 2.5i