When Subaru had presented the new-generation Impreza in sedan and hatchback at the 2016 New York Auto Show, one too many people thought, “Wait, is that actually new?” Well, it is, and boy does the Impreza has all the right tidbits to prove it.
Before the U.S.-spec model goes into production in Lafayette, Indiana, Japan got a head start. For the fifth generation of the Impreza, the highlight comes in the form of the Subaru Global Platform. Not only is it more rigid than the old chassis, but the all-new vehicle structure also pays dividend in reducing body roll. It’s also compatible with electrification, which means that a plug-in hybrid variant of the Impreza could become reality in the near future.
Under the hood, the hatchback (called Sport in Japan) and the sedan (called G4 in Japan) with two engines. It’s either a 1.6-liter or a 2.0-liter, both of them boxers and both of them gifted with direct injection. In the latter’s case, Subaru had improved or completely redesigned 80 percent of the oily bits. The CVT is also much better than the old unit, and it includes a 7-speed manual shift mode enhanced by the wheel-mounted shift paddles.
Yet another high point of the new Impreza is safety. In Japan, both body styles boast with standard features not seen on previous Subaru models. The most impressive of them all is a pedestrian protection airbag that works much in the same way as the one in the Land Rover Discovery Sport.
What’s more, all Impreza versions on sale in Japan come with the latest version of Subaru EyeSight. The 2017 Subaru Impreza’s safety credentials are pushed a little further with goodies such as a driver’s seat knee airbag, rear vehicle detection, high beam assist, as well as steering responsive headlights.
For the North American market, the 2017 Subaru Impreza will be sold exclusively with the 2.0-liter boxer. And yes, AWD comes as standard. Here’s hope it will also get the same standard features as the Japanese-spec model. For more information on the newest member of the Subaru lineup, check the following videos and the (badly translated) release below.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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