The new Subaru Impreza Hatchback is now powered by a 2.0-liter engine instead of the 2.5 in the previous version. Thus, the power is 22 horsepower and 25-lb-ft of torque smaller. You might think that this has been done in order to decrease fuel consumption, and you would be right. Nevertheless, the fuel economy of the 2012 Impreza is only 22 mpg (as a reviewer observed, although the official fuel economy stands at 27 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway), which is quite bad.
Subaru states that the smaller mass compensates for the decrease in power, but that’s not exactly right: the 2012 Impreza needs one second extra to 60 than the previous model, which makes for a total of 9.0 seconds. The top speed is drag limited to 117 mph.
The exterior isn’t much to look at, but reveals the purpose of this car – the one of being a soccer mom’s drive. It is similar to the one of a caged lion: elements of an aggressive design (especially on the front fascia) do exist, but they are being nullified by the family-car look on the rest of the car.
The interior isn’t very sophisticated either. Functions which are present in most cars these days (like electric windows) exist in this one too, but other than that, the interior remains pretty standard.
The base price is $23,345, and one can only wonder: “Is there really no better car I could buy with this money?”.
1 comment
I agree, the advertised fuel economy is unattainable unless doing 79 km, at 20 deg celsius, indoors on a downward slope. Begs the question what the hell did I pay for!! 9.6litres per 100 km is a far cry from the 5.5litres per 100 km advertised!!
Disgruntled Subaru Owner