They tried to make the Impreza normal, but failed. Glen Waddington is intrigued
I first saw the new Subaru Impreza out of the corner of my eye in the office car park, and I couldn’t place it. Kia Rio? Some old-gen Mazda? Then it dawned on me. The old rorty, rally-bred Scooby has become a dull same-again hatch. Not a good start.
I drove a boggo 1.5 R home that night. Deadly slow and not terribly exciting. An interior styled slightly more adventurously than the outside, but not much more, and finished in some of the cheapest hard-grade plastics I’ve ever seen. Doorcards don’t come any more basic than those in the back of the new Impreza.
But the further we drove, the more its innate character began to thaw my icy initial impressions. Just 1498cc and 105bhp aren’t much in a car that weighs 1310kg, but you can wring the boxer engine out past 7000rpm and it sounds fabulous, all thrummy and percussive but perfectly smooth too. You can keep your foot down round the corners and let the four-wheel drive pull (and push) you through; the steering is too light but it’s pin sharp and quick. And the ride is wonderfully mature, not soft but pliant and sophisticated, as if it’s the geometry that’s doing the difficult work and not the springs.
The boot is tiny, slotted as it is above a differential, driveshafts and fully independent suspension. There’s a low-range transmission lever in the centre console – perfect for the vets and farmers that will probably find the baby Scooby too small to be useful. I couldn’t ever imagine off-roading in this car, but I love the fact that Subaru thinks somebody might.
And that’s why they’ve got it wrong. Given the choice between this car and the identically priced Hyundai i30 1.6, I’d go for the Subaru. Obviously. But the Hyundai looks more contemporary, it doesn’t feel tinny, it’s trimmed with nicer materials: perfect for the grey pound. Hyundai people (and Toyota/Mazda/Vauxhall/Renault people) will be completely perplexed by the Impreza. It’s not a mainstream car, Subaru, despite your plans and claims. I love it, but thousands won’t.