CAR and Driver - March 2017

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ARTIST NAMEING

92. CAR AND DRIVER. MAR/2017

SUBARU IS AN ODD COMPANY in so many ways. One is its ratio
of sedan to wagon sales; it is pretty much the opposite of every other
carmaker. Take the Impreza, which sells at a rate of 30 percent
sedans to 70 percent wagons—or, to use the preferred industry
­terminology,“five-doors.”Honda,forinstance,expectsthenew
Civic hatch to make up only about 15 percent of overall Civic sales.
No doubt, Subaru has had some very good years. Annual sales
zoomed up right through the recession to the current 600,000
mark,andSubaruhasn’tsquanderedtheprofitsonboozeanddice.
Instead,ithasplowedasignificantpileintoanall-new,soon-to-be-
ubiquitousarchitecturegiventhesexynameofSubaruGlobal
Platform. U.S. Imprezas will be built in Indiana. We’re told that
95 percent of the Impreza is new, from the curved skeletal members
bakedintotheflooranddesignedtobetterhandleimpactpulsesto
thesuper-stiffhardpointsatthebasesoftheA-pillarsthatlaugh
atthesmall-overlapcrashtesttothestouteryetnoheaviersuspen-
sionsubframestotheflowingnewexteriorlines.
Theexteriorandinteriordesignswon’twinanyTheFutureIs
Now awards, but they do pull Subaru into the modern era, especially
inside with three multicolor screens upon which the latest apps run
plus an optional navigation system based on TomTom software and
anoptionalrockingHarman/Kardonstereo.Theupholsterytrim
gets noticeably nicer as you move from the base 2 .0i up to the Pre-

mium, Sport, and Limited trims, where the

cockpit detailing is a big step forward for

Subaru’s cheapest car.

Subaru has wanted to push the Impreza

up the social scale ever since it stopped

offeringbluepaintwithgoldwheelsonthe

WR X STi. The past is the past, and Subaru

wantstheall-wheel-drive-onlyImprezato

bethoughtofnotasahooligan’sproto-rally

carbutasacut-priceAudi,withdynamic

sophistication to match. All the pieces

High-Toned Hoosier

Subaru’s former runt, the Impreza, strives to be an Asian Audi built in America. _by Aaron Robinson

Sized and

priced right,

handles like

a BRZ with

rear doors.

Not the

most adven­

turous styling,

manual still a

five­speed.