siko

Yuk... Subaru sure can make good cars, but they really can't make good looking cars.

Curb Zone

 

Monster

hummm... it looks better than the old model, but this new design doesn't look very new at all. It looks like a mix between the Mazda 3 and BMW 1 series with Ford Focus side window shape. The shape of the grill looks very generic, shaped like a Mazda or a Honda grill. Front headlights looks almost the same as the current Impreza, and the rear lights are horrible. Interior design is dead boring and the material looks cheap. It looked dated already, espically with the black interior with black trim, haven't Subaru learnt from the competition??

Overall a massive disappointment. Subaru have all these years to develope the car, and this is what they came up with.....

p.s it will be interesting to see how the car will pass the euro pedestrian protection test with the bonnet scoope sitting right in the middle

zetableh

I'm going to be going to NYIAS on the 14th, so I'll let everybody know what it looks like... and I promise to take TONS of pictures!

NarutoRamen

Damn that link aint working...I really want to see the pics. Anybody save them?

Just_me

NarutoRamen

After looking at it for a bit...not bad. Not beautiful by any means but it aint bad. For a car in mid 20k price wise (US price) it's not bad. Now I want to see the sedan version.

Is it too much to ask for them to bring the coupe back?

martinbo

Have you folks been reading the various forum discussion on this new Impreza? I'm amazed at all the negative commentary - though not altogether surprised. There should be no reason why the expectation ought to be that different from the spy pics of disguised prototypes in the Californian desert. We all knew that the next-gen Impreza was going to be a hatchback and we all know, from the pics, that the car wasn't going to have any radical proportion compared with the EVO X.

In Europe, small "Japsedans" don't sell. In a market segment dominated by premium hatchbacks, cars like the booted WRX were always going to appeal to a limited pool of enthusiasts. As informed as they/we may be, enthusiasts may build a brand's image, but there aren't enough of them to grow the company's profits. What Subaru needs in this segment is a car that has more mass-market appeal whilst still providing the enthusiast with the unique thrill of driving an all-wheel drive, rally racer-derived, tar burner.

This is a thoroughly conventional Impreza WRX that won't have girls laughing at you from the school bus windows and old cronies waving their walking sticks at your vulgar display of social irreverance. This is a much more socially acceptable WRX... whilst still retaining a glimmer of the go-faster image synoymous with the type: the tell-tale bonnet scoop (always a functional feature in turbo'd Scoobs) and rear diffuser are visual reminders of the awesome capability of this car.

Expected power output for the car is not yet available from my sources (and if they did tell me, I wouldn't leak it on a whim) but I expect power to be in the 180 kW zone with torque upwards of 330 Nm for the stock WRX.

Frameless door windows are a thing of the past did you notice? Another clue as to this car's mainstream aspirations.

NarutoRamen

^^I agree Martin. The car is defintely less Masculine but somehow it still retains the BOLD image it has possessed for so long. Like I said, the car ain't beautiful and it wasn't meant to be. It's a nice looking car for what it's supposed to be. Now, let's wait for the actual car's pics and not leaked images.

Yannis

Impreza was always a design disappointment for me. Too common and old fashioned at first , too radical and disharmonious after the first facelift, too odd after the second one (a friend of mine has a 2.0 lt one with the new 2.0 lt 160 hp engine BTW).
So even though the Impreza was a great car in many aspects , the design was the car's week point. I guess the second generation continuous the tradition. The only good thing for Subaru is that new Mitsubishi Lancer looks like a piece of junk , so that means that both start from the same ground.

martinbo

I agree Yannis, in comparison with with its competitors the current Impreza isn't the most attractive looking car. Subaru to date have managed to attract a customer base who are completely focused on the capability, build quality and reliability of their cars... the "distinctive" looks merely serving to identify them as non-conformists.

As a Subaru owner, I'm more interested in the ownership experience and the satisfactory delivery of the motoring promise than what the car actually looks like. I've had plenty cars that looked great in my garage but always left a rather bitter aftertaste in the reliabilty or driveability stakes.

This new Impreza will alienate less prospective buyers due to its broader appeal whilst still delivering the definitive, quality motoring and ownership experience that Subaru owners have become accustomed to.

The interior is typically minimalist for an Impreza and I'm sure that the material quality will be better than the current car. I hope it's as nicely screwed together as my car is. Nothing rattles, and on our roads that's quite something...

Curb Zone