BMW_Dude

What is it?

Confusion reigns supreme over Subaru’s new Impreza. It’s a hatchback and a saloon, except the latter will be available only in the USA.
There is a front-drive 1.5-litre model, but only in Japan. And there’s a 2.0-litre normally aspirated version too, except we’ll get a more powerful motor in the UK.
Baffled yet? And we're not even going to go into what’s happening with the WRX models.
What's it like?

You’ll be reassured to know that based on our impressions of early cars, Subaru has turned out a product that represents a significant step forward for its bread-and-butter family-mobile.
The Japanese-spec 1.5-litre car mates a 108bhp engine with either front-drive or all-wheel drive (the UK gets 4wd only), and four-speed automatic or five-speed manual gearboxes.
The new engine has slightly more power than that in the outgoing 1.5R, elevating the 1.5 to somewhere approaching the class average. Handling is faithful and the ride is focused on comfort, with some success.
The four-speed auto is smooth enough, but even though it has a ‘manual’ mode, the regular stick shifter is noticeably better if you want to press on.
That might be a rare occurrence, though, because the steering is light and the rear end feels too softly sprung; this model is clearly aimed at the practical end of the family market, without offering much hope of thrills. Still, if (as expected) its price roughly matches that of the current 1.5R, it deserves to do well.
The more sporty Imprezas deliver enough to give us hope for the high-performance STi that will be launched next spring.
We’ll get a more powerful, twin-cam version of the 138bhp 2.0-litre flat four driven here, and the 247bhp 2.0-litre turbo won’t reach the UK at all, but if the Japanese-spec suspension set-up is anything to go by, the new car should continue to please its cult following.
Which is to say that in turbo spec, it’s stiff enough to feel extremely agile on twisty roads, if a little wearing around town. The unblown version would be a more pleasant and comfortable everyday drive.
Inside, the Impreza feels spacious and Subaru has definitely improved the quality of the fit and finish (it needed to). But the final impression is of a cabin that’s now up to the regular standard, without setting a new benchmark against its rivals.
Should I buy one?

It's still too early to say. The crunch will come when the final British-spec 2.0-litre twin-cam Impreza squares up against keenly priced (and better-looking) mainstream models on UK roads. Only then will we be able to judge if the improvements that have clearly been made have gone far enough.

Source = Autocar