NYIAS: 2017 Subaru Impreza - A Refined Scrapper Straight Outta Indiana
It’s longer, lower, wider, and yes, more global than before.
Subaru has unveiled the next generation of its perennially popular Impreza, adopting a more contemporary style while placating purists who worried their fun compact could become too beige.
Revealed at the New York Auto Show in sedan and five-door guise, the 2017 Impreza brings tasteful, flowing lines to a body that once delighted in being chunky. There are more subtle curves here than a coastal highway.
About that platform — it’s stiff. Really stiff.
Subaru claims the new architecture gives the Impreza a 70-percent increase in structural rigidity, which is something you want if you’re making spirited use of the brand’s standard symmetrical all-wheel drive. It also absorbs more energy in a collision, which is something you want, but hope to never need.
A revised suspension with a rear stabilizer bar mounted directly to the body is designed to reduce body roll by half. If all this is still too vanilla, the Impreza 2.0i Sport throws in suspension tuning, larger wheels and Active Torque Vectoring.
Under the hood, a Boxer engine remains, much to the relief of enthusiasts worried an engine would show up with its cylinders standing in a neat row. The 2.0-liter flat-four now has direct injection, providing a modest bump in horsepower, from 148 to 152.
In uplevel trim, the continuously variable transmission gets a boredom-reducing seven-speed manual shift mode with paddle shifters.
Technology sees a big upgrade for 2017. The infotainment system adopts Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability, as well as Near Field Communication (NFC) connectivity, keeping the Impreza competitive in a rapidly modernizing field.
Higher trim lines receive an eight-inch media screen and Starlink multimedia system, keyless access and other convenience goodies. Available safety technology includes automatic emergency braking, reverse automatic braking, and a host of laneholding capabilities.
If Subaru’s goal was to keep the Impreza current, it seems it marked every box on the checklist.
[Images: Subaru of America]
More by Steph Willems
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Don't you have to be a lesbian to buy a Subaru?
I know someone who commutes in a Subaru Loyale with 315k miles. Kinda stopped caring about all the kvetching wrt boxers. But what bothers me most about this model is the danger it presents to the XV. The current one is about the right size, in fact I was thinking about buying one. But if it grows by the time I really start shopping in a year or two, it's going to be a serious negative. Might as well buy a Renegade then.