Subaru Impreza test drive since 2007 sedan

All photos of Subaru Impreza since 2007

Get charged!

Those who are familiar with the speed of firsthand know very well what WRX is. No more words are required to say any more words, these people immediately represent an all -wheel drive shell that is able to go the way the driver wishes, or rather as the driver can. Of course, this is not STI (the version under such an abbreviation will have to wait a bit), but still WRX, the first step to understand how much truly driver is in you. In addition, the possibilities for tuning this machine have always been almost inexhaustible. Although the model without additional work served as a good adrenaline generator. But here's an annoyance! A short acquaintance with the new generation of Subaru Impreza WRX made me think about refinement of the car immediately, after the first kilometers even along the city streets.
Not understood
When a cute and maneign young man tells me about his victories on the tracks or on the mountain slopes, I know, for some reason I don’t believe him. A similar feeling of distrust (for good reason, I must say) caused me the appearance of the new Impreza WRX. In my subjective taste, she lost the model of courageous aggression inherent in the previous generations, became too round, licked in details (excluding food). She now looks like a hay girl in comparison with a gymnast also disposes to herself, but differently.

And then: why should Impreza look like some Korean car, even if it is created by the Pininfarina studio? What is good for a mass product is not always suitable for carriers. With the design of the stern, thanks to the original rear lights, I am ready to agree. But the front, these waves on a sad hood and where are the branded doors without a framework? Why is the sedan not offered? Hard to understand.

Although, perhaps, the manufacturer simply converts WRX to another weight category, in which not so much aggressive as a friendly exterior is important. Be that as it may, but something makes you come to terms with the discreet appearance of the car. This is a branded lip of the air intake in the center of the hood cover and the original aerodynamic body kit.
By the way, it will say that the version of the STI, recently presented in Tokyo, looks much more impressive wheel arches, in the front bumper a huge mouth of the air intake, the spoiler is crowned by just incredible sizes, in addition to the lower bumper, a cutter of air flows is installed, like a racing car . However, the WRX has the same cutter, but in it it already looks like jewelry.

What the eye to put on
When you get inside Impreza WRX, then, in truth, there is nothing to cling to the eye. Around the monotonously gray, although zoned space. One to the touch hard plastic. Even the inserts under the titanium in the middle of the torpedo and on doorbinders do not save. I agree that the interior of the Subaru Impreza has always been quite ascetic, but so that it is so good, the seat is convenient in sporting, endowed with all the necessary mechanical adjustments, and the steering wheel is sheathed with genuine leather. Of course, the lumbar roller would not have prevented at all, but in general the profile of the chair is successful. The steering column is regulated not only in height, but also by departure.
Actually, the WRX has one equipment, and it includes almost everything that is necessary, including climate control, 6 pillows, xenon headlights and an audio system with a built-in 6-disk chainer. And why is it boring in the cabin?
Surprisingly spacious behind there is a place for both the legs and above the head. True, it will be more convenient for two sitting in the middle that a rather high tunnel and a greatly shifted armrest between the driver and the front passenger will not like a rather high tunnel. But the seats can be folded both entirely and in parts, so you can increase the volume of the luggage compartment from standard 301 to 1216 liters. Well, if the reader asks me where the station wagon or sedan, I will answer in the USA. Why didn’t they reach us? Don't know.
But the red scales on the dashboard, where the dominant place is reserved for the tachometer, is already burning, it's time to go on the road.

Who asked to add comfort?
Not only externally and internally, but essentially the new Impreza WRX is radically different from the previous versions of the model. You are convinced of this almost immediately to drive a few kilometers and actively go through a couple of turns.

First of all, the characteristics of the motor itself. If earlier you were sharply pressed into the back of the chair, literally covering the acceleration with a wave of acceleration after 3000 rpm, now this sensation is practically unavailable. Yes, according to the parameter declared by the automaker, the model began to accelerate to 100 km/h faster. However, this happens so evenly that I personally make me very much doubt in the correctness of the figures given. Anyway, of course, very quickly, but without a pronounced pickup, which was characteristic of the former generations of WRX.

In fairness, I note that the tendency to smooth out the characteristics began 3 years ago, but now, apparently, it has reached its climax too calmly. That is, the car in its new hypostasis clearly changed its character to softer. At the same time, such turbine settings significantly increase the operating range of the engine, since they still provide decent pickup at almost any speed. And everything would be fine if the power plant was more responsive to the work of the accelerator pedal. Meanwhile, I felt a clear hitch that was not at all to WRX. I will say more a tight clutch pedal has ceased to delight with informativeness. As a result, with each switch, no matter how hard he tried to work carefully with his left foot, still a nod of the head from the power of power flow is inevitable. The benefit of the transfer of a 5-speed manual transmission switch clearly and without difficulty, and with selectivity there are no problems at all. All this still allows you to feel faster than the rest, although you no longer get your previous pleasure. Okay, brakes are on top. There are no problems with slowing down, and you can easily dose the effort on the pedals.

Suspension settings are also suggested by WRX. They became noticeably more comfortable. On the one hand, this is good with everyday use, since even the joints of the Moscow third ring are not too bored, but on the other hand there appeared tangible bodies of the body in corners. You can’t call them critical, but before there weren’t such ones. Hence the complaints to controllability. Firstly, with a not too informative steering control, you do not always understand how a car will behave after a second. And, secondly, in steep turns at a decent speed Impreza, it somehow will somehow readily fall into a skid, which is very difficult to extinguish. It is good that the all -wheel drive transmission with a symmetrical distribution of the moment between the axes allows you to hold the car on the trajectory even at high speeds. But, in any case, I would not recommend disconnecting the stabilization system, which is included in the standard equipment of the model.

Price as a conclusion
I can assume that the demand for soft and fast cars is now higher than for fast and hard. In the end, we live in the era of gloss, and the very cute young man can be revered for the hero if he is able to move a little faster than others in races from a traffic light to a traffic light. Let it be so. But what prevented him from presenting the interior even more interesting?

In general, I hope it is clear why I wanted to immediately go to a tuning studio. But for this you must first buy a new Subaru Impreza WRX. And the price bites 1,107,500 rubles or more than 45 thousand dollars in the interior of the official dealer. I remember the past generation was much cheaper