| Published
on 31
Dec
2011 |
All rights reserved.
|
|
|
Since the first
generation, Subaru Impreza has been a niche compared with mainstream
players like Honda Civic. The latest fourth generation model continues
to feature its trademark permanent four-wheel drive system and boxer
engine to distinguish itself from the mainstream. However, most effort
of the development has been spent to make the car more practical, such
as a larger cabin and better fuel economy, in the attempt to lure
buyers from the mainstream. If it succeeds, sales could be
significantly increased from last year's 107,250 units.
In fact, in sedan form (called "G4" at home) the new Impreza looks
quite like the new Honda Civic. This is because it shares a similar
sleek, cab-forward profile, just with edgier finishes. The new
hexagonal grille and so-called hawk-eye headlamps, both developed from
Legacy, are more distinctive than the ones on the outgoing car, but the
general feeling of the whole car is not one of the most modern or
tasteful designs around. Some areas look mess, e.g. the quarter windows
of the hatchback, and the crease lines above wheel arches are too
heavy-handed. It reminds me that Japan is still short of design
talents, and the best of them have already been snapped up by Mazda and
Lexus. Fuji had better to do something.
The best news to would-be owners is increased interior room. There are
considerably more rear legroom and headroom, thanks to a wheelbase
stretch of 25 mm and the use of thinner front seatbacks. The front
occupants will also feel more spacious as the base of the A-pillars
have been brought forward by 200 mm. The A-pillars are also made
slimmer by the use of high-strength steel, improving visibility. The
new Impreza is now roomier than Mazda 3 and comparable to Honda Civic –
it matches the Honda in rear headroom, loses only 20 mm in rear legroom
but trumps its rival in front head and legroom. Brilliantly, the
external dimensions remain the same as the outgoing car, while kerb
weight is either unaltered (according to our figures) or even reduced
by 75 kg (according to Subaru), depending on which models you compare.
Not so great is the styling and build quality of the cabin, which is
best described as basic. The upper half of the dashboard and the top of
door panels are covered with soft plastics, but the rest are hard ones
while switch gears lack the tactile feel of European offerings.
Perceived quality aside, this cabin works well. It has plenty of
storage cubbies and, to delight American, cupholders for each occupant.
The new seats are larger and more comfortable. Hip point is raised by
17 mm to give a more natural seating position and better view forward.
Finally, a smaller fuel tank enables a large and flat load bay on the
hatchback.
To Japanese and European
buyers, the new FB20 four-cylinder boxer engine is not a big departure
from the old EJ20, as it is rated the same 150 horsepower and 145
pound-foot. There is a little bit more low to mid-range torque on
offer, thanks to its undersquare combustion chambers and the addition
of exhaust variable valve timing, but real-world performance is not
particularly brisk, no matter hooked to the outdated 5-speed manual or
Lineartronic CVT. To American and Australian motorists, the new engine
is not a good news, as its capacity has been reduced from 2.5 to 2.0
liters in a bid to lower fuel consumption. The switch to twin-cam and
introduction of double AVCS variable valve timing is just not enough to
compensate for the lost capacity, resulting in a drop of maximum output
by 22 hp and 25 lbft. That reflects on stopwatch. According to Car and
Driver, the new car with manual gearbox takes a sluggish 8.6 seconds to
go from rest to 60 mph, a full second longer than the old 2.5-liter
car.
The in-house-built, chain-driven Lineartronic CVT is a better option
than the outgoing 4-speed automatic, as it makes better use of the
limited torque to deliver comparable performance. As we found on
Legacy, this CVT has largely eliminated rubberband effect during
acceleration, thus the engine rev rises linearly as the acceleration
progresses. Nevertheless, it still tends to rev the engine higher than
the manual under hard acceleration, resulting in excessive engine
noise. Furthermore, the transmission itself generates an annoying whine
at high rev and hampers refinement.
Apart from the 2-liter unit, a 115hp 1.6-liter version of the same
boxer engine is offered exclusively in Japan. If you really want
performance, the only option is to wait for the turbocharged WRX
version to arrive in 2013, or at least the European launch of the 150hp
2.0 turbo diesel boxer.
The FB20 engine employs lower friction parts, lighter pistons and
con-rods to deliver 5 percent better fuel economy. The new CVT
contributes to another 5 percent, automatic engine stop-start 5
percent, electric power steering 2% and improved aerodynamics 3%.
Overall, the new car consumes 20 percent less fuel than the old car.
Pretty impressive considering it does not have direct injection and
light turbocharging.
As before, most of the Imprezas are to be sold with permanent 4-wheel
drive system (only the base 1.6-liter model is front-drive). On cars
equipped with manual transmission, front/rear torque split is
implemented by viscous-coupling, which is default at 50:50. CVT cars
use a multi-plate clutch to transfer power to the rear wheels only when
needed. The superior traction it offers is still a big advantage to the
Subaru.
The suspensions are barely lightly adapted from the old car's. The
basic geometry remains, with MacPherson struts up front and a mult-link
setup at the rear (note: Subaru calls the latter "double-wishbones" but
in fact it consists of an upper wishbone, 2 lower links and a
toe-control link). New front rebound springs and rear bushings provide
better control of shock absorption. Compare with the old car, its
handling is more composed, with less body roll in corners. The ride is
firm yet more compliant. Its driver appeal is not as strong as a Ford
Focus or Mazda 3, but its balance between control and comfort is close
to Volkswagen Golf. The pinion-assist type electric power steering
delivers good precision, weighting and decent feel, if a little numb
on-center.
That said, the Impreza fails to match its benchmark, Volkswagen Golf,
in a number of critical areas. Its high-speed refinement is below
average, as there are lots of road noise and transmission noise allowed
to enter the cabin. Its interior looks and perceived quality are one of
the poorest on new cars, even compared with Korean offerings. Its FB20
engine does not offer as much improvement as claimed, failing to match
new generation direct-injected and turbocharged motors for performance
and flexibility. Finally, the exterior design is underwhelming beside
the elegant Volkswagen or the increasingly imaginative Kia / Hyundai.
Although larger cabin and better fuel economy makes the new Impreza a
smarter choice than ever, overall speaking it is not good enough to
recommend. As we always know, the highlight of Impreza should be the
high-performance WRX / STI rather than the bread-and-butter models. Why
not take next year to save money for the 2013 performance models?
|
Verdict:  |
|
