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21/04/2011
By EWAN KENNEDY in New York
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For decades we have admired Subaru Impreza and the models that preceded it for their excellent engineering and high quality of build. This combination has led to the Impreza being so well regarded on the used-car market that it frequently holds the honours for the highest resale value in its class.
Yet one thing has rankled a little with our feelings of the Subaru Impreza. While the Japanese company’s engineering credentials are without doubt right up with the best, it often looks as though the Impreza’s body had been engineered rather than styled.
That has all changed with the new generation Impreza that we have just witnessed being unveiled at the New York Auto Show. To celebrate the occasion, the Subaru presentation featured stunning 3D video of the type we have never experienced in the countless unveilings we have witnessed over many years.
The new Impreza deserves this high-tech introduction. The edgy look achieved by the squared off lines, particularly at the rear work exceptionally well. This is an exceptionally pleasing car when viewed from any angle and could easily be the product of one of the big European styling houses.
Indeed, the shape of the newest Subaru seems sure to attract many buyers who would previously admired the Impreza, but had not been keen on its slightly unusual lines.
Not only does the new shape look superb, it also provides greater safety due to the design of slimmer windscreen pillars. Thus improving the view out, but without any loss of body protection in a crash.
Even better than the exterior of the new Impreza is the design and quality of the interior. There’s a rich look and feel to the materials on the dashboard that could apply to those of a much more expensive car.
Though the exterior dimensions of the latest Subaru Impreza are almost exactly the same as before, changes to the way the body is designed give it a larger interior volume. This is particularly noticeable in the back seat where the legroom is pretty good for a car with relatively compact dimensions. Boot space has also been enlarged.
The dash layout is large and clear and the big central screen looks to be simple to use, with the added advantage of safety because the driver will have their eyes off the road for a minimum of time to use it.
New Impreza will be built as a four-door sedan and as a five-door. Whether the latter is a hatchback or station wagon is open to interpretation. We feel it has the looks and usefulness of a wagon, but there are buyers who prefer to drive a hatch. Which perhaps explains why Subaru is reluctant to say how it designates the body shape.
The only thing we were not particularly keen on was the mounting of the centre-rear lap-sash safety belt in the right hand side of the load area, with a rather odd routing by way of a special fitting near the centre of the backrest.
One of our complaints about many cars introduced in these more enlightened times is that engines have been made powerful, but at the same time their fuel consumption has been trimmed. At first glance this has been a good thing, but we have long felt that it would have made more sense to give the engine the same performance, but reduced the consumption by a larger amount because higher power wasn’t being chased.
This is precisely what the engineers at Subaru have done. The 2.0-litre boxer engine is an all-new design but has the same power and torque outputs as the engine it supersedes. The result is that consumption is reduced by as much as 30 per cent according to measurements made by Subaru engineers testing engines tuned for the USA.
Peak power is 110 kilowatts with torque of 196 Newton metres.
Another factor in the lowered fuel consumption and emissions is the use of an efficient continuously variable automatic transmission. This has been carried down from the Subaru Liberty and Outback which received the CVT in 1010.
We haven’t yet driven the new Subaru Impreza, but by the looks of the long-stork design it should have strong torque over a larger rev band than before, thus making it stronger in day-to-day driving.
The timing of the arrival of the new generation Subaru Impreza into Australia is unknown at this stage due to serious disruptions in the production of components due to the recent tsunami in Japan.
It is too early to talk about exact specifications and prices but expect the Subaru importer to be able to bring us highly specified vehicles at a cost similar to, or slightly higher than, the current Impreza. The increase in value of the Australian dollar against the Japanese yen will certainly have a bearing on this. |
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