The all-new Subaru Impreza is unveiled at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show in on Nov. 17.FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
Subaru revealed the latest generation of its Impreza compact hatchback Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show, aiming the car directly at younger and more active drivers while trying not to alienate older buyers.
Subaru still offers an Impreza sedan to American buyers, but for the new 2024 car, only a hatchback will be offered. In Canada, Subaru stopped selling the sedan last year. “We wanted to make this new, sixth-generation Impreza more youthful, more playful and more fun,” said Tom Doll, chief executive officer of Subaru of America, Inc. “A hatchback allows for a sportier design language and a more flexible interior package.”
There’s not much choice for compact hatchbacks in Canada – only the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Kia Forte5 and Mazda3 Sport are sold as competition and the segment has been in decline for the last five years. However, Subaru expects sales to level off at about 120,000 vehicles a year in Canada and it wants a bigger chunk of that market.
The new car will be available “sometime next year,” and there is no confirmation of price or fuel consumption yet. The current 2023 Impreza hatchback has a base price in Canada of $23,295, rising to almost $10,000 above that for the most fully loaded edition.
“The Impreza is meant to be able to go to all of these places where you would expect to see big SUVs,” said Brad Evans, car line manager for Subaru Canada Inc. “Impreza owners shouldn’t be afraid to take their vehicles there as well.”
The new Impreza is the first vehicle to be built on the second generation of Subaru’s global platform, and it will come in four different all-wheel-drive trims. The Convenience and Touring editions will keep the current two-litre four-cylinder engine, which will still be good for 152 horsepower and 145 lbs-ft of torque. Subaru says it has made many improvements to the engine to improve durability, though it also says 94 per cent of all Imprezas sold in the last 10 years are still on the road, making it the most reliable of all compact cars.
The more expensive RS and Sport-Tech trims will be fitted with the same 2.5-litre boxer engine found in the Crosstrek crossover, which is good for 182 horsepower and 178 lbs-ft of torque. Again, improvements have been made to many parts of the engine to improve reliability, and these will see their way into the next Crosstrek, too.
All versions of the new Impreza will look a little sportier, with slim headlights and tail lamps, a sloping rear gate, and bulging fenders.Mark Richardson/The Globe and Mail
The Sport-Tech includes Navigation, leather seats, and the Subaru Driver Focus feature, which monitors the driver’s eyes to warn against drowsiness. It also recognizes the driver’s face to personalize functions like the seating positions and radio presets.
Sport-Tech will not be sold in the U.S., where American buyers are expected to just move up to a larger Legacy for such features. “Canadian buyers for Impreza span a really wide spectrum of life stages and expectations for their car,” said Evans. “Not only are younger buyers buying these, but also retirees and empty nesters. Those people still want a small and capable vehicle, but don’t want it to be a bare-bones car.”
All versions of the new Impreza will look a little sportier, with slim headlights and tail lamps, a sloping rear gate, and bulging fenders to add a sense of speed. Subaru says the car is more aerodynamic than before, but did not provide any numbers to show by how much.
The Impreza will still have a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that can be set to mimic an eight-speed automatic gearbox, using paddle shifters. Subaru says 80 per cent of the transmission components have been improved, allowing for smoother operation and better fuel efficiency.
There will not be a manual transmission. “It just wasn’t developed,” said Evans, because the emphasis was on providing features with higher technology. “If we had had the option, we absolutely would have taken it for Canada.” There hasn’t been a manual option for Impreza in Canada for the last two years.
The seats are apparently now more comfortable, designed to reduce fatigue over long distances, and all passengers will have a smoother ride thanks to a redesign of the suspension. All but the most basic edition will have an 11.6-inch infotainment touchscreen in the centre of the fascia, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard.
The new Impreza will also feature the fourth generation of Subaru’s EyeSight system for semi-autonomous driving, which now uses three forward-facing cameras to maintain a position in the lane and behind another vehicle while on cruise control, and will work at up to 80 kilometres per hour to avoid or brake for obstacles detected in the car’s lane.
“It’s a daily driver, it’s a weekend ski trip car, it’s a camper and it’s a moving van,” said Doll. “In other words, it’s a modern-day Swiss Army knife.”
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
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Mark Richardson