Key Points in This Review:
- The Impreza RS is meant to be a sporty version of Subaru’s compact four-door hatchback, equipped with a more powerful engine and racier trim.
- In reality, the Impreza RS is more comfortable than sporty, with a soft-riding suspension, unhurried acceleration, cushy seats and plenty of room for five people.
- An updated multimedia system is sorely needed, but the Impreza RS offers significant value as a comfortable, efficient and spacious hatch with a splash of sporty looks.
I’m not used to driving new cars these days. A seemingly endless parade of new SUVs and pickup trucks has graced my driveway for some time, but actual cars are a rarity unless they’re high-performance, high-dollar specialty ones. Budget-friendly compact hatchbacks are a dying breed, with just a handful left on the market. One of those is the 2025 Subaru Impreza RS, along with more traditional compact hatchback choices like the Kia K4, Mazda3, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and … that’s it. The Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cruze, base Volkswagen Golf and Hyundai Elantra GT are all long gone. These days, the Impreza is offered solely as a hatchback; the Impreza sedan was discontinued with the car’s 2024-model-year redesign.
Related: Research the 2025 Subaru Impreza
How Much Does a Subaru Impreza Cost?
The 2025 Impreza comes in three trims (base, Sport and RS), but Subaru also sells variants of it in the form of its off-road-oriented Crosstrek and performance-oriented WRX models.
The base trim has been dropped for 2026, leaving the Sport as the entry-level model. Prices listed below are for the 2026 Impreza, which isn’t materially different from the 2025 model reviewed here, and include a $1,195 destination fee:
- Sport: $27,790
- RS: $30,690
Both the Sport and RS are billed by Subaru as sport-oriented trims, with the big difference between them being the engine: The Sport uses a 152-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, while the RS gets a bigger, 182-hp four-cylinder. My test car was an RS — a name that used to imply some additional sporting ability in a package not quite as rally-ready as the WRX. The reality of this RS, however, is rather different. But does that make it less appealing? Or any less successful in its mission?
Looking the Part
Visually, moving from the Sport to the RS brings a few more spiffs. Both models have standard 18-inch wheels, but the RS trim’s are a different style and painted dark gray. RS badging is present on the front doors and rear hatch, while the grille, side sills and mirror caps are blacked out. But the rest of its looks aren’t all that different from the Sport trim. It still flies under the radar … or it would have if not for the fire-engine red paint my test vehicle came in.
Overall, it’s familiar. With its 2024 redesign, the Impreza’s styling didn’t stray too far from its predecessor’s; it’s an inoffensive, unremarkable look that will be easy to swallow both for Subaru fans and folks just looking for solid, unpretentious, practical transportation. It looks sporty enough to evoke the spirit of Subaru’s faster, more capable WRX, but given the WRX is no longer available as a hatchback and the Impreza can’t be had as a sedan, nobody is likely to confuse the two.
Quick Enough, Sportyish
The RS’ 2.5-liter flat-four-cylinder engine (also known as a “boxer” configuration because of how the pistons are arranged) makes 182 hp and 178 pounds-feet of torque. It’s mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission with software meant to emulate an eight-speed paddle-shift automatic, meaning you can blip paddles on the steering wheel to pretend you’re changing gears. You’ll do it once for the novelty, then likely never again; both the idea and execution of using paddle shifters to shift gears in a transmission that doesn’t have any gears feels just as barmy as it sounds. The car knows best how the CVT should behave; even its Sport mode doesn’t seem to do much.
Overall, acceleration in the RS is acceptable but by no means athletic. Standard all-wheel drive is a nice touch for this class, but it doesn’t help in spirited driving as much as it would in inclement weather. Fuel economy is acceptable, at an EPA-rated 26/33/29 mpg city/highway/combined for the RS. My observed gas mileage of 28 mpg for the week was close to that combined rating.
The RS’ ride quality is extraordinarily plush, making it feel like a much bigger, more substantial vehicle than it actually is. Its handling characteristics are equally soft, with steering that’s slow and lacks feedback — it doesn’t really encourage you to invite the RS to dance on your favorite back road. There’s pronounced body roll in corners, as well, given the suspension is tuned more for comfort than for a firmer, sporty ride. This is not a VW Golf GTI fighter, by any means. Braking behavior, body control, ride and handling balance — all of it feels tuned to provide a posh, comfortable, nonpunishing driving experience without unleashing too much adrenaline in any of the car’s passengers. That feels at odds with the idea of the RS — especially historically. It’s always been billed as a slightly less capable (and less expensive) midway point between the basic Impreza and the decidedly sporting WRX. Compared with something like the Honda Civic Si, though, the Impreza RS skews far more toward comfort than does that historically sporty compact car.
More Cushioning Inside
Subaru’s changes to the RS interior include adding dark cloth upholstery with red accents. The seats are softer, too, with more cushioning than you’ll find in many compact cars. While they’re incredibly comfortable, they don’t provide much in the way of bolstering when you start getting frisky in corners, which is another ding against the RS actually being a sporty compact. It looks pretty good inside, however, with gunmetal and faux carbon-fiber trim, floormats with the RS logo, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter, and aluminum pedals. The driver’s seat in the RS can have optional 10-way power adjustments with lumbar support, which is an upgrade over the Sport trim. Heated front seats are standard in the RS.
But there’s still a lot that doesn’t come even in the RS trim, as evidenced by the multitude of blanked-out controls all over the dash and console, reminding you of options that either you didn’t specify or Subaru doesn’t make available. That aside, it’s a decently crafted cabin that feels appropriate for the Impreza RS’ price tag. And comfort is undeniable both in the two highly cushioned, soft seats up front and in the backseat, which can seat three people but is more pleasant with just two. Headroom and legroom abound up front and in back, with the optional power moonroof not really affecting passenger headspace. Thanks to the Impreza’s hatchback style, cargo room is plentiful — even more so when the backseats are folded flat, opening up a cavernous space to haul things.
Terrible Tech Remains
Alas, whatever praise I have for the interior of the new Impreza RS ends when we start talking about its technology and electronics, which feel dated, slow and in desperate need of updating. The vertically oriented 11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system feels ancient; it needs to go away for good with the next Impreza. Integrating the climate controls into this ponderously slow piece of tech was an error that Subaru has rectified in the redesigned 2026 Outback, so we have hope for future Imprezas, too. The current system not only lags noticeably between screens and functions, it disappears in bright sunlight and feels outclassed and surpassed by nearly every other automaker’s multimedia technology.
The gauge cluster is similarly dated. It’s easy to read, with two round gauges flanking a small digital display, but it also feels old and uninteresting compared with the latest digital offerings from Kia and even Honda. Similarly, while the Impreza’s interior is comfortable, spacious, well built and blessed with acceptable materials quality, it also seems old — which is curious given this car’s recent redesign.
Value-Conscious Transportation Is Alive
Despite Subaru’s attempt to bill the Impreza RS as a sporty hatchback for folks unwilling to go all the way with a WRX, the reality of the vehicle is that it’s more of a value-conscious, well-appointed, comfortable and spacious all-arounder with a dash of sporty good looks. It won’t hold up against the demi-sporty offerings from Honda or Kia, though, as it has little of the vim and vigor of a Civic Si or K4 GT-Line Turbo and none of the handling prowess of a Mazda3 hatchback.
But with an as-tested price of just about $32,000, the Impreza RS represents a very solid value in a disappearing class. For those who face inclement weather and need to carry multiple people but don’t need a big SUV, it’s a fantastic option — maneuverable, comfortable and useful, making it a solid choice for all-around transportation. Thrill-seekers who don’t mind the sedan body style should step up to the WRX — or if they want a hatch, they can hop over to a VW dealer for a new Golf GTI. Drivers looking for more flash than dash, however, will be pleased with this Impreza RS.
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