From the 2011 New York Auto Show, Cars.com's Joe Wiesenfelder takes a look at the 2012 Subaru Impreza.
Transcript
(upbeat music) <v Announcer>Cars.com auto review. (upbeat music) Hi, I'm Joe Wiesenfelder with cars.com. We're taking our first look at a completely redesigned Subaru Impreza compact sedan, which also comes as a four door hatchback.
One of the big selling points is highway mileage of 36 miles per gallon, which is really good for an all wheel drive car. You will certainly form your own opinion about the styling, but I think it's one of the high points. It's actually a much more mature look for this car, but at the same time, it's not too conservative. I think it kind of finds a sweet spot between the more plain models, one could argue the Toyota Corolla, even the Chevy Cruze, and the more bold ones like the Hyundai Elantra and the Ford Focus. The interior is also greatly improved in terms of quality. I wouldn't say it's a class leader, but we're working from a vehicle that was actually a little bit behind the times. Generally speaking, good surfaces everywhere. The dashboard is padded, which is pretty important these days. More important than that, it's kind of a low gloss. It looks good. I'm not a fan of this silver stuff, but it's at least used sparingly. I think the bezel here in the center and also on the spokes of the steering wheel is actually a pretty nice material. Now, the back seat is also pretty impressive. It has grown in size, even though the car itself is pretty much the same dimensions as it used to be. The shape and the softness of the backrest makes it totally natural. I don't even really feel like I'm being squished in here. Generally pretty good for a compact car. On the downside, because this is an all wheel drive car standard, you do get the center floor hump, which is higher than you'll find in most cars. And that really makes the center seat less usable. Now the cargo volume in the trunk is a little bit modest for this class, but it's still larger than it was in the previous generation. And I think the shape is generally quite usable, a pretty good sized opening. And I also appreciate that the hinges kind of go down in such a way that they will not encroach on the space. They won't crush your luggage or your groceries. Now, thanks to a new two liter direct injection engine and a revised CVT, the car gets again, 36 miles per gallon on the highway. Now that might not sound great compared with some of the new recently redesigned cars that get close to 40, but that's with front wheel drive. For a car with all wheel drive, 36 is great. Even Subaru itself says one of the big deterrents for some people buying a Subaru is that the all wheel drive automatically gives you lower fuel economy. Something like this really rounds it out. I think this might be the most appealing Impreza of all time. <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog, kickingtires.net.
