Subaru Impreza Concept to be introduced at Tokyo Auto Show 2015

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Personally I think the current Impreza is disappointing in the looks department, but the new model takes cues from the WRX STI which has made the front look a lot better. It's not the first car I would go for in this class, but it is moving up the ranks.

If you still picture the Impreza as a rally-bred Saloon/Wagon, then yes, it is dull in that respect. Think of it now as a conventional hatchback/saloon with four wheel drive and it can hold its ground against the competition.
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That's the problem I guess, but I'm into that sort of thing. Once a car has heritage in a certain discipline of racing it just seems wrong to not embrace that. I hope the Sti embraces it because this model hasn't impressed me yet.
 
Without rallying, the Impreza is a car that doesn't really need to exist, so to see it limping on as a series of increasingly dull competency is a tough ask.
 
VXR
Without rallying, the Impreza is a car that doesn't really need to exist, so to see it limping on as a series of increasingly dull competency is a tough ask.
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I guess we'll see what the WRX Sti is like, because until then, this car is just 'meh' to me.
 
And this is exciting to you? Yes the impreza was created to go rallying as the Legacy just wasn't competitive but the "meh" version has always existed along side the homologated specials.

1993-subaru-impreza-ls-awd-photo-554201-s-429x262.jpg
 
I thought the cooking models of the GC and GD models looked acceptable, especially as Sport models shared most of the styling upgrades, bar the bonnet intake. These new ones look far too apologetic compared to the bulging, wide arch WRX and STI variants.
 
Having a greater styling difference gives people more motivation to pony up for the actual high performance models vs being satisfied with buying one that just looks like the real thing.
 
VXR
Without rallying, the Impreza is a car that doesn't really need to exist, so to see it limping on as a series of increasingly dull competency is a tough ask.
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It does have a good reason to exist. It actually fills the market of people who wants a cheap, small, all wheel drive basic transportation vehicle in markets around the world.
 
Cale
And this is exciting to you? Yes the impreza was created to go rallying as the Legacy just wasn't competitive but the "meh" version has always existed along side the homologated specials.

1993-subaru-impreza-ls-awd-photo-554201-s-429x262.jpg
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Thing is, it didn't look like anything else. The current model looks similar to a Lancer. When releasing an all new car and seeing it look like a 1/2 scale Charger, seems like a missed opportunity to design something with Subaru's history of adding character.
 
We can blame the Taurus for that. Before this world design language, most cars were square. Before that, cars had fins, etc. That Impreza had a short rear deck, pillarless windows and AWD option as its main selling point. Remember too, the Impreza was an all new model. Corolla and Camry been around for years. No excuse for what it looks like now.
 
05XR8
We can blame the Taurus for that. Before this world design language, most cars were square. Before that, cars had fins, etc. That Impreza had a short rear deck, pillarless windows and AWD option as its main selling point. Remember too, the Impreza was an all new model. Corolla and Camry been around for years. No excuse for what it looks like now.
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Impreza still has AWD as a main selling point.
 
Grandea GTR
Impreza still has AWD as a main selling point.
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For sure. As does Audi.
I remember reading an Automobile Magazine article(can't recall the year but, I know it was a silver one) on the Impreza WRX, when it first came to North America. It mentioned how Subaru see their Impreza WRX/STI as a 911. Whether bugeye or from the redesigned front clip, even the base model Impreza and Outback/Sport two-tone Impreza had character. The GC through to the porpoise-face GE, didn't look like any other car.

Well, at least the interior appears to be better.
 
05XR8
For sure. As does Audi.
I remember reading an Automobile Magazine article(can't recall the year but, I know it was a silver one) on the Impreza WRX, when it first came to North America. It mentioned how Subaru see their Impreza WRX/STI as a 911. Whether bugeye or from the redesigned front clip, even the base model Impreza and Outback/Sport two-tone Impreza had character. The GC through to the porpoise-face GE, didn't look like any other car.

Well, at least the interior appears to be better.
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I really doesn't make sense to compare Audi to Subaru when one is a luxury brand and the other is a... err... general brand akin to Toyota, Mazda, and Nissan.
 
I'm not comparing Audi to Subaru. If anything, Subaru compared themselves with Porsche. This has to do with Subaru's new design for the Impreza. I feel they could have done better.
 
I'm not exactly sure when the base Impreza was ever exciting to look at. Sure there were pillar-less windows for the first two gens which I adored, but... that's about it.
 
There was the base Impreza, and then there was the Impreza WRX/WRX STI.

Same car, different styles.
 
Well I like it, I think it looks pretty good. Not super exciting, but better than comparable Toyotas and stuff.

I stopped paying attention to Subaru in recent years (despite once being a massive fanboy and owning multiple Imprezas), but isn't the Impreza name now separate from WRX/ STI?
 
SPhilli911
I stopped paying attention to Subaru in recent years, but isn't the Impreza name now separate from WRX/ STI?
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Yep, hence why the Impreza is trying to distance itself from rally fans and appeal to the more conservative buyer.
 
Those conservative buyers won't be Mazda, Toyota, Holden, Honda or Nissan owners. Might be hard getting even Mitsubishi owners to snap up Imprezas. At best, the XV would grab new to the brand owners. I can maybe see a Hyundai owner switching up but, without those 10year warranties and high service cost... on second thought, maybe not.
 
SPhilli911
Well I like it, I think it looks pretty good. Not super exciting, but better than comparable Toyotas and stuff
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As far as I can tell, they're really amping up the class-competitive content here. The 2.0i will have better standard equipment than the comparable Honda Civic LX, and might be more affordable out of the gate. Assuming they got the driving dynamics right, I do think it could hang out a better option compared to most of the mainstream models, aside from the usual "it has AWD" perk.

Omnis
Looks good, if a bit cramped.
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The current one is pretty roomy, especially for headroom and legroom. I'd imagine this one doesn't change much?
 
YSSMAN
As far as I can tell, they're really amping up the class-competitive content here. The 2.0i will have better standard equipment than the comparable Honda Civic LX, and might be more affordable out of the gate. Assuming they got the driving dynamics right, I do think it could hang out a better option compared to most of the mainstream models, aside from the usual "it has AWD" perk.
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Lord, let's hope so.

YSSMAN
The current one is pretty roomy, especially for headroom and legroom. I'd imagine this one doesn't change much?
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I know, right? The current one is excellent in those regards. This photo looks worse, but it could just be the angle.
 
1241Penguin
I'm not exactly sure when the base Impreza was ever exciting to look at. Sure there were pillar-less windows for the first two gens which I adored, but... that's about it.
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I agree.

However, I think the problem is that the Impreza has continued to look quite dull, while car design has advanced significantly for every other car that size. And interior design for that matter. The new Impreza has a nicer cabin than before, but that's a bit like saying it's better having one finger chopped off than it is two fingers. Subaru seems pretty clueless from a design standpoint at the moment.

Actually, that's not quite fair. Subaru's concepts look great, they just manage to make everything look utterly unremarkable by the time it hits the road. Here was the Impreza sedan concept:

001-impreza-sedan-concept_0.jpg


Which turned into this under wheeled, ill-proportioned lump:

011-impreza-sedan.jpg
 
homeforsummer
I agree.

However, I think the problem is that the Impreza has continued to look quite dull, while car design has advanced significantly for every other car that size. And interior design for that matter. The new Impreza has a nicer cabin than before, but that's a bit like saying it's better having one finger chopped off than it is two fingers. Subaru seems pretty clueless from a design standpoint at the moment.

Actually, that's not quite fair. Subaru's concepts look great, they just manage to make everything look utterly unremarkable by the time it hits the road. Here was the Impreza sedan concept:
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I agree that the new Impreza is conservative looking, but I'd rather that than Subaru try something bold and have it end up looking (somewhat) ugly, like the outgoing Impreza for example.

And to be fair, I think that the production Impreza is much closer to its concept counterpart than any other production Subaru in the past. I can certainly see hints of the concept car on the production car, unlike the 2012 Impreza concept for example, whose production counterpart was an ugly, badly proportioned, fussy looking car. Not saying that the new Impreza couldn't use any design improvements, though, mind, but I do think it's a step in the right direction.
 
It's not bland, it's classic. There's a difference.
 
Grandea GTR
Impreza still has AWD as a main selling point.
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It has AWD as it's only selling point these days. There's nothing else about it that stands out from the ever increasing crowd. Once upon a time the Impreza was a motorsport-bred small AWD saloon that handled well and was quick. It also drank heavily and attracted the wrong crowd. Now it's just AWD and doesn't attract any sort of crowd.
 
Omnis
It's not bland, it's classic. There's a difference.
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There is indeed a difference between bland and classic. But the new Impreza is the former. It's a bland car that also won't look any less bland in 20 years. Bland is fine, but Subaru is obviously capable of doing better.

Like the original Impreza in bog-basic trim, incidentally, but the difference between then and now is, as @TheCracker points out, that AWD is now the Impreza's only unique selling point, rather than one of several. I don't doubt that Subaru sold a few poverty-spec Imprezas back in the day on the back of McRae's rally success, but there's not even that benefit today.

America's semi-fascination with Subaru even though they've not produced anything worth buying, BRZ aside, in the last 15 years, continues to baffle me. The availability of AWD for those in the snowbelt states must be the extent of it, though if any other manufacturer decided to produce relatively affordable cars with AWD the market for Subarus would disappear overnight.
 

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