Review of the 2018 Subaru Impreza

Since Suzuki’s demise in 2014, the Subaru Impreza is the most affordable all-wheel car available on the Canadian market. Before then, the title belonged to the SX4, but the disappearance of the Suzuki brand, so greatly lamented by many, means that those on a budget who are looking for a compact car with 4-wheel drive must turn their attention to Subaru.

While it’s not absolutely required for a motorist in Canada to have all-wheel drive, when we get assailed by one of Mother Nature’s little practical jokes, this most affordable of all Subarus makes itself very highly appreciated indeed. Fitted with decent winter tires, the Subaru Impreza can handle just about any winter conditions imaginable.

As luck would have it, my road test of the Impreza took place during a particularly spring-like week in February. No matter, an all-purpose car like the Impreza needs to make itself useful in all situations, even when there’s no snow or ice in sight.

An improved design 
Before I get into my take on the performance of this compact hatchback, I want to slip in a few words about its outer shell. And on that front, let’s just say that the design gradually grew on me after I spent a few days contemplating it in my driveway. This is not something I could have said about the 2017 edition. That I had the Sport-Tech version may have had something to do with it, I grant you; this version’s 18-inch wheels did a wonderful job filling the car’s wheel arches, for example. But still, features like the black front grille help give the 2018 Impreza a more serious vibe.

True to tradition, Subaru took an approach that leaned more toward evolution; the company has never been one to blow up an old design to create a new one. So it is that, with the exception of the rear lights and that revamped grille, the new Impreza looks much like the old. This may explain why it’s so easily recognized out on the road… or at the gas station, where curious people would occasionally approach to ask me what I thought of the car.

Read more