“Apologies to those of you sitting in the back, the engine just cut out as a safety precaution. It’s entirely my fault for over-revving.”
There are other cars where the rev counter is in the middle of the instrument binnacle, but it always seems like a styling gimmick. By forcing the eye to focus on revs not mph, it subliminally suggests that you are in a special car. Something raw, manly and powerful.
But the Subaru Impreza has never really been about style; the ‘Scooby’ is about power and guts wrapped up in a simple saloon (now hatchback). So it was a surprise to see the massive rev counter bullying the speedo over to a small corner of the binnacle. It looks a bit ostentatious.
It turns out that it’s not remotely ostentatious. This car gets up to 6,000 revs startlingly quickly, and then at 6,500 revs, promptly cuts out. The fantastic turbo-like-whooshing noise from under the bonnet is replaced by an unturbo-like-whooshing noise from my cheeks as I let slip my embarrassment. So you need that rev-counter to keep an eye on things.
I suspect it was this over-zealous accelerating that lead to the alarm setting itself off when I next stopped. It wouldn’t have been quite so embarrassing but I was parking outside the church of my friend’s wedding. I always find a little gremlin like this with Subaru electronics, which is a shame because a key part of their appeal is the sense that they are robust cars.
When the alarm is going off, this car picks up a lot of attention. The rest of the time, it slips past almost unnoticed, even in WRX trim. The WRX trim gives the car alloy wheels and a sculpted air vent in the middle of the bonnet. The top of the air vent is visible from the driver’s seat and it adds something to the car. It reminds you all the time that this is no ordinary hatchback. Design elements like that, or a nicely sculpted rear wing that you can see in a wing mirror, makes owning a car more enjoyable. If you buy a BMW 3-series, there is actually very little beyond the quality to remind the driver that they are in something special. Despite the air vent, the Impreza WRX still looks quite plain.
However, the recently launched WRX Sti version introduces big flared wheel arches, which makes it look more like the car Impreza enthusiasts had been hoping for when the hatchback was launched in September 2007.
In the basic R or RX trim, there is no air intake, no butch wheel arch treatment and just standard steel wheels; it is reminiscent of a Toyota Corolla. It won’t get any ‘Wows!’ but its not offensive.
The best part of driving a car that no one notices is what you can get away with. You can chop in at the front of long traffic jams for example. I obviously don’t condone it, but sometimes we all have to and I’m just saying it’s easier in a grey Subura Impreza R than an orange Porsche 911.
Speaking of 911s, I tried to keep pace with a Carerra S around the Scole bypass on the Suffolk/Norfolk border. Considering the 911 costs over three times more, has rear-wheel drive and over 50% more power, the Impreza really did a great job. I lost, but not by that much.
Sadly, more minor build quality niggles crept in and as I went for a quick gear change and the top of the gear lever span 45 degrees.
Later in the week’s test the seat would make a loud pinging noise as if I had broken it. Fortunately, it was fine and actually very comfortable. The driving position, steering wheel and lumbar support are all perfectly adequate too.
Sitting in queues or crawling along in slow traffic the car feels a little juddery, like more powerful sports cars that hiss and shudder at low revs. But it was quiet around town and wasn’t prone to following all the lines in the worn road surfaces of East London. The only time you get road noise is at around 40 mph, when there is an audible drone from the wheels on the tarmac. Don’t forget though that you get that in a £33,000 Audi A5 too.
At motorway speed you get a certain amount of wind noise that drowns out what looks like a basic Subaru sound system. But prod enough buttons and you can find a ‘speed noise’ setting which brings the stereo volume right up. This is exactly the sort of practical, understated, quality I expect from Subarus.
And it is understated, practical quality that brings me to the symmetrical all-wheel drive system. This maximises tyre grip by giving the power to the axle with the best grip.
In human terms it allows you to have the driving equivalent of safe sex. It is incredible fun on the exit of roundabouts and through quick A-road corners. In handling terms, it doesn’t squirm like a cheap hot hatch, nor does it offer a racing-car-neutral turn-in. It sits, unusually, somewhere in the middle. Which means it might disappoint some car enthusiasts, but will provide fun and safety to more ‘normal’ drivers.
Summary
On looks and build quality I would rather have a Mazda 3 MPS. On price, practicality and performance there is nothing in it. On re-sale ability, the Subaru will probably win as it is a popular brand.
Road test car details:
Subaru Impreza 2.5 WRX
OTR £ 19,995
0-62: 6.1
MPG: 27.2
Co2 / KM: 246
Words: Matthew Tumbridge