Oh Subaru. My car goes off-lease near the end of October and the new models are out in November. What to do now?
Tje thing that bugs me about the new Impreza is that while it gets better gas mileage than the previous Impreza, it requires the use of synthetic oil. I wonder if anyone has worked the numbers to see if the increased cost of every oil change cancels the savings from the better gas mileage?
Hi ya, Kaboomie! What are you looking at for a replacement? Come up with anything yet?
Why should synthetic oil be used? Is this what is specified in the manual?
Is that the new 2.5l with the timing chain? maybe that has something to do with it?
Also, did the oil change interval lengthen in the manual with the synth-oil requirement? That might hel pmitigate some of the xtra cost.
The only qualification to be a car designer today is to be a follower and have no style. The Outback has been ruined and now the impreza has the same front and side profile as every nissan, toyota etc.
**But But But, the Impreza has "POWERFUL WHEEL ARCHES!"
"The driving experience should be improved because of the car's stiffer body and wider track, expanded by a half-an-inch in front and
0.7-inch in back, and refinements like the stronger components, a new stiffening crossmember up front and pillow-ball bushings in the double-wishbone rear suspension from the STI. Spend on the upper trims and Subaru adds different springs in the front dampers and a rear stabilizer bar."
Same price, much reduced torque and horsepower from way smaller engine? Sounds like they're after fools.
Basia
**Well, I guess I won't buy one now because I would be a fool. Better interior, sportier ride, better gas mileage be damned. I needed that 170hp to get me the 1.5 miles to work and back gosh darn it!
I guess Subaru is trying to tap into the market for underpowered cars. Underpowered cars with sportier rides, better interiors, etc.
It is a big competitive market. It remains to be seen how deep of a market for an AWD vehicle.
People in mountainous regions- traditional Subaru bastions, will likely not buy this new Impreza.
So it is essentially a bet on flat-landers. With plenty of incentives it can work, probably.
Basia
Why? Some gullible folk won't pay extra for wrx and will slug up the hill in a normally breathing impreza.
Basically you don't want to slug you'd pay for wrx you want to be a fuel sipper you stay low with this basic model. Mind you, the torque peak arrives earlier on 2.0 than on the outgoing
2.5 and I hated the old 2.5 slug with my whole heart. Soooo slow to spin up.I like how the new car looks even compared to 2005 impreza.
Heck, Basia, you haven't even driven the car.
323 (Protege) looked even blander on paper but it was hoot to drive. Celica also is not much at 122 but with a single lightweight pilot it was probably a blast in the twisties.With the 2.3 gallon reduction in gas tank capacity FHI needed that improvement in the mileage. I wonder if wrx and sti would share the new puny gas tank. They probably will and that'd be a pity. I hear the sound of subaru plonking the spare tire next to fix the gas tank issue in the next installment :-[
There are three kinds of lies: lies, gross lies and car specs.
Nothing in between- that's the problem.
It may be a bit more "free-revving" but longer stroke engines are generally not of such nature, that's what they did to the 2.0L - made it a longer stroker.
I'm sceptical.
They should offer a choice of engines, like a 2.0, and a 2.5, but the CVT is probably a weak one (supposedly smaller version of the the Legacy's) so can't handle more torque.
Bad. I don't like what they are doing to the Impreza, turning what just a few years ago was a relatively fun to drive car a fun car into some 'commuter.'
Why not a Civic, or Corolla then, or the upcoming Prius C (City) Hatch, it looks so sexy, and promises to be the cheapest hybrid.
Basia
**150hp is underpowered? I'm constantly reading how people think the engine in my Impreza now is a slug, do you think they are talking about the automatic? I have a 5 speed and don't think it's even remotely sluggish. I will say that I understand you're peeved because Subaru is going all middle-America milquetoast with their vehicles. Trying to broaden its appeal perhaps?I don't disagree. I loved my 2005 Impreza wagon and I wish I still had it. It was fun and also had fewer HP than my current Impreza which I like a skosh less (crappy interior design-wise and quality-wise). **I live in a hilly region that gets tons of snow. I'm surrounded by Subarus now and will most likely continue to be surrounded by even the new 2012s. In my area, however, I think that Hyundai is giving them a run for their money and I say: good. Hopefully, this leads to improvement. **I don't know about Subaru's rep outside of New England. I know that here in NE, they are gold.
We'll have to wait and see.
It may be adequate with a manual transmission on flat or moderatly hilly terrain.
In the mountains of Colorado, Sierra Nevada, or Cascades, where many if not most US Subarus find their home, it will not be optimal.
I am absolutely sure it'll have to be revved a lot. With AWD 2012 Impreza will be a fairly heavy 3000lb vehicle, while top power will be coming at a high 6200 rpms.
A slightly larger, say 2.2L variant of the engine could have been much better. Maybe they'll offer a bigger engine later on, if the CVT is not an obstacle (?).
Subaru probably has direct injection in mind for the future, and for this market segment, and that is why they settled for a relatively small displacement engine.
Direct injection is not a perfect technology, though. Nasty carbon deposits are known to form, diminishing performance, and requiring periodic cleaning of intake valves. Larger oil capacities are also needed as unburnt gasoline is known to dilute engine oil in these engines. Synthetic oil may be needed(?).
Hmmm, maybe I am just getting old, but I really don't like what they are doing to the Impreza.
Basia
because priuses always handled like crap and they probably always will
engine is only part of the fun i don't like the outgoing impreza handling at all
if you don't like the base model there is always wrx to move up to and the whole lineup is mirrored by mitsubishi now if you want to trade up some perceived reliability of impreza for a better tuned chassis of a lancer (less understeer, better handling, etc) even the pig that it is in the
10th installment
Oooops, my apologies to Canadians.
In Canada the new 2012 Impreza will be sold at lower prices than the outgoing model, ...I guess for a reason.
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Aug. 22, 2011 /CNW/ - Subaru Canada, Inc. (SCI) is pleased to announce pricing for the all-new 2012 Impreza lineup, which goes on sale in October. Consumers may not be surprised that the redesigned fourth-generation Impreza offers significant enhancements over the previous model... . What might be surprising is the fact that Subaru is offering the new Impreza at prices that are lower than the previous model=97at every single trim level.
**Hahaha! How typical. I'm debating the Legacy line now but they look so chunky compared to the previous version (which I really liked). Are there any models in the present Subaru line-up that you prefer?
kaboomie
I like the Legacy very much, with its new and hopefully head gasket problem free engine, ....but the car has a big, big, engineering flaw.
Google legacy + steering + shake.
I hoped the new Impreza would be an improvement over the old.
It turns out it is a step down, in terms of power, ...as Subaru tries to go after people demanding extreme fuel efficiency and AWD.
Basia
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