The Impreza just got a little more impressive.
For many years, the biggest bugbear for Subaru owners have been inflated servicing costs. The prices associated with getting your Subaru looked at have always been higher than its competitors, largely due to the increased mechanical complexity of the cars themselves.
The added complexity that comes with a Subaru can be attributed to the marque’s proprietary Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system, as well as its rigorous employment of horizontally-opposed Boxer engines. These mechanical ‘complications’ are, however, what have given Subarus something of a dynamic edge over its rivals, something that Subaru aficionados will never fail to tell you every time you see them.
However, Subaru Australia has (finally) decided to address the issue. Starting with the 2017 Impreza (sans the hot WRX and hotter STi), servicing and maintenance costs will be capped at $1,298 per service for the first three years. According to Subaru, this is $918 cheaper than it would have been on the outgoing Impreza. The service intervals are up too, with the little spanner on the dash coming up every 12,500km or twelve months, whichever comes first.
To put that into perspective, a new Honda Civic will cost just $278 per 12-month/10,000km service. The premium for Subaru maintenance has always been accepted by owners and enthusiasts alike, owing to the Boxer engine and all-wheel drive system we mentioned earlier, which are featured on all of their cars (sans the rear-drive BR-Z).
The new Impreza will be rolling out of dealerships at the end of this month, badged as 2017-model year cars. It’ll be offering a comprehensive list of standard kit and elevated levels of refinement, owing to the new Subaru Global Platform that debuts with it. Less weight, more rigidity, and a lower centre of gravity are among the plethora of benefits the new Impreza enjoys from the new architecture, and the new XV crossover (due June 2017) and Forester SUV (due early 2018) will be the next Subarus to utilise the new platform.
Back to the Impreza, it’ll feature new suspension front and rear, a new 2.0-litre engine (naturally aspirated, it manages a mild 115kW/196Nm), the tried-and-tested Lineartronic CVT automatic. The Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive will also feature, with its 60:40 front-rear power split, and the cabin of the new compact sedan & hatch will see a more upmarket, more tech-laden cabin, with things like Apple CarPlay & Android Auto coming as standard.
Subaru’s active safety system, EyeSight, will also be fitted to the Impreza, albeit only on the higher-end variants. Subaru Australia’s managing director Colin Christie said, “The volume of vehicles [with EyeSight technology] will most likely place Subaru ahead of any other brand in terms of bringing this kind of invaluable safety technology to the mass market.”
Both hatch and saloon body styles will be offered with the full range of trim levels, which starts at the 2.0i ($22,400-$22,600). This grade will feature a 6.3-inch touchscreen (with smartphone mirroring we mentioned earlier), a reversing camera, cruise control, air-conditioning, Bluetooth & USB connectivity, multifunction steering wheel, seven airbags, and a five-star ANCAP safety rating. Moving up to the 2.0i-L ($24,490-$24,690) bags a larger 8.0-inch touchscreen, improved seat fabric, climate control, electrically foldable mirrors, daytime running lights, tyre pressure monitor, improved trip computer screen, and EyeSight active safety technology (active cruise control, lane departure warning, lead vehicle start alert and pre-collision braking).
Moving further up the line is the 2.0i-Premium ($26,290-$26,490), which adds a sunroof, and satellite navigation powered by GPS map experts TomTom. The top-spec 2.0i-S ($28,990-$29,190) adds to that active torque vectoring, automatic lights, automatic wipers, heated leather seats, a body kit, 18-inch alloy wheels, full LED headlights, and Vision Assist safety technology (blind-spot monitoring, lane-change assistance, and rear cross-traffic alert).
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