I have driven and owned a range of cars from an amazing 1980 Honda Civic 4-speed manual with bias ply tires, a 1976 Mercedes 280, a 1978 Fiat X/19, a 1988 Corolla Wagon, and then the car before this one, a 2012 Hyundai Accent.
I would class the Mercedes as the best car I have driven,
even though it was over 30 years ago, but at that time, the technology, build
quality, and robustness of that car were hard to beat at that time.
The decision to buy a Subaru was brought on by a
long-in-time and long-in-distance love affair with the brand. Reading Car and
Driver reviews of the Subarus they tested made me wish for more. They were
quirky-looking cars that were, in the 1980s, rare to see on the highways and
byways of Ontario.
It was not until a ski trip to Sutton Vermont in 1988 that I
saw a plethora of Subies. They seemed to be everywhere and, invariably, had
Vermont license plates on them. So what was the hook about these cars to show
such a preponderance of them in Vermont? To put this in perspective, Vermont
has an 11 percent market penetration in the automobile market in Vermont. It is
the state with the largest concentration of Subies in the United States.
Years passed and my 2012 Accent was a bit pooched with
225,000 km on it. It was still reliable needing only tires, brakes, a
thermistor, and a wiper motor in the time I owned it. A pretty God Damn Good
Car! Especially for its time. It only did not start twice. Once when I fell
asleep at a roadside spot for a nap while leaving the lights on, and when the
starter failed at 215,000 km.
It was time for something new and I investigated the Honda
Civic, Toyota Corolla Wagon and the Subie.
It really was not a contest. I only test-drove the Touring
edition and noticed how stiff the chassis was and how it responded to the
driver inputs of throttle, braking, and turning. It seemed that the drivability
of the car and its configuration, a small wagon, combined with the features and
options I wanted led to the decision to get an RS edition
Taking delivery I was initially ecstatic. The car exceeded
by expectations in almost every way, though there are some items of the design
and implementation of some of the features and technology that are not perfect.
As you Sports Fans can see I recently documented parts of a
recent vacation leading to 5,100 km of driving and I can say that I have a good
appreciation of this car's characteristics.
Fuel Economy and Range
With a fuel economy of 8.0 L/100 km (or 35 miles/imperial
gallon or 29 miles per US gallon), the fuel economy is good for a FULL-TIME AWD
car. Not stellar, but given this engine is 0.5 litres larger than the base and
Touring models it only loses a small fraction of its fuel economy, which is
more than offset by its spritely performance which was most pleasing.
The range of this car is long. The Accent could push 500 km
(300 miles for you non-metric Sports Fans) while the Impreza can reach out to
600 km and with its comfortable seats and incredible climate control it allows
for low fatigue driving on long distances.
This capability was most appreciated and really offset my
prior experience with a car that had average range. Basically, I get tired
before I run out of gas and need to top up.
On the shorter legs of my journey, I could have gone 3-days
without filling up, where as, with the Accent I would fill up daily. In part
this behaviour is because of the limited number of fueling stations in the more
isolated parts of Canadian provinces and US states.
Winner: Impreza
Engine and Drivetrain
The 2.5-litre boxer is tractable and torquey. It has a good
linear pull and likes any RPM about 3,800 but the CVT takes some of the control
from the driver. It lacks the ability for a driver to interpret their driving
to the conditions leading to this driver relying on its automatically
controlling the revs depending on road conditions. No shifts for 4th to 2nd in
a tight turn with hard braking or holding the revs up at a target RPM while
going up a hill. The CVT transmission along with its AI overlords keep you well
from realizing the true potential of this car and its engine.
For me this is not a deal breaker. The Impreza is my daily
driver and ultimately a practical car.
Yet, it IS STILL FUN TO DRIVE!
Give it some twisties. Some hills and dales and she will
please. It just is not as engaging as a manual or conventional automatic
transmission.
Subaru had to make a marketing/engineering decision and as
the Impreza is the base for the often touted as better Crosstek (Sports Fans,
do not get me started on the small SUV class and its horrible dominance in the
North American "car" market) they know most other drivers barely know
what a gear is and that, without driver aids, the average North American
driving consumer would be hitting curbs and upsetting the crossing guards of
our fair Continent.
Winner: Impreza, but only because the engine is so far
better than the Accents. I miss my stick!
Suspension with Drivetrain
With the Impreza's 10% stiffer chassis from the previous
model, coupled with its suspension design and how it interacts with the
drivetrain this car is a blessing to drive on a highway. Smooth highways are
simply gobbled up as the hours of driving amass during a trip.
But roads in less pristine condition do lead to a rough
ride. Not unpleasant but so different by the seamless smoothness of better
roads they are a counterpoint to the fact that the RS has a
"sportier" suspension and small sidewall tires than the two lower
models. Perhaps different tires than the stock Yokohamas (Avid S34P All-Season
Radials P225/40R-18) would help alleviate this pet peeve. The tires, so far,
have been good and without the ability to test another brand of tires, I will
state they are more than competent.
Very pleased with its road manners on all the types of roads
I have driven on so far. The stiff chassis is very noticeable and effective on
washboard road surfaces which would have the Accent bopping and chopping along.
Winner: Impreza. AWD and torque vectoring noticeably improve
drivability.
Comfort and Creature/Cabin Comforts
I simply do not know where to start.
It really is an unfair comparison.
The Impreza has automatic climate control and a much better
stereo system.
The Accent’s stereo system was good, and it did come with a
CD player, which lacking in the Impreza, is not a major barrier to enjoying
music in the Subaru. As someone who has a pretty deep CD collection this is
surmountable but sad to see that the advance of time virtually eliminating the
way we used to listen to music.
Without going into all the philosophical detail of the way
technology has changed how we consume music (I use consume deliberately as we
do not LISTEN to music as we were meant to now) suffice to say the Impreza wins
hands down in this category.
Commenting specifically about the HVAC system of the car, it
has a generous method of airflow distribution and seems to have a very high
volume of air exchange which keeps the air fresh and prevents window frosting.
The truth to this above statement will be realized as winter’s
tentacles wrap the Subie in cold temperatures putting this to a true test.
The sound system has great range, volume, and the detail of
the music is VASTLY superior to that of the Accent. The RS sports an upgraded
Harmon Kardon “premium” audio system with a class-D amplifier outputting 432
equivalent watts of power.
Some commentators have poo-pooed the stereo but as a base
unit it is fine for us non-audio aficionados out there!
The one weakness the Impreza has comparted to the Accent is
Sirius XM reception. The Accent only failed in two remote areas of
Newfoundland, while the Impreza has cut out in Vermont, New Hampshire, New
York, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Ontario. The drops are temporary but
irritating and can occur with tree cover or no cover at all.
Winner: Impreza, except for minor Sirius reception issues.
Interior Comfort and Features
Interior Cargo Volume, Seats in Place/folded for 2012
Accent: 21.5 / 47.5 cubic feet.
Interior Cargo Volume, Seats in Place/folded for 2024
Impreza: 20.8 / 56 cubic feet.
Passenger Volume Accent/Impreza cubic feet: 89.7’ / 100’
With an 10-way adjustable seat and ergonomically integrated
seating designed to isolate the driver from vibration and decrease driver
fatigue the winner is clearly the Impreza.
The Accent seating was good but very firm and subject to
transmitting just about everything to the driver’s posterior.
Initially, I found the Impreza’s seats very soft but over
time I do not feel that they are overly soft. I did, however, have some
challenges with circulation to my right lower leg but I had the thigh bolster
set too high and, to date, this issue has not come back.
Winner: Impreza.
Conclusions
With all this said, what are the pros and cons of the Subaru
Impreza RS.
Pros
-
Power with the 2.5L.
o
There seems to be a group of people that bemoan
the power of this car. I find it more than fast enough for my driving and its
acceleration sure beats the relatively spritely (but now seems anemic)
acceleration of the Accent. It’s enough for me.
-
Overall ride and handling.
o
Though, it does appear to have a bit of a
shallow suspension travel as I bottomed out twice during a trip out to Nova Scotia
on some tertiary roads.
-
Sound System.
-
Comfort and Ergonomics.
-
Styling.
-
Range.
-
AWD.
Cons
-
CVT.
o
Note that the CVT does what it is supposed to,
but it is underwhelming in the feel of driving and the paddle shifters are not
well suited to a driver, like me, who had over a million miles on a standard transmission.
-
The Infotainment system.
o
Slow.
o
Slow.
o
Slow.
Overall, I am very pleased with my Subie and love driving it
every day.
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