2022 Subaru Impreza Road Test and Review

2020 Subaru Impreza ・ Photo by Subaru

Safety and security — that is the Subaru brand reputation, and that is precisely what the 2022 Subaru Impreza delivers. It is literally the safe choice in the segment. You can make the case that others offer more style and sheer driving fun, but if you battle inclement weather the Impreza is an excellent choice. One of the key reasons is the Impreza’s standard all-wheel drive. Plus, the suite of driver aids lends further credence to the strong safety image. The compact car market is crowded with excellent vehicles like the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, and Nissan Sentra. Enthusiast drivers tend to favor the Mazda Mazda3, Volkswagen Jetta, and Volkswagen Golf. Like its challengers, both sedan and hatchback versions of Impreza seat five adults, and the car is virtually unchanged for the new model year. Excellent resale value is one of the Impreza’s hidden virtues. It typically scores at or near the top in that measure. In this 2022 Subaru Impreza road test and review, we’ll tell you how the current model fares overall.

Exterior Design

The Subaru Impreza isn’t known for its distinctive exterior design. It is attractive, but it doesn’t stand out from a styling point of view and appeals to Subaru’s buyer base. A low nose is the model’s most distinctive feature. It’s adorned with a very modest grille and sleek headlights. The roofline of the Impreza slopes back rapidly from its oversized windshield. It is available in both 4-door sedan and 4-door hatchback body styles. The Impreza hatchback can be fitted with roof rails that give it a quasi-SUV look. The Impreza sedan version is about the same length as the Nissan Sentra, Kia Forte, and Toyota Corolla. The Hyundai Elantra, all-new for 2021, and the Honda Civic, all-new for 2022, are among the freshest vehicles in the segment. Both offer more dramatic styling than the Impreza, and we’ll bet Impreza buyers don’t care.

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Interior Style

The Subaru Impreza has a very well-designed interior with excellent assembly quality. The Impreza’s passenger area is one of the largest in the segment. A family of four will find it delivers convenient around-town use and cushy long-distance cruising. The front bucket seats are comfortable on lengthy drives despite the fact they aren’t very wide. And as you’d expect in a vehicle of Subaru’s reputation, child safety seats fit into the rear seating area without difficulty. The Impreza’s instruments are driver-oriented, placed in a nacelle immediately beyond the steering wheel. Additional instruments sit in another pod over the infotainment screen. Below the infotainment display are the heating, ventilating and air conditioning controls, and they are straightforward as well. In all, the Impreza’s interior doesn’t exhibit much flash, but it is very pleasant.

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Powertrains

Every Impreza model is fitted with a unique engine type that delivers torque to the standard all-wheel-drive system. The horizontally opposed 2.0-liter four-cylinder “boxer” engine produces 152 horsepower and 145 lb-ft of torque. A rare 5-speed manual is the base transmission, but a continuously variable transmission is also available, and it is the overwhelming choice of buyers. On uplevel trims, the CVT has a simulated 7-speed manual mode with steering-wheel paddle shifters. Despite that “sporty” touch, rapid acceleration isn’t in the cards. The Impreza will go from 0-60 mph in about nine seconds. A key competitor, the all-new 2022 Honda Civic has a 158-horsepower normally aspirated 2.0-liter 4-cylinder as its base powerplant. Toyota Corolla and Hyundai Elantra models offer hybrid powertrains as well as conventional gasoline engines.

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Infotainment & Tech

Several years ago, Subaru infotainment systems left a lot to be desired, but they are much-improved and offer much better usability. The Impreza’s standard system has a 6.5-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. As the segment keeps evolving that is a small screen size, but the upper-level Sport and Limited trims have an 8-inch touchscreen system with additional features. A package including Starlink 8-inch multimedia infotainment system with integral navigation powered by TomTom, Harmon Kardon premium audio, and a power moonroof is a $2,350 option. In all, the Impreza’s infotainment offerings are good but not on the cutting edge.

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Interior Space and Cargo Carrying

These days, buyers who want versatility and cargo-carrying ability will likely choose a small crossover SUV. But the Impreza, especially in the 4-door hatchback configuration, provides good cargo space. It is the more practical of the two body styles, though some buyers still prefer the traditional 4-door sedan with locking trunk. The Impreza sedan has one of the smallest trunks in it class, so if you are looking for cargo-carrying capacity, the hatchback is clearly a better choice. The 2022 Impreza sedan has 12.3 cubic feet of trunk space, not as roomy as the trunks in the competitive Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra, and the Kia Forte. The Impreza hatchback has 20.8 cubic feet of cargo area behind the second row and a generous 55.3 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. As we said, it could substitute for a small SUV.

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Safety & Driver Aids

The 2022 Subaru Impreza is expected to offer excellent overall safety. All Impreza models equipped with the CVT automatic transmission have Subaru’s EyeSight driver-assistance technology. Automatic pre-collision braking and throttle management, lane-keeping assist, lane departure and sway warning, and lead vehicle start alert are all standard with that system. Models with CVT and the Sport trim with manual transmission also have Rear Seat Reminder to alert the driver to check the rear seat for children and pets before exiting the vehicle. Blind-spot warning with lane-change assist and rear cross-traffic alert are optionally available on all but the base trim, while reverse automatic braking is available on the top-level Limited trim. The 2022 version is too new to have been tested and evaluated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration but the 2021 model received a 5-Star overall rating in the 5-Star Safety Rating Program. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named the 2021 Impreza sedan a Top Safety Pick.

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Driving Impression

The big difference between the 2022 Impreza and the other vehicles in the class is the Subaru’s standard all-wheel drive. The AWD system gives the Impreza a very secure feel in cornering especially in wet weather. At the same time, in comparison to some of the other vehicles in the segment, the Impreza offers only middling acceleration. Its suspension is tailored to provide good ride comfort versus on-the-edge handling, which is logical given its safety and security emphasis. If you seek exhilaration behind the wheel, other models in the segment might be preferable. We wish the Impreza had more power and was more responsive to the throttle. That said, Subaru buyers aren’t putting fun-to-drive attributes at the tops of their wishlists. If you want a vehicle that will get you through, snow, ice, and muck reliably and safely, the Impreza is a top choice.

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Fuel Economy

All-wheel-drive is great for added traction in bad-weather driving, but it typically has a fuel economy penalty. And that’s the case with the 2022 Subaru Impreza.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicts an Impreza with its continuously variable automatic transmission will deliver 27 mpg in the city and 35 mpg when on the highway. With the 5-speed manual transmission, fuel economy takes a big hit, dropping to 24 mpg in city driving and 31 mpg on the highway. Certainly, that’s not bad but the 2022 Honda Civic with the base engine gets an estimated 31 mpg during city driving and 40 mpg on the highway. With the optional 1.5-liter turbocharged engine, the Civic offers 33 mpg in city driving and 42 on the highway. A base Toyota Corolla is good for 30 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. The Nissan Sentra is rated at 29 mpg city and 39 mpg highway.

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Pricing and Value

The 2022 Subaru Impreza is available in four basic trims: Base, Premium, Sport, and Limited. With a starting price under $20,000, the base Impreza is available in both sedan and 4-door hatchback versions. Standard equipment includes power windows, 60/40-split folding rear seat, power door locks and side mirrors, keyless entry, and driver information display. The Impreza Premium at under $24,000 might be the highest value trim. It adds a 7-speed manual mode with paddle shifters on the continuously variable transmission and the All-Weather package with heated front seats, windshield, and exterior mirrors. The Impreza Sport has exclusive suspension tuning, 18-inch alloy wheels, and Active Torque Vectoring. The Sport hatchback has a standard 5-speed manual transmission, and it can be equipped with the CVT. The 2022 Impreza Limited with a list price under $28,000 is at the top of the lineup. It has a leather-trimmed interior, 6-way power driver’s seat, automatic climate control system, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and an 8-inch Multimedia Plus system. Because of its strong safety reputation and good resale value, the Subaru Impreza is a good value, especially for the safety-conscious.

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