2012 Subaru Impreza
I'm surprised there was no discussion here on this next-gen Impreza. It looks like a great update to me. Especially compelling is the higher mpg (up to 36 EPA highway), more rear seat room, and the upgraded interior materials. The exterior styling is ho-hum, like a 4/5 scale Legacy, but not offensive.
I am looking forward to driving the new Impreza when it arrives at dealerships. If it retains the smooth ride from the current Impreza and the interior and fuel economy are as advertised, this could be my next car after the lease on my Sentra is up.
http://www.insideline.com/subaru/impreza/2012/2012-subaru-impreza-first-look.htm- l
I am looking forward to driving the new Impreza when it arrives at dealerships. If it retains the smooth ride from the current Impreza and the interior and fuel economy are as advertised, this could be my next car after the lease on my Sentra is up.
http://www.insideline.com/subaru/impreza/2012/2012-subaru-impreza-first-look.htm- l
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I wonder whether the new mirrors fold?
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ee9956a/21942#MSG21942
Bob
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/sedans/1106_2012_subaru_impreza_look/index.h- - - - tml
The interior is greatly improved. The dash is now nicely padded, as are the sun visors and the upper door sills, plus there's now a Limited trim with leather seats.
So in effect, the Impreza's customer range is now much broader, in that it still addresses the bargain shopper with the base model, yet now also attracts more of a luxury buyer with the Limited. BTW, the CVT is standard in the Limited.
The sedan pictured here is the Limited, and the 5-door pictured is the mid-level Premium model.
Bob
http://wot.motortrend.com/different-car-same-price-subaru-announces-new-2012-imp- reza-will-not-get-price-increase-109381.html
He also said the CVT is the same one that's been used in the Outback the last two model years, which I didn't know, and which made me feel a little better about it, since those things are so expensive to repair and replace.
Everything I've read says that the Impreza CVT is a smaller/lighter version of the Outback CVT.
I'm not surprised that there's a waiting list with only 2 cars due until December. That's not many buyers.
Was buying a Subaru Impreza 2010 car....the dealer is quoting 1800 for the gold plus extended warranty..is the price right?? I have seen ppl mention that such warranties are available for 800-1000 bucks...am I being cheated?? Please advice..
Apparently the 2.0 has a timing chain, not a belt, so that is an improvement. The rated horsepower of the engine is not too bad either. Since this is grandma's car, it will do well. We are on the cusp of a decision of whether to go to a quarter million miles with our 2008 (and do the required maintenance) or trade now. Gasoline savings over two years (about $1000 with our driving habits) will really help pay for one major maintenance event.
Overall, it is definitely an improvement over our much-loved 2008.
Still, if she wants a new car, here's the perfect excuse...
The manual driver's seat felt comfortable, although I wished the wheel would telescope out just a bit more. Materials quality of the dash looked and felt excellent, with nicely padded and grained top and smooth rotary HVAC controls. Door panels didn't match the dash quality (lots of hard plastic) but at least the armrests were padded. Center console had a sliding cushion. One cost-cutting move I found odd in a $25k car was that the visor mirrors were not illuminated.
On the road, the car handled confidently even whipping around cloverleafs at 2X the posted speed (the sales rep encouraged me to do that). Acceleration was adequate and the engine noise wasn't objectionable even under hard throttle... although keep in mind this is a small and relatively inexpensive car. The CVT has paddle shifters but I didn't try those... "shifting" on a CVT seems like a non sequitur to me. If I want to shift I'll get a stick... except that is rated lower in FE than the CVT.
The ride was firm and expansion joints and cracks elicited pronounced and loud "thumps", which seemed to be more tire-related than from the suspension. I am hoping that with the standard wheels and tires, which I would be getting, there will be less noise than with the 17" alloys on the Limited.
Except for the tire noise, the car was pleasant to drive, but the best part was the fuel economy. I reset the meter after getting up to speed (about 60 mph) on the freeway and had the instantaneous setting on. I noticed the numbers moving mostly between 40-60 mpg while cruising, depending on grade (which wasn't big at any time). When moving down the side streets at about 40 mph, the numbers were in the 30s. So it looks like this new Impreza will do considerably better in sipping gas than the current model.
Cargo-wise, the trunk is well-finished and even the lid supports are covered. The 60/40 seat back folds flat... a nice touch as few sedans do that these days.
My one big disappointment was when I climbed into the back seat. I was hoping for a commodious rear seat since I read that leg room had been increased for 2012. Instead, I found the seat more cramped in my sit-behind-me test than in competitors like the Elantra, Focus, and Cruze, and even some smaller cars like the Accent. The problem was not leg/knee room, which was sufficient (I am 5'9"), but in toe space. My ankles hit the bottom of the front seat sooner than I'd like, which resulted in the "knees in the air" feeling and lack of thigh support. Had my feet been able to slide a little further forward, life would have been good in back. I had the driver's seat about mid-height, so it was most comfortable for me, so I checked the room on the other side of the back seat--it wasn't any better, although I'd be able to slide the front passenger seat a little more forward under most circumstances since my wife is shorter than I am. So I'd consider the rear seat only "bearable", not the big plus I was hoping it would be.
So the new Impreza remains on my list because of its AWD with excellent fuel economy, availability of a hatchback, sharp looks, and quality interior. However, the sales rep told me the base Impreza would NOT come with cruise control standard or even available. I hope she's wrong about that, because if not I'd have to move up to the Premium trim which will mean more bucks.
I think she's correct.
Bob
We are looking at adding the 5Dr Limited with nav, pkg #1 and splash guards, which edmunds is showing a MSRP of $25447. Im looking at getting it for $24,500 pls TTL. Im going to offer $25,750 out the door and see what my dealer tells me.
I keep asking my dealer for the VON, but haven't heard back yet. Not sure if I should just call SOA directly. The salesman told me initially to expect delivery about the 2nd week of December. But, I'm betting more like Xmas or early January. I guess if there is a unit on a boat that matches my order, it may become mine, taken from a dealer's initial inventory.
I loved the car, great new body style.
Any help with the right price to pay would be awesome
Thanks!!
Are there spot lights that do the job, though?
Depending on where you are located, the dealership is right - they don't have any incentive to sell the car for less unless they can't sell the car otherwise. My local dealership tells me that every time I try to buy a car from them. After seven years, they still haven't sold me one and seem to have no trouble selling them to other buyers who are willing to buy at MSRP.
I have just come to accept that, for me, their role is simply to perform warranty / recall service and to provide cars I can test drive; I will have to purchase somewhere else.
I would highly recommend that you start off with www.zag.com, and see what the prices are there and hopefully, you have membership with one of the supported networks. I'm using the AMEX pricing option for bargaining. The 2012 Impreza is up on their site now. It seems to work out better than Costco pricing as well. I would go in with the printout and then the dealership has to beat it if it isn't them. Did this when considering the KIA Sorento and Audi Avant. But, my wife opted for the fuel-efficiency option. I am seeing $800 below invoice using AMEX pricing on the ZAG site.
The problem here is that when I "looked further", I ran into what I might call some bizarre and/or arbitrary rules on which features can be ordered with which models; I mean, what's up with the fact that you can order a more fully optioned 2.0i Premium than you can a 2.0i Sport Premium? That and what's up with the fact that if one wanted a fully tarted out Impreza 2.0i Sport Limited, they have to have a CVT instead of a manual transmission?
Our budding love-affair with the new Impreza may well stop before it even started; too bad too because there is very much to like about this car.
All Impreza Limiteds are CVT-only, not just Sport Limiteds; same with Legacy and Outback Limiteds.
Bob
Oh, and some Imprezas have a 4th pedal.
Since the Impreza doesn't offer a 6MT and the FE with the stick is lower than for the CVT, the stick doesn't shine brightly for me. FWIW, the CVT was smooth in operation when I test drove a Limited sedan last week. And the FE was great.
Now, given that the Impreza is lacking that extra gear cog, it might well be that the CVT can deliver marginally better economy, but that is a poor tradeoff for driving an emasculated car, errr, IMHO.
Since, it was a pre-order purchase (sight-unseen), it was 100% refundable if we didn't like the car upon delivery. Again, not sure if that offer still holds true since initial deliveries will start coming in shortly. I think they have the low price to get sales moving on the new Impreza, and if I don't like it, they can have inventory to sell it to someone else. It's really no loss to them and they will eventually need vehicles for test drives. Win-Win for both buyer and seller.
For the last two hours we've had a brand spankin' new 2012 2-Door VW GTI 6-Speed manual done up in black metallic sitting in the garage.
My wife drives a '10 forester. I like just about everything about that car except one thing. I can't help but noticing, every time I get into it, the seats are just a massive step below my VW (IMHO).
The Forester, even with the lumbar support button, feel less than supportive. I don't remember considering any of the other Subaru models' seats when we go into the showroom to wait for an oil change or whatnot.
TO compare, we recently rented an Impala for a week in florida. I didn't think the seats were great, and their geometry was a bit off - but they certainly felt more supportive than the Forester. So I'm hoping that me and newer Subaru seats can get along in the end.
Bob - Forester Limiteds are also auto-only.
I guess the easiest solution to the problem is to simply not buy it. But you may have a difficult time finding what you want out there in the US market. Best of luck. I just finished my own shopping experience looking at just about every compact in the market, and ended up with the Subaru. I hope you find what you're looking for.
Not Honda. The highest-trim Civic, the Si, is available only with a 6MT.
It's what the US market demands. If more people demanded the highly-featured trims with a stick, we'd get them. It's all about selling cars.
Agreed. If Subaru were to offer the Impreza Limited with a manual transmission (something that wouldn't cost them a dime as the model is already certified in the U.S. and manufactured for other market with a manual transmission), I submit they would sell more cars; maybe not a major increase in sales, but an increase none-the-less.
In my case, and in the case of folks like me, Subaru is forcing a self-fulfilling prophecy, “Nobody buys Premium model cars with manual transmissions ergo, we won't build any such cars, therefore nobody will buy them.”
Well, we bought a car with a manual transmission yesterday, and in another 18 months we'll buy yet another one, and unless Subaru changes their arbitrary policies on configuration, the second will be from another manufacturer as well.
Definitely agree about meeting consumers' demands. Subaru is moving more mainstream and I think the transmission is part of that strategy. The WRX, Si, Evo, MazdaSpeed, and other performance-oriented lines will probably stick with manuals for awhile, but the higher-volume products like the Impreza will be automatic-centric in the US market.
Shipo, I hope you have fun with that GTI. VW has a great manual transmission; my favorite, in fact.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi3m0oih3UQ