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2012 Subaru Impreza

145791032

Comments

  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Intersting comparison to SkyActiv. I think these 2 will be compared often.
  • angitheriasangitherias Member Posts: 34
    Body side moulding and rear paint protection film for the bumper worth it? Would the height of the BSM be high enought to prevent door dings?
  • wimchattawimchatta Member Posts: 28
    Thanks, Pao!
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    PKG #1 includes the rear bumper paint protector...its a 3M Film applique across the top of the rear bumper....the package includes the homelink mirror, all weather pkg/mats and the bumper protector....perhaps one more thing Im forgetting...

    as far as the body side moulding...not sure it will prevent ALL door dings...
  • kanjiikanjii Member Posts: 99
    Hey you new 2012 Impreza owners with the Yokohama AVIS S34D tires, what's your review so far on these tires? Tire Rack gave these poor reviews, BUT, they are all from Mazda 3 owners. We have no rain or snow here in the bay area so, I like some reviews from Impreza owners. I want to take the car to Reno/Tahoe this year. :blush:
  • mmyk72mmyk72 Member Posts: 67
    During my test drive, I pointed out the on/off button for the traction control feature. The sales guy said he drives a Subaru and found turning OFF the traction control when driving in rain and in snow is better than leaving it on to help the car stay in control. He gave a reason, but I can't seem to remember it.

    Is he right or is that absurd??
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,188
    He is an idiot....

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  • mmyk72mmyk72 Member Posts: 67
    That's kind of what I'm thinking.... he said that's what the manual says to do as well. I don't know what the manual says since I don't already own one.
  • rshollandrsholland Member Posts: 19,788
    edited January 2012
    Actually there are certain conditions in which turning it off in the snow makes sense. If you're trying to free yourself from deep snow, as in rocking the car, turning it off is better. I experienced that last winter, trying to free my car from about 18" of snow. I would assume the same holds true for mud.

    In my WRX, I've found that not turning it off, I get a really foul oder coming from the car. I think it's the brakes being applied to wheels with the least reaction, or something like that. I don't get that oder when the traction control is turned off.

    I've also experienced that oder when cautiously trying to climb a roadside curb with the traction control on. Smells like an overheated clutch. As most of you know, the WRX is a 5-speed manual. Turning off the traction control eliminates that smell.

    Bob
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    I've put 2000 miles on mine in a month without any problems with them in heavy rain....cant speak for snow....but in dry and wet conditions they seem to hold their own....no complaints from me....5Dr limited hatch here
  • kanjiikanjii Member Posts: 99
    Good to know this. After seeing so many bad reviews from Tire Rack by Mazda 3 owners, I was starting to question these tires. They are nice tires for teh dry roads that's for sure.
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    As a Mazda3 owner I have to say these tires are crap. Yes, they can get you around on dry roads, but their stability is questionable and they're a bit noisy. The thing is, you probably won't know just how bad they are until you mount something better on your car.
  • dcm61dcm61 Member Posts: 1,567
    Calling out to 2012 Impreza Limited owners ...

    How is the ACC? Does it work as expected? Have a mind of it's own? Needs human intervention?
  • kanjiikanjii Member Posts: 99
    I agree shipo, but will need to wait until these babies go bald, which may be a few years. maybe its the AWD system that's making these a better option for this vehicle compared to FWD vehicles. You're right about the road noise though, a bit noisy.
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    HAL will not be tamed!

    Kidding. Inside joke for 09 Forester owners. :D
  • angitheriasangitherias Member Posts: 34
    My local dealer found out info on the roof rails, they come mounted from the factory, and only American higher end models come with them. Nothing available aftermarket from subaru in North America.
  • I've been following owner experiences on the other popular Impreza forum and am becoming concerned about mpg. Seems that owners can't break 30/31 mpg on the highway, and if true, would be very, very disappointing for me. Can any new owners confirm or refute with personal experience?

    I know some will want to make excuses for the bad mpg, but when the majority of owners on a forum experience the same result, that's a pretty solid data point. These are people that were already posting pre-purchase, so they didn't join to just complain about low mpg.
  • angitheriasangitherias Member Posts: 34
    Remember that US gallons and imperial gallons are different.
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    the roof rails only come standard on the sport models here in the US....if you are looking at the a non-sport model...at least on the 5DR hatch, there are hard mounting points already in the roof that a rack system can hooked into....Subaru doesnt sell the attachments and the rails for t his one as well...
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    so what did you change them out for??? Im looking at going to the continental extremecontact DSW or the Michelin pilot A/S
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    edited January 2012
    Im about to roll over 2100 miles on my 5DR limited CVT....at the moment Im getting a sustained 29.X MPG rolling through a 103 mile roundtrip commute with a combination of hwy, single lane and city driving....Im happy with this at the moment...as it is a considerable increase over my previous vehicle....

    beleive it will increase slightly with further breakin...my 11 Outback didnt see its EPA rating till nearly 10K on the car....and with the change to summer blend fuels......Im not expecting to hit 36 but will be happy with 32-33 at this point......still no regrets in my purchase, as I was specifically looking for the AWD.......that was my selling point....
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    edited January 2012
    I went for the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S; an awesome All-Season tire in every regard except one (noise, although they didn't seem much noisier than the OEM rubber). The handling of my car was so dramatically improved the instant I had the Michelins mounted that it was almost like driving a different car. I should note there were just 714 miles on my car when I made the switch; I was able to sell the OEM tires for roughly half the cost of what I paid for the Pilot Sports.

    Following the tire change I drove the Michelins some 48,000 miles without a single complaint (something the OEM rubber would never in a million years have been able to do). When the time came to replace them, the only two tires on my short list were the Continental ExtremeContactDWS and the Pilot Sport A/S, unfortunately I decided to look further afield before I pulled the trigger. Why?

    The Michelins had increased dramatically in price (they've since come back down a bit) to the point where they were a whopping 54% more expensive than my original set.

    I had read some reviews of the Continentals which raised some concerns with sidewall stability and durability, so I found a friend with them on his car and asked if I could take it for a drive. I was less than impressed.

    Enter the dark-horse candidate, the Yokohama AVID ENVigor; I couldn't find anybody who'd already sprung for these tires, but based upon the reviews I'd dug up combined with their modest cost, I decided to take a chance on them. Geez am I glad I did; the ENVigors have proven to be every bit as stable and predictable as the Pilot Sports, they have an even longer Treadwear rating (560 vs the 400 of the Michelins; NOTE: the Pilot Sport A/S has since been improved and now has a Treadwear rating of 500), so all else being equal, the Yokohamas were a smoking bargain. The thing is, "all else isn't equal". Why? My new tires are so quiet compared to the OEM and the Michelins that even now some 5,000 miles later, I'm still surprised in a daily basis how quiet my car is.

    Given how impressed I've been with these new Yokohamas, I've since put them on my wife's GTI and my son's A4 Quattro. Both of those cars perform very well with the new rubber.

    In the end I cannot recommend the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S enough, they're wonderful tires from the ride, handling, stability, and longevity perspectives, they're just a bit spendy and a bit noisy. So far at least, the AVID ENVigors seem to have all of the best attributes of the Pilot Sports without the two noted drawbacks.
  • kanjiikanjii Member Posts: 99
    How are these in wet/winter driving so far compared to OEM and Michelins?
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    edited January 2012
    The OEMs were worthless in the snow; I bought the car in November and we had a snow a day or two after that and I had to white knuckle it to get home. A week later when I got the Michelins put on the car was much more manageable in the slippery stuff.

    As for the Yokohamas, it's still a bit early yet, but they have tenacious grip in the wet, and have done well on the two days for which we've had snow so far this year.
  • kanjiikanjii Member Posts: 99
    Shipo, give me some info on what to expect when driving in the snow with these OEM tires? I have no experience at all with a AWD car and these tires especially. ;)
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    Exect them to accelerate acceptably, however, directional stability, turning, and stopping were a bit nerve wracking. What scares me about pretty much any car/tire combination in the snow (or other slippery conditions) is when I'm able to accelerate well and then have a problem controlling said speed.
  • kanjiikanjii Member Posts: 99
    Some of the Subie drivers from other forums say to turn slowly into corner and once the nose is pointed in the direction you want to, give it the gas. Any of that help at all or are the tires that squirrely? I knda looking forward to some snow and learn to drive in an empty snowy lot for defensive driving. :blush:
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,759
    That's a good way to do it, but don't expect that the car isn't still going to cut loose on you! Actually, that just makes it more fun. ;)
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • shiposhipo Member Posts: 9,148
    Sure, and going one mile per hour helps as well; the fact is that the tires are junk and if/when you get into an emergency situation they're just not going to be there for you.
  • angitheriasangitherias Member Posts: 34
    edited January 2012
    I've noticed that with my old legacy outback, point the car where i want to go and straighten the wheels and it's like a rocket at lower speeds :shades:
  • angitheriasangitherias Member Posts: 34
    Have any owners done any mile per gallon rating tests at lower highway speeds such as 55 mph or 65 mph? Is there any notable difference in ratings?
  • Thanks for the response, pao. Your MPG seems to mirror what others are experiencing. How much of your commute is highway and unobstructed single lane?

    For us AWD is a nicety, not a requirement, and if Subaru was indeed overly optimistic in the MPG, I'll likely reject delivery later this month. Efficiency was a big selling point for us, and there are other options out there easily beating the EPA estimates.

    I appreciate your input.
  • malachai1malachai1 Member Posts: 40
    I think your going at this the wrong way. The 36 mpg is perfect weather stright roads doing 55 mph. Which is not real world driving. I have a crv which is getting 15.9 city. So im lokkung foward for for the impreza.
  • iliketoshiftiliketoshift Member Posts: 24
    not my experience:

    I'm pretty particular about tracking and anticipating my cars' MPG. We have a '10 Forester. it's rated 20/27. My wife gets probably an average of 22 in the cold, 24 in the warm months. I know if I take it on the road and drive 55, no stopping, I'll be around 30-32. I get 26-27 when it's in the 40s or higher and I'm driving 65+.

    I'll post what I get for my Impreza when it arrives and I start putting miles on her. My commute is about 65/25 highway/city BY TIME. Now, I drive like grandpa on the highway, 55-61 generally, but I also live in a metropolitan area so there's a lot of stop and go. still, I expect I'll be hitting 36-38 in the summer months and maybe 32-34 in the winter. (I did a test in my previous car and pretty closely correlated that for ever 10 degree drop in temperature, you get 1 less MPG).

    so we'll see.
  • Not in my experience. And as an example I recently rented a Ford Focus 5-door with similar EPA to the Impreza and with almost no miles on it (in break-in stage), winter gas, 70 mph highway speeds, and had no trouble beating EPA. Three tanks, one 99% highway, and two about 75%, with a low average of 35 and a high of 41. I want to at least meet EPA with the Impreza, which even at EPA is not the most efficient package in its size class, but I'm willing to give up a little for the rest of the package. But 31 max highway? If that's reality then the Impreza is not for me.
  • prestcoprestco Member Posts: 10
    ordered a 2012 5 dr. standard model w/ ctv in SF bay area. They want 21,300 out the door. Think this is high but wanted to get ball rolling. (can cancel order) What should I be paying?
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 235,188
    If your CR-V is getting 15.9 mpg, then something is wrong with it... or, the driver... ;)

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  • wimchattawimchatta Member Posts: 28
    Hi tyguy, I have to agree with kyfdx - as you know, driving style matters a lot for mpg.

    fyi, I am one of those drivers that does not do the right things to optimize mileage. Fast starts, drive in D3 at freeway speeds for passing power, etc. My 2000 Honda Accord only gives me ~22mpg, even though more than 2/3rd of my driving is highway. It is rated for 28 on the highway, 20 in the city. I really like the 2012 Impreza but do not expect to get highway mpg.

    The CRV is rated for 23mpg highway (2000 model) and 27mpg highway (2008 model) for 2WD, with corresponding city mileage of 20mpg in both years. So your getting less than 16mpg is a surprise. However, you managed to get >30mpg with the Focus, so am surmising the driving style was different in some way, unless there is indeed a problem with the CRV. Any thoughts on this?
  • malachai1malachai1 Member Posts: 40
    edited January 2012
    My Crv is a 2010 and Right now im getting 15.9 with a 2 mile drive to work all city. before winter I would get about 20 all the time short highway drive about 22. The best i ever got was 29 for a 3 hour drive to PA.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    Finally got to drive a 5-speed today, a Premium sedan (no 5-speed hatches available). From my test drive, I think I'd have to go with the CVT if I were to go with the Impreza. Which is getting less and less likely, as there's now 3 cars ahead of it in my rankings (in order of preference): Mazda3i Touring, Golf, and Focus SE.

    First thing I noticed is the gearshift lever is tall compared to that on the other 3 cars I mentioned, and the shift knob looks and feels cheap (easily rectified just by paying ~$100 to the dealer for a leather covered knob!). The shifter was OK--not super smooth but no issues. Clutch was smooth also, easy to modulate.

    The next thing I noticed is that the engine sounded, uh, industrial. I figured that was because it was fairly cold (20 F) and would subside once the engine warmed up. Nope. It seemed much louder when accelerating than the Limited CVT I drove a few weeks ago. The salesperson said the Limited has more soundproofing than other trims. (True?) The engine was noticeably gruffer than the other 3 cars, which was surprising given one of them (Golf) has an ancient 5-cylinder. And it wasn't noise in a pleasant sense--not to my ears anyway.

    On the highway, I took it up to 65 to check the RPMs--which were about 2700. Much higher than on the Mazda3 and Golf, and higher also than the Focus. Which doesn't bode well for fuel economy, or noise. Revs were lower on the Impreza CVT.

    Otherwise the car drove about the same as the Limited I drove earlier. Handling was predictable, flat on turns. (It was snowing during the drive, so great conditions to test a Subaru!) Road noise and ride quality seemed about the same as the Limited (17" wheels), which surprised me a bit. I thought the Premium with 16" wheels might subdue the highway thumps a bit better. Not terrible, but the other 3 cars (especially the Focus) smoothed out the bumps better.

    I re-checked the rear seat because when I tested the Limited, I found my ankles hit the driver's seat bottom too soon for comfort. I raised the driver's seat a little more this time (still in comfort zone) and that helped--I was able to slide my feet forward a bit more under the driver's seat and that made a big difference in comfort in back. I was disappointed there's no rear seat center arm rest--those are pretty common nowadays in a $20k car. But the rear seat was comfortable enough for a few hours at a time, and the driver's seat felt good also.

    As for fuel economy... measured 27 mpg overall per the trip computer on the test drive, albeit a short one on urban freeways at 60-65 mph and some suburban roads. Not bad given we had several stops, it was only 20 F, and we started with a cold engine. But the CVT seemed better--measured mid-30s mpg on that in a similar trip, albeit at about 20 degrees warmer and that car was warmed up when I drove it.

    Anyway, I think I'd have to go CVT on the Impreza. Which raises its cost vs. the alternatives I'm considering, and reduces the fun factor.
  • Hi Wimcatta. I fully agree that driving styles can drastically alter gas mileage, and that's why I tossed out the first round of owner reports, thinking they may not represent what I could expect to get. However, I have yet to see a single person with a CVT 5-door report anything close to the EPA numbers, and that has me concerned and the reason I originally posted here. My Limited 5-door is expected to arrive January 26, and to be honest, I'm fishing for other owners to quell my fears about the MPG. The efficiency advertised for the new model is why the Impreza made my list of vehicle to be considered; the old model wasn't even a thought.

    Just FYI, it wasn't me that posted the low CR-V numbers. I did, however, own a 2000 CR-V and drove it 90,000 miles. Great car and I crushed the EPA estimates with a real-world 25 mpg average. No special driving techniques. Just drove it everywhere and it always seemed to return the same gas mileage. Today I'd be disappointed with the mpg given the latest advancements, but back then 25 out of a sport ute was something impressive.

    I'm fairly gentile with my cars 95% of the time, and the other 5% will be more spirited driving. That said, I did recently turn in a company car, a 2010 Dodge Journey, that didn't receive the same special treatment. When I first received the car I went about my typical OCD, waxing it with Klasse Sealant and being overly attentive about break-in. It didn't take long to realize is was the singularly worst car I've ever parked in my garage, and I began to hate it. So I throttled the thing for 67,000 miles. Even with taxing the motor the Journey managed to break EPA by 20%. Amazing. In that case driving habits mattered little to fuel economy.
  • wimchattawimchatta Member Posts: 28
    Great post, backy.
    Some thoughts - am not looking for the manual version, so cannot comment on that aspect.
    As far as automatics are concerned, the Impreza is better than the Mazda Grand Touring w/ Skyactiv - I made fast starts which the Subaru handled adroitly, Mazda didn't. Haven't tested the Focus yet.
    One thing that stood out for me with the Impreza was the outstanding visibility. The Mazda3 seemed to be clumsy wrt visibility to the back corners and still rated only 2stars in rear-passenger safety under side-impact.
    The Focus from the outside looks better engineered wrt visibility, but Subaru has done a super job with the high-strength steel frame and has outstanding visibility. Given the crash test results are solid, that biases me towards the Impreza, hope to be able to test the Focus tomorrow.
  • backybacky Member Posts: 18,949
    The visibility on the Impreza is quite good, although I've only drive sedans so far but would get a hatch. I'm not sure how the government crash test scores can bias you towards the Impreza, since those scores aren't available yet for the 2012 Impreza. The Focus is higher rated there than the Mazda3, but all 3 cars are IIHS Top Picks.
  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    G'day

    You could do worse than look at the Australian test regime which gives 6.8 l/100km for the CVT and 7.1 l/100km for the manual with 2.0 litre engine. You will need to check the conversion to US miles per gallon, which differ from British mpg due to difference in sizes of gallons

    The Australian test regime is pretty accurate and representative of what a normal driver can obtain. For example, my current Kluger (shows as 12.3 l/100km and I get between 9.5 and 14.5 l/100kmh depending on use.

    However if you drive with a lead foot, that is a different story.

    Cheers

    Graham
  • prestcoprestco Member Posts: 10
    Fred, any guess as to what a standard 5 door w/ cvt should go for in CA?
    I ordered a white one (can cancel) they want $21,300 out the door , seems high to me
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited January 2012
    Great idea, Graham. Running the conversion, 6.8 l/100km equates out to just under 35 mpg.
  • kanjiikanjii Member Posts: 99
    This is what I am getting using the impreza's computations. My first fill up, I should get up to 420 until next fill up. The computer says I have 90 miles left in the tank, and I have driven so far........377 miles on this tank so far. Avg 33-34 miles overall. I have a lot of freeway driving, about 80% and keeping it near 65, below 70. Hope this helps. I have around 800 total miles to the car so far.
    :blush:
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    I beleive that any driving at the 75 MPH range causes a significant decrease in gas mileage. My average commute of 103 miles is 60% four lane hwy, 25% unobstructed dual lane, and the rest city driving.....my hwy spds average 70-75...I normally set the cruise on 72...with the speed limit of 65, with some rolling hills (revs are normally 22-2400 rpm)....the dual lane is probably 50-60 most of the time....with that Im averaging 29+ miles per gallon after 2200 miles on the car.......If anyone is looking for 36 right out the block with this car...I really dont see it happening....I beleive on summer blend, extended hwy driving...running 60-65 one should see 30+ on this car....my guess in the range of 32-34....

    Again mine is really a third car.....but wanted the AWD for my commute in this area....just for a quick comparisom. I have at times gotten 30 MPG on my 09 Cadillac CTS on extended hwy driving with a V6. My CTS currently has 37K on it but is RWD
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    using a manual calculation, Im finding the Impreza computer to be on average 2 miles a gallon more than my manual calculation
  • kanjiikanjii Member Posts: 99
    There was a time I was getting 36+miles per gallon at the half the tank point. At that time is was pretty much all freeway driving and still below 70... Conservative driving.
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