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Comments
Cold does have a huge impact, though. My last tank on the Escort, driven almost entirely in temps the likes of what you see in that link, was a dismal 21.011 mpg.
My test drive route was about 3 miles up a highway, 3 miles backroads, then back.
Stick:
- There was a problem with steering in this vehicle. At moderate speed (30-35), the more I turned the wheel in a corner, the tighter it got, as if the power steering was failing or there was a flat tire up front (there wasn't). I hope it's a one-off in this specific vehicle.
- Clutch has no feel. My Honda Civic actually has "some" feel of a friction point (stop laughing---it does!...kinda...). The Impreza has next to no "feel" the entire length of the pedal. I couldn't start the thing off right, and shifts were miserable with lots of jerking as I took my foot off the clutch. I don't know if this breaks in after a while, or if I have to "learn how to drive it", or if I have to burn out two clutches before I get it right...but this put me off. :-(
- Yep, as someone said, you'd be "rowing" the gears. The power on this thing is a little too low for the stick. It'll get the job done, but you'll be hunting 4th-5th on the highway. My Civic will coast happily at 35mph on a flat road in 5th. The Impreza kinda wanted 4th for that. (Hypermiling technique)
- I stopped at one point on a hill in some ice and snow. No problem getting out of it. Heh heh. AWD rules. :-) The Civic would have spun a little and likely gotten out...but I wouldn't have parked there, too afraid I'd get stuck. Score for the Subaru!
- I would like a stick, but I get the impression that this car would tire me out, especially if in moderate highway traffic for long periods of time. I have taken the Civic on a nearly 500 mile run several times, and it's never made me tired.
CVT:
- The steering was a bit better in this car, with the "bog down" on the moderate corners about 1/5 the other car, but still head scratching to me. My Civic has never done that and is a blast to throw around. I put Michelin Harmony tires on it last summer, and...wow...sticks like glue.
- The CVT seems much better matched to the engine than the stick. It's smooooooooth. I could drive that car all day long. Very nice.
- This car had Nav. MotoWeek pointed out that it has fiddly buttons. I used the radio for the most part, and, yes, it's fiddly and hard to hit the right place on the screen. I prefer knobs when trying to drive a car, not hunting and pecking on a screen, thank you. Driving distraction.
Both:
- I didn't notice too much engine noise, but I drive a Civic. You do the math. :-)
- The radio's sound is lacking. No stereo spread, not much kick. I didn't muck with it too much.
- The on board MPG computer is nice. It does A-B and gives you MPG for each, average speed, and so on. Score.
- It was not hard to get a comfortable driving position. The outside mirrors are HUGE, but they don't look huge as part of the car's styling. How did Subaru do that!?!!?!?!? Score.
- The hatch isn't a hatch. It's a cavern for such an otherwise small car. Ku-freakin'-dos, Subaru.
- Small? No, it doesn't "feel" small, btw. But I like small cars.
- No remote hatch release. I found that odd. No biggie, as the hatch is very easy to open. I didn't check to see if there's a hatch release on the key fob...duh.
- No "maintenance reminder" like in the Honda. I like that feature. Wahhh. It tells me when the dealership wants some of my money.
- The central LCD screen is hard to read. I didn't even realize there was a CRUISE indicator on it 'til I looked very closely. It's like they cheaped out on it big time.
- The knobs to select the screen read-outs are these tiny pins in the dashboard. You have to reach around the steering wheel to get to them. Dumb.
- Rear seating didn't seem too bad. My head didn't hit (I'm 6'1")...Score!
- I wasn't too big on looking at materials, etc, but I did notice the short and cheapy visors. Fit and finish overall seemed good.
- You expect a car like this to be a "tin can". Nope. It's tight, it doesn't "feel" cavernous inside. It doesn't rock going around corners. Nice.
In my short loop, I did a mile or so better MPG in the stick (30 or 31 vs. about 29, according to the on-board computer). The 12-mile loops weren't identical, though, but very similar. You can't tell much from a short run, but it was nice to see 30mpg on a cold day with an idiot behind the wheel who can't drive the damn things, doing 50% back roads. Score for the Impreza. For the record, my Civic's lifetime MPG after almost 4 years is 40.39, something that's hard to trade away unless you really really want a hatch for your stuff. As someone else posted, 4WD is a "nice to have".
The sales guy said that he delivers cars and gets 33-34mpg regularly along the highway per the trip computer...not necessarily watching his speed...ahem...
My bottom line: I want a stick, but with the possible larger number of gear changes I think the Impreza would be a bit of work on longer trips (am I getting OLD or what!!?!!?). I also really don't like the clutch. The radio could be better, the visors longer, the shift knob more palm-friendly---not deal breakers. The hatch space couldn't be any better unless you had a black hole and some space distortion riding around with you. But, in the end, it may not be the "right" car for me. I hopped back into the Civic to head home and realized how easy--and downright FUN--it is for me to drive, plus the good mpg. Maybe I don't need AWD. But, jeez...that cavernous hatch would be really good. Have you ever tried to get a bicycle, a pile of musical instruments, or camping gear in and out of a Civic coupe? Yeah, annoying.
Oh, the dealer I went to was great, and there was zero pressure. I'm going to think about this some more, and if I decide to go for it (despite my concerns), I will go back.
Well, there's my long-winded, semi-grumpy, semi-disappointing (to me...I wanted to instantly *love* this car in a big way and have NO questions in my head!) review of a 2012 Impreza by a Honda guy who's never really driven a Subaru. Yes, Your Mileage May Vary. And maybe I just don't "get" this car...but if I did, I'm sure it'd grow on me...especially since I could probably sleep in the back next to about half the contents of my house...while NOT getting stuck in the snow...ever.
...kl...
I also have driven both the 5-speed and CVT, and I think I agree with you in that the CVT seems to be the better choice.
Now my daily driver is a '09 WRX 5-door Premium, so when I drove the the '12 Impreza 5-speed, my first thought was the clutch was disconnected as it was sooooooo light. When I got back in my WRX, my clutch felt heavy!
Speaking of the WRX: sounds like you should consider this car. Yeah, you'll give up some mpg, but it always puts a smile on your face when behind the wheel.
Bob
Rumor has it that it will be a 2.0 turbo, either based off the BRZ's FA20 (I hope so) engine, or off the Impreza's FB20 (I hope not) engine; putting out ~ 270 hp.
Bob
The car had 4 miles on the odo. Conditions were cold, 24 degrees F, no wind, and cruising about 67 MPH on I-15 with slight changes in elevation around overpasses. We drove 10 miles one way, exited, waited at a light, and then re-entered for same highway trip back. The car was initially very cold, so we drove around town first until the light went out, and at that point reset the first computer. The second computer was reset after hitting our cruising speed.
For the freeway portion, the computer averaged out to 37.8 MPG (US gallons). The highest was 41 when decelerating for our turnaround point, and it averaged out to nearly that again when decelerating to exit for the dealership. The average for the whole trip was at 35 MPG. That included some additional in-town driving prior to and after our freeway jaunt.
I was more than pleased to see those numbers, even if the computer is slightly exaggerated. The handling is everything people have previously claimed, the CVT is the best I've encountered, though a little noisy at full throttle, and overall we were pleased enough to give our sales rep the thumbs up. We picked it up yesterday and now it's in an independent shop getting clear film protection placed on the hood, fenders, bumper, lamps, mirrors, and underneath the splash guards. That last location is a custom one I asked for after seeing how flexible the splash guards are, which could cause paint damage when they flex with grit caught between the guard and panel. I want the guards to prevent stone chips on the rocker panels, wheel well, and doors, but don't want those protective guards to cause damage to other areas.
I'll let the film dry in our garage tomorrow and install our accessories (thanks Subaru for the $500 pre-order incentive!), and Friday we'll start putting some miles on.
Very interested in it since my current car has lots of dings on the paint (maybe because I used to drive hwy mostly). I want to keep the new car 'new' as long as possible after I get it.... in a few months.
Driving an Integra now (17+ yrs) and it's hard to give that up.... very sweet, great mpg, dependable. But I'm thinking maybe it's time to get an AWD and the hatch so I can put something big into my car finally. I'm so used to noise from the Teg that anything is more quiet. Also I must be getting old because I'm starting to like the smooth buffered feel going over bumps vs. feeling every crack on the road when driving the Teg.
The cost will be $500 for the full application including 20" of hood protection (measured from the leading edge towards the windshield). In my area we salt our roads with a mixture of salt/sand/BOULDERS. Chips and dings are common and I want to keep this Impreza for quite some time.
Since then I've had Highlanders and now a FWD Santa Fe - all nice, but all Autos. The Santa Fe has a Very Good Auto (6-spd) with manual control option. Pretty good compromise - it will NOT upshift without you telling it to. And, if you have the accelerator pressed, it'll do a decent manual downshift when, say, entering a corner. I got a great deal on it last year. Now with hindsight, I wish I had opted for an AWD Kia Sportage, which has this same Auto, and a Very Good AWD System. Maybe as good as the Auto version of the Subie - but the Stick version of the Subie AWD is different AND better than the Auto version.
The other up-and-comers are the yet-to-released Ford Escape. the Mazda CX-5 (with a stick!) and the just released Honda CR-V. Can't wait to try them out.
My current car has window tint that got all screwed up and it looked horrible. When I tried to remove it, I had to scrape away at in inch by inch.... hope it's not like that.
Same here about salt/sand used on roads. I do want my next car to not have as many paint chips since I plan to keep it as long as possible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPpalJG01HY
Removing the film isn't too difficult provided the right steps are followed. It won't come up in pieces like a tint film, but you do need to apply heat and soften the adhesive before pulling it up. A heat gun works perfect. The primary complication in removing the film is if a major rock impact damaged the paint under the film, and the film is holding the paint together. When the film comes off, so does that damaged paint.
Clear films aren't perfect, but I figure they're better than leaving the paint unprotected.
As for the sunroof it's a personal thing. We've had two cars with sunroofs and never used them. My eyes are light sensitive and I don't like the overhead light messing with my vision, so I always kept the roofs closed. Add to the fact I'm somewhat tall and my family is even taller, and loosing 1.5" to 2" of headroom isn't an option. And there's the mechanical complexity and potential for leaks. So, for us, paying the money and not using the feature just doesn't make sense. I'm just glad Subaru has the option to get a high level trim without a sunroof; try that in a Honda :mad:
Does anyone know why it's taking so long to ship the Imprezas?
How do you like your Limited, how's it driving so far?
Can someone explain this? Why is it better?
So what does this have to do with "hill holder"? While I didn't know this going in, and I've yet to see anything in writing which says so, her new GTI has a three second hill holder feature as well. I thought only Subarus had that feature. Go figure.
as far as pricing and waiting.....looking across the forums...those in the NE and true snow areas are paying more than those of us not in the winter areas....in MD outside of DC......I got under invoice pricing......some NE dealerships are selling only at MSRP is my understanding.....so geographic location is apparently influencing pricing heavily.....
The viscous coupling on the manuals defaults to 50/50.
Always wanted a manual transmission, not a ton of experience driving them though, so I had a lot of fun coming home from the dealership!
How are you with the CVT shifting, is it better gas milage when using the paddle shifters?
Any one else have opinions on the CVT, and MPG?
I was told 6 weeks (or less). I received a call from my dealer last Wednesday (the 11th) saying it would be in the 20th. Arrived the 19th.
Pretty excited.
$20500 + tax and license...I think (I left my planner at home today).
I got it for $500 below invoice...might be 20750....either way, I was pretty happy with the price. It was the second lowest I had found in the area by $100 and the dealer is 8 miles away compared to the other cheaper dealer that is 50 miles away.
Im in the San Franciso Bay Area.
out the door price $24509.58
Is this price reasonable?
Good luck!
what was the cost of car prior to TTL?
actually it's a hatchback , taxes are 8.25% CA ,price is out the door all fee's etc. included
Thanks