DRIVEN: Subaru Impreza gets the job done

I can clearly remember when Subaru SA started bringing cars into the country. It was the early ’90s, and the war between VW and Opel was raging fiercer than ever.

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The VR6 Golf was about to meet the Kadett TS, and we all know how that battle went. The naturally aspirated VW was no match for the turbocharged Opel. But while this little fight was on the go, some fire breathing Subaru WRX STIs started to sneak up on unsuspecting traffic light warriors, with massive success I must add.

All of a sudden you couldn’t go to a gymkhana, or hillclimb, or drag event without a bunch of these cars pitching up to spoil your party.

The performance claims surrounding these cars became legendary, with a now defunct motoring title going to war with everybody and claiming that according to their test results, albeit a backyard test at best, that only the space shuttle accelerated quicker.

Be that as it may, the cars were hard core, very quick, and mostly only for real performance enthusiasts.

Many things have changed in the 25 years since their debut, and the biggest of them is that the Impreza now offers more models, and each one has matured into a very refined, tech laden car for a bigger portion of the population, just like the all-new 2.0i-S Premium CVT I drove for a week.

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Styling is always going to be a contentious issue with the Impreza, it’s either going to be something you like or something you don’t.

I thought it was not too bad, a bit too Corolla like for me though. I guess I still want my Impreza to stand out more in a crowd.

One of the biggest improvements is to the engine choices. Previously if you didn’t opt for the turbocharged WRX or WRX STI, you got stuck with a lethargic 2.0-litre naturally aspirated Impreza that was not a lot of fun to drive.

Now you get a nice fuel efficient (7.4 litres per 100km on test), 2.0-litre direct injection turbocharged mill that is good for 115kW and 196Nm running through an upgraded Lineartronic CVT gearbox that features a seven-speed manual mode with shift paddles behind the steering wheel.

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Of course the, unique to the segment, Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system through which the power is distributed to all four wheels for maximum grip, stability and performance, is also there.

I do just wish the Japanese will make friends with the Germans and ask ZF to supply them their excellent automatic gearboxes. I can’t stand a CVT gearbox and feel that the Impreza would be even better with a proper automatic gearbox or even a double clutch unit.

The safety ratings on the allnew Impreza are said to be unparalleled. And it is claimed that there is no other car in this segment that offers the levels of primary, active, passive and pre-collision safety as standard.

Vehicle Dynamics Control and symmetrical full-time all-wheel drive ensure driving confidence in every situation. Standard on this model is the inclusion of Active Torque Vectoring for even more control during cornering and collision avoidance actions.

Additional safety features available are: Steering Responsive Headlights; High Beam Assist, and Subaru Rear/Side Vehicle Detection which includes Blind Spot Detection, Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

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Steering Responsive head lights turn in the direction of the corner as per steering inputs, spreading more light across more of the corner for safer driving.

High Beam Assist automatically switches from high to low beams depending on the vehicle approaching from the front. And there is the award winning EyeSightDriver Assist System.

This system offers four different types of driver assistance functions that are designed to reduce or circumvent collisions caused by driver error or driver fatigue.

The system does this by detecting the presence of vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and other potential hazards. The results play out in seven vehicle outputs: Pre-Collision Braking; Pre-Collision Throttle Management; Adaptive Cruise Control; Lane Sway Warning and Lane Departure Warning.

So I think you get the picture, the all-new Impreza is one seriously safe car.

And as a little token to demonstrate this, I was given a model car that showed exactly how EyeSight worked when I took delivery of the test car.

I went home and impressed everybody how this little model car would race towards an obstacle and then automatically stop before a collision took place.

So on a drive with my eldest daughter who now has her own car, and is a professional F1 back seat driver after a few months, I said to her we should try and test the EyeSight system.

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She thought it wasn’t a great idea and I was adamant that the car would stop should we aim it at the garage wall. After some debate and me not being a 100 percent sure how the email to Subaru would go when I had to explain that the wall didn’t move or that the car didn’t stop.

I ended up not doing a live test, and thankfully so. Being a motoring journalist, we seldom read the press release properly, and only afterwards when I was browsing through it did I see that EyeSight will only be available from October in the top of the range ES model. Dear Insurance Company, you see it went like this …

Moving inside, the interior is also a big step up, with extra space and SatNav all thrown in the standard mix.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available as one of the connectivity options while Siri Eyes Free allow the driver to direct functions using their voice.

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The all-new Subaru Impreza comes in at R399 000, and it offers plenty to the buyer who wants all the usual comfort and space that this segment offers, but with a healthy dash of extra safety along with a hint of styling difference.

To further enhance the value proposition, Subaru has upgraded the three-year/100 000km warranty to a new five-year/150 000km warranty, and the threeyear/75 000km maintenance plan is upgradable to a five-year/150 000km period at a subsidised rate to the customer.