2008 Subaru Impreza Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Despite the Impreza's standout engine and driveline characteristics, its exterior is pretty bland. Though completely inoffensive, it won’t leave a lasting impression, either. One of the Impreza’s few defining characteristics is its dual exhaust pipes. The hatchback has a bit more design flair than the sedan.

The Impreza’s interior is just as conventional as the sedan’s exterior styling, but it’s far more stylish, with flowing dash lines directing the eyes to a sensible centre console. It features a helpful trip computer atop the dash so the instrument panel can maintain its clean, motorsport-inspired design.

Standard features on the 2008 Impreza in Canada include air conditioning, 16-inch steel wheels, power windows with auto-down for the driver, power locks with remote keyless entry, and a tilt steering column. Optional features include 16-inch or 17-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a windshield wiper de-icer, and an upgraded stereo with auxiliary audio input. On the Impreza WRX sedan variant, a spoiler is integrated into the deck lid.

A 2.5-litre four-cylinder “Boxer” engine powers the Impreza. This unit makes power specs of 170 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque, routed through a five-speed manual transmission or four-speed automatic transmission to Subaru’s standard all-wheel-drive system. A 2.5-litre turbo four-cylinder engine producing 224 hp and 226 lb-ft of torque is equipped in the Impreza WRX. Few, if any, rivals offer all-wheel drive (AWD), and no brand other than Subaru offers it as standard equipment.

The Impreza has a sporty nature, and the Boxer engine offers more torque than some rivals do, even if it can sound a bit harsh at times. The all-weather capability of the Impreza is also baked into the chassis, which sucks up nasty bumps and potholes. The Honda Civic may have more refined and precise handling characteristics, but it doesn’t have the Impreza’s hearty driving nature.

The Impreza’s stylish cabin blends form with functionality and never sacrifices one in pursuit of the other. The centre stack is straightforward, with simple controls and a floating design that leaves the central storage tray open to receive larger items.

As one of the more spacious offerings in this segment, the Impreza offers plenty of head and legroom in both rows, especially in the second row of the wagon. As for cargo space, the wagon provides 538 litres with the rear seats up and 1,246 litres with the rear seats folded. The sedan can’t hit those numbers, offering 320 litres of trunk space.

The Impreza comes with front-impact airbags for the front seats, as well as seat-mounted side-impact airbags, first- and second-row side-curtain airbags, and an occupancy sensor for the front passenger seat airbag.

The Impreza also comes standard with antilock brakes (ABS), front seat belt pre-tensioners, and a theft-deterrent engine immobilizer system. Traction control and stability control are available. It also has solid safety scores and was named a “Top Safety Pick” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) after scoring well in its crash tests.

The most efficient versions of the 2008 Impreza are those with the base 2.5-litre engine equipped with the automatic transmission, which is rated at a fuel economy of 10.4 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving and 7.5 on the highway. With the manual transmission, this engine consumes 10.6 L/100 km in the city and 7.3 on the highway. The Impreza WRX’s turbocharged powertrain returns 10.6 L/100 km city and 7.9 highway with the automatic and 11.2 city/8.0 highway with the manual.

The 2008 Subaru Impreza’s base MSRP is $20,695 for the 2.5i sedan. The hatchback starts at $21,595. The Sport starts at $23,195, while the Impreza WRX starts at $32,995. The combination of standard AWD and a robust chassis apparently carries a premium, as the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla both cost less, starting closer to $17,000.

Note: Images show a US model.