THE car from the Subaru range that grabs all the headlines is the fire-breathing, Tarmac chewing Impreza WRC.
But the company’s more ordinary Imprezas, Legacys and Foresters are also excellent cars, with very high customer satisfaction and excellent reliability.
And they all come with four wheel drive as standard to make sure owners keep going when others can’t even get started.
After 2007 the Impreza was available with 1.5 and 2.0-litre non turbo engines which had 105 and 147bhp and also with a 2.0-litre turbo diesel, which also produced 147bhp.
This five door hatch was not to everyone’s taste style wise, but it is very capable and very well-built.
The WRX 2.5 turbo has anything between 226 and 256bhp, giving awesome performance, but the ride gets pretty wearing on lumpy surfaces.
Four wheel drive gives very good grip and road holding, but all the Imprezas are a little more thirsty than their two wheel drive counterparts.
Interior
There is plenty of room for four and enough for five for shorter trips and the boot will take all their luggage if they travel light.
A 60/40 split-folding back seat adds practicality, the driving position is excellent and equipment includes alloy wheels and climate control in all models.
FAST FACTS
Subaru Impreza
Price: Pay £6,400 for an ’08 08-reg R, or £10,000 for a ’10 10-reg RC
Mechanical: 147bhp, 1,994cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving four wheels via 6-speed manual gearbox
Max speed: 120mph
0-62mph: 9.3 seconds
Combined mpg: 33
Insurance group: 19
CO2 emissions: 199g/km
Main rival: Audi A3 quattro
Motors.co.uk value verdict:
