2016 Impreza: First Impressions

"JAREAL" (jareal)
05/24/2016 at 08:55 • Filed to: None

Hey y’all! I’m an infrequent poster here, but I lurk on here pretty much daily and this is my first big post. I just bought this 2016 Subaru Impreza Premium 4-door CVT on Saturday.

Transmission 8/10

Now I know what you’re thinking, Gasp!, Blasphemy!, Save the Manuals! But this CVT is different in that it is the most buttery smooth transmission I’ve ever driven. I absolutely love it. The paddle shifter’s have six “gear” ratios that are fun to click through, you actually get a little boost in power after you shift up which I enjoy. Subaru really worked their magic on it. I test drove a manual Cross Trek and liked it but I have tendon problems in my right arm that could put my arm in a cast and hamper my ability to drive manual.

Toys 7/10

The premium comes with just enough toys to make you feel satisfied but not feel like you don’t use half the stuff. The Bluetooth is good but slow to connect at first and for some reason doesn’t show the song name after the first song you play. It doesn’t have navigation but I didn’t want that, and a simple TCS Off button makes me happy.

Handling 10/10

It handles like an underpowered WRX, steering feel everywhere, no complaints. I took a circular highway onramp at about 55 and it handled wonderfully. In fact I think it might handle better than a WRX because it doesn’t have all that power creating under steer

Pictured: Not much power

Power 6/10

I thought that it would feel slow because it only has 148 hpvs my 2008 Impreza’s 170 hp, but the CVT likes to keep you at high revs when your gunning it and you forget how fast your going pretty quickly. Also, through some witchcraft, it only turns 1,700 rpm at 60-65 mph.

Practicality 9/10

The trunk is humongous, it’s actually bigger than the hatch on the 5-door/Crosstrek. Two maybe three golf bags easy. It obviously can’t hold my bike like the 5 door can, which is why I’m getting a rear trailer hitch bike rack for it. I looked at 2016 Civics and their trunk seemed only marginally bigger because of it’s pseudo-lift back. Rear legroom is GOOD and the back seats fold down to provide room for long things! Visibility is very good too the Impreza has not been struck with the massive C-pillar disease

So much room!

Price 7/10

It is expensive at $22,000. You get a lot of car for that though, the awd alone is enough reason to justify it over the rest of the competition e.g. Civic and Corolla in my opinion. 37 mpg highway ain’t far off from the competitors too.

Major Complaints:

The styling could have less blandness and more Subaru weirdness while still maintaining high sales volume. The side profile doesn’t give much to look at but the front is quite handsome. I like the 2.5l engine more than the 2.0l even though it is less fuel efficient. The wind noise is bad around the A-pillars and top of the windshield, and the speedometer is harder to read than my 2008 Impreza’s

Thanks for reading! Bonus Cayman GT4 for your time

DISCUSSION (16)

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > JAREAL
05/24/2016 at 09:01

Serious question, why not 5 door?

Jayhawk Jake > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
05/24/2016 at 09:08

Not that I speak for OP, but something to consider between 4 door/5 door is typically 4 doors have larger trunks. Yes you can fit more in a wagon with the seats down, but the nominal usable space is greater in a sedan or even some coupes.

For example, my Sonic had TONS of space if I folded all the seats down. But the nominal trunk space? The Mustang has significantly more

TheRealBicycleBuck > JAREAL
05/24/2016 at 09:20

Good luck with the bluetooth. While it works in my WRX, I have to manually connect every time and it usually takes three or four tries to make the connection. Such a pain.

JAREAL > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
05/24/2016 at 09:25

I like the look of the 4 door better, it’s slightly cheaper, has more trunk space like Jayhawk said, and my 2008 Impreza was a 5 door and I wanted a change, even though I bought the same model car lol

Mid Engine > JAREAL
05/24/2016 at 09:46

I test drove an Impreza a few weeks ago, it’s a nice enough car but it is definitely underpowered. I might consider buying one all the same, the thing holding me back is the headgasket/oil consumption reputation Subaru has. I can’t find a plausible answer as to a) why do Subaru’s use more oil and eat headgaskets and b) if the problem has been resolved what was the fix? I presume (like always) I’ll be left in the grey here on Oppo...

Mid Engine > JAREAL
05/24/2016 at 09:46

yup, I’m grey

Dru > JAREAL
05/24/2016 at 10:10

Impressions Imprezzions

FTFY

HONDAD > JAREAL
05/24/2016 at 10:14

Congrats, looks nice!

JAREAL > Mid Engine
05/24/2016 at 10:14

You’ve been ungreyed! I was told it needed oil changed every 6,000 miles, which is a good amount. The EJ25 2.5l, not the 2.0l, engine is the one with head gasket problems that eat oil, especially pre 2010. My 2008 needed an oil change every 2,500-3,000 miles because of its bad head gaskets. The fix for it on the 2008 would have been $3,000, so I just lived with it.

Mid Engine > JAREAL
05/24/2016 at 10:38

My VW and Porsche need oil changes every 10k miles, the short interval with Subaru cars is somewhat unusual (however I’m thinking there are plenty of other new cars that recommend short intervals). I’ve heard that Subaru’s eat head gaskets due to the nature of Boxer engines, but my Cayman doesn’t exhibit this behaviour (however, it does like new water pumps every 50k miles). Head gasket failures are expensive to fix, and having to carry jugs of oil in the trunk isn’t ideal.. but from what you’re saying this is no longer an issue on the newer 2 L engines. So if you can live with an underpowered car, the new Impreza ought to be trouble-free?

Rev > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/24/2016 at 11:52

I’ve been lucky so far. Seems to connect automatically every time.

Rev > TheRealBicycleBuck
05/24/2016 at 11:53

(oops - double post)

Boxer_4 > Mid Engine
05/24/2016 at 11:54

I’m not sure if you are referring to oil consumption in general, or the early FB20 FB25 issues specifically. In general, you don’t see to many reports of oil consumption on the non-turbo engines online. The root cause is usually worn piston rings. The early FB series engines, however, did have a non-insignificant occurrence rate. More information can be found here , but the root cause was improper piston rings.

The head gasket concerns are a bit more complex. While head gasket failure can occur on all Subaru engines, it’s most common on the non-turbo EJ25 engines. It should be noted that there are two types of head gasket failures: internal and external (an explanation can be found here ). There isn’t one root cause, but a few working together:

First, the non-turbo EJ25 engines are open deck (an explanation can be found here ). Second, the cylinder walls are thinner on the EJ25 compared to their other engines (The EJ25 has the largest bore of any Subaru engine, I believe). The larger displacement of the EJ25 produces more vibration. The combination of these factors can allow the cylinder walls to “walk” back and forth slightly during operation, wearing away at the head gasket. This is the typical cause of an internal head gasket leak.

Another contributing factor is coolant wearing away at the head gasket at the block to head coolant passages. This can be attributed, at least partially, to the coolant becoming corrosive over time. This is the typical cause of an external head gasket leak.

Subaru has been making incremental changes throughout the last decade and a half to remedy the issues. The biggest change to the non-turbo EJ25 engines was the addition of extra cylinder wall supports, which aimed to fix the internal head gasket leaks (first added, later thickened). Later changes to the EJ25 included a stronger head gasket, and the use of a new coolant that uses different anti-corrosion additives (mid 2008 to present).

The FB series made some additional changes. The bores on both the FB20 and FB25 are significantly smaller than their EJ counterparts, and the cylinder walls are a lot thicker. Additionally, the heads and the block use separate cooling circuits, so the coolant no longer travels through the head gasket between the heads and the block.

You will still hear about the occasional head gasket failure, though it is rare. (usually traced back to a manufacturing defect, which can happen to any manufacturer).

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rev
05/24/2016 at 11:57

Hah! I wonder how you could be in the greys in a response to a response to your own post.

Rev > JAREAL
05/24/2016 at 12:01

I have to say, after driving both, the WRX handles SO much better than the regular Impreza, there’s really no comparison at all. They’re completely different cars.

The WRX is MUCH stiffer, has much nicer/wider tires, different suspension, roll bars, different AWD front/rear balance, tighter steering, and is tuned from the ground up for performance/handling. The torque vectoring in the WRX helps with understeer and will take you through turns FAR beyond the limits of a regular Impreza. If you took that ramp at 55 in the Impreza, in the WRX that’s when you’re just getting started...

I’m glad you like your Subie, though. I’m really digging my 2016 WRX!

JAREAL > Rev
05/24/2016 at 13:04

I’ve only driven a 2011 WRX two year ago and I didn’t go fast at all, your 2016 WRX is definitely totally different so it was kind of a bad comparison