2009 Subaru Impreza Review

Completely redesigned in the 2008 model year, the 2009 Subaru Impreza still found ways to come up with new angles, including new trims, more power and upgrades to standard equipment, and especially on the high end trims.

The Impreza is Subaru's compact, competing with the Chevy Cobalt, Pontiac Vibe, Ford Focus and Dodge Caliber, among American made cars. Overseas competition includes the Acura TSX, Honda Civic, MINI Cooper, Volkswagen GTI, Audi A3, Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla, among others.

There are four engines in the Impreza, and all of them are 2.5 liter, H4 (a Subaru thing) gasoline powered. One of them is a standard engine with 170 horsepower and the other three are turbocharged with horsepower ratings of 224, 265 and 305. Thing is, you don't get any options in spite of all those engines. The engine you get depends on the trim you choose.

You do get some options with the transmissions, however. Most trims can choose from a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual, though three trims come only with the manual. There is also a six-speed manual, the only choice on the high end WRX STI.

As one would expect, fuel efficiency depends on the particular engine chosen. The regular engine gets a respectable 20 miles per gallon city and 27 miles per gallon on the highway with the manual transmission. This creeps down to 17 miles per gallon city and 23 miles per gallon highway with the 305 horsepower version.

There are six basic trims which, from low to high end, are 2.5i, 2.5i Premium, WRX, 2.5GT, WRX Premium and WRX STI. All except the WRX STI come in either four-door sedan or five-door hatchback, which Subaru calls a station wagon.

As with most of the Japanese built cars, the Impreza is a very safe vehicle. The NHTSA rating is five stars for everything except rollover and rear side impact collisions, which are both four-star. The Impreza also has top notch safety features, including child safety locks (great for what is obviously a first family car), antilock brakes with electronic braking assistance, traction and stability control, locking differential and, of course, airbags everywhere.

Since the Impreza was increased in size in the 2008 model year, fuel economy is a little below average for the small car class. The warranty also leaves room for improvement. However, with the more powerful engines there is horsepower to spare, giving an excellent power to weight ratio. Increasing the size of the car has also given it more legroom than most of its class.

Price on the base 2009 Subaru Impreza is also a plus, at only $17,495. All in all, it's classic Subaru and classic small car Japanese design, which is about as good as it gets.