New Subaru Impreza confirmed for UK

Exciting news? Not yet, but we live in hope...

By Richard Aucock / Monday, 3 July 2017 / Loading comments

Subaru has confirmed the new Impreza is making its European debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September - and also revealed the new model is indeed coming to the UK. Indeed, it's likely to form a core model in the range, adding a few more to the whopping 2.5 million Imprezas that have been sold since 1992 - 250,000 of them in Europe.

But let's not get too excited just yet. Just like back in the early 90s, things are starting slow for the new Impreza. The launch car is going to be a cooking 152hp 2.0-litre four-cylinder boxer model, using the trusty Subaru FB20 motor. It'll be all-wheel drive, but won't be a turbo, so isn't likely to be particularly thrilling.

What's more, it's also likely to be paired only with a CVT (with seven 'fake') gears, rather than a manual. Subaru says its EyeSight safety system, which includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise control, is being standardised on European cars. And as far as we're aware, EyeSight (for some reason) only works on CVT autos.

Then there's the styling. We're only getting the hatch-stroke-estate in the UK, and it's a pretty humdrum thing in its launch look. A bit like the previous model that faded from view in the UK a few years back: Subaru promised a styling revolution with the new Impreza, but those slinky concepts somehow didn't quite make it through to the production line. At least the interior should be much better quality - not only is the new Impreza Japan's current Car of the Year, Wards rated its cabin one of the best 10 of the year for design, styling and infotainment.

And there's hope yet for us keen drivers. The platform is the new Subaru Global Platform, a heady 70 percent stiffer than the old car, with a wider track, lower centre of gravity and even the use of rigidity-enhancing adhesives for the body-in-white. We know the symmetrical all-wheel drive will be able, Subaru's proud to reveal it's used a BRZ-spec steering ratio... and, yes, there will be both WRX and STI versions of it in due course.

After years of falling off the pace, there could be hope yet for the car that made all our 1990s. The current WRX is damned for being outdated, but the hooligan in us still loves its bombastic side. Imagine if this could be blended into a thoroughly up-to-date platform, with a non-crummy interior, perhaps even some sort of advanced hybrid-assist turbo drivetrain. Who knows, they might even offer it as a saloon. So while there's not much here to thrill just yet, the ingredients do still have potential. C'mon, Subaru, don't disappoint us now...