Subaru Impreza sedan 2012_02
Generation after generation, she successfully endows a part of the image of her “Vriksov” and “ESTiShek” car from the Impreza family. What a secret Subaru marketing experts and PR people have is a great secret, but the fact remains: every second neighbor downstream looked at the column of brand new Impreza, entering the center of Odessa. But before we stopped at the hotel (by the way, the same one in which the hero of Makhulsky lived from the comedy “Deja Vu -“American Entomologist, Next Passing to Sumatra to Catch Butterflies “), where the official part of the presentation was waiting for us, we managed to get first impressions from the news, having made a way from the airport to Belgorod-Dniester and Ackerman.
Subaru Impreza sedan 2012_06
The draw determined for me and Nikolai Nazaikinsky the version of the Impreza with a 1.6-liter engine and CVT. And, in general, this option completely suited us, because this particular version is a combination of the most affordable and comfortable configurations (in this case, the Subaru team themselves mainly rely on a two-liter engine with CVT). First impressions are pleasing: the neat interior, the excellent profile of the seatbacks and Subaru are a special pride - soft plastic front panel. Rather, not plastic, but an ingenious “sandwich” of several layers of soundproofing foam and coating material on an aluminum substrate.
On the go, the cabin is unusually quiet. You can’t expect this from the Japanese market. The rest of the impressions of the interior are similar to those that were received in the winter at the premiere of model XV. It is understandable - after all, in fact, these machines are "sisters" and share among themselves most of the components. By the way, designers were especially pleased with the decision to leave the Imprese mirrors from the crossover - the visibility of the car is simply excellent.
Subaru Impreza sedan 2012_03
The Impreza sedan, like the XV, has a new body structure that provides greater torsional rigidity and strength, which increases passive safety. Compared with the previous generation, the design of the doors has changed. Now they have a very functional triangular window-window, which increased the visibility, often suffering from modern cars due to the strong tilt of the thick front pillar.
Impreza12MY_press_jun12_102_1024
On the go from Impreza 1.6 we did not expect any surprises. The characteristics of the motor are quite modest, and risky overtaking on the highway with it is contraindicated. It was nice to notice that, like in the XV, the CVT does not execute the heartbreaking “arias” in any of the driving modes. The secret of this, however, is already known to us - the ingenious "chaos" in the size of the chain links developed by Luk for the Subarovsky variator, which avoids the occurrence of resonance and annoying sound.
Impreza12MY_press_jun12_63_1024
The change of "horses" in Akkerman, and our partner and I share the two-liter car with a manual gearbox. Sounds solid, but only in practice is not so interesting. The six-speed gearbox is equipped with a very strange backstage. But from whom least of all you expect slurredness and riddles "what gear have I got to right now?", It’s from Subaru. Why in this car “six-mortar”, I did not understand. On the track, with cruising 120 km / h, the car keeps excellent around 2500-3000 revolutions in 5th gear and only on it and retains any response to the gas pedal. Overtaking was carried out at 5-6 thousand revolutions on the 3rd, and at lower speeds it was necessary to accelerate even from the second.
After some time, getting used to the switching mechanism, we begin to listen and take a closer look at the reactions of the motor and conclude that for such a volume it pulls quite modestly. Perhaps this is a necessary sacrifice for the presence of branded four-wheel drive.
Speaking of drive. Despite the fact that both on machines with “mechanics” and on versions with Lineartronic there is a 4WD nameplate, in cars with a variator an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch is used, the torque distribution between the axles is 60:40, and in machines with a manual gearbox - viscous coupling with interaxle and limited slip differential. Of course, that during the journey, my partner and I not only managed to share our impressions of the novelty, but also discussed its price. Moreover, this moment is worth it to dwell on it separately.
Subaru Impreza sedan 2012_04
The price tag Impreza automatically takes her out of the competition for the masses of consumers. Judge for yourself: it’s not enough for anyone to buy a car with a 1.6-liter engine, 114 hp, a manual gearbox, not the cheapest service and consumables at a price of 974, 900 rubles … Having that amount, you can already think of going for basic complete sets of German premium. The cost of a two-liter CVT sedan makes Impreza a car for true fans of the brand - 1 107 300 rubles for a car with a fabric interior, without multimedia, parking sensors and xenon. Impreza in the top version at the price of 1, 324, 300 rubles is able to compare with another crossover, including the XV.
Why and why? The answer to this question is both simple and complex. As Mr. Shigeru Ogura, the head of Subaru’s Russian division, explained to us, the potential of a company that has only one plant outside of Japan - in the United States (from where the Tribeca model comes to Russia), it still does not allow it to allocate part of the engineering and technical personnel to create production facilities in other countries. Distracting specialists from Japanese plants means damaging production, and entrusting work in Europe or China to insufficiently qualified personnel for Subaru, which is more expensive in quality and reputation, is unacceptable. Another, even more important factor is the state of the Japanese economy and the yen. It is he, coupled with domestic tariffs for the import of new cars, that makes the Impreza price truly sky-high. For comparison, the cost of the basic version of Impreza in the United States starts at $ 17, 495. And speaking of the base, we mean a two-liter car.
Impreza12MY_press_jun12_105_1024
Will Subaru come to Russia as a car maker? Of course, no one gave us an answer to this question. But the importance of our market was illustrated by two examples: the XV model was actually purposefully created for the Russian market, and only the reaction to the new product in Europe and the USA prompted the Japanese to move it to other markets. The difference in price between the top-end Impreza and the XV crossover is so insignificant that it is highly likely that the cost of promoting a sedan in Russia will not pay off. The companies understand this and consider it a good indicator if they manage to fulfill the sales plan at the level of … 60 cars per month. Few? Few, but Subaru believes - in a market like the Russian one, it is important for them to offer brand fans in a wide variety of models.
Subaru Impreza sedan 2012_13
But back to our test. On the second day, we had a trip along the Odessa-Kiev autobahn and a section of the conditional “off-road”. We rolled out onto the Autobahn on the Impreza version all with the same 1.6, but this time with a 5-speed manual gearbox. This duet was beyond praise. No hint of flaws found in version 2.0 of the INC!
The Odessa-Kiev highway pleased with quite European quality, and our Impreza 1.6 - with excellent stability and comfort. The noise level in the cabin was so low on a good road that talking in a car was almost a whisper. But the navigator showed the exit point to the site with a bad road. It consisted of alternating sections of dry primer turning into areas with asphalt covering, on which sections of smooth asphalt alternated with a real “artillery ground”. Here the “genes” of XV again crawled out - Impreza walks perfectly through the bumps and potholes, as if she did not notice the pits and potholes, and the only thing that kept us from increasing speed was the desire to keep the tires intact. For the umpteenth time, Nikolai and I returned to the assertion that only the price tag beyond the price of a car of this class alienates Impreza from the title “Best Car for Russian Roads”.
Subaru Impreza sedan 2012_12
But, strictly speaking, the off-road part of the program did not satisfy us at all - in fact, we tested not all-wheel drive, but the operation of the suspension and steering. And therefore, when in the midst of alternating greens of tobacco plantations with sunflower fields, something huge and white appears on the port side and the road to this “something” lies through picturesque potholes, we unanimously decided that we definitely needed to go there.
Subaru Impreza sedan 2012_15
“Something” turned out to be a dried-out estuary, the path to which we overcame only thanks to the excellent cross-country ability and the Impreza suspension. A small stop and reconnaissance. Unfortunately, a beautiful shot with our Impreza, standing in the middle of the salt field, could not be done - the estuary did not dry out completely, and as we move deeper into the crust of salt it begins to break underfoot, and the shoes are buried in mud. As we were told later - very healthy. Slowly roll out the car to the bottom of the estuary, making stops and assessing the depth of subsidence of the soil under the wheels. Having determined the "point of no return", we begin the all-wheel drive tests, but to be honest - we just break away to the fullest, plowing the salt crust circle after circle, passing in a drift or throwing the car into the slip. Oh, what a pity that we got here when there were only a few hours left until the end of the test drive. But even we carried them out with benefit, causing an attack of envy among colleagues who, with amazement on their faces and lively inquiries, where we found such a wonderful place, met our car in traces of “healing” mud.
Subaru Impreza sedan 2012_20
The end of the test drive, waiting at the airport and a discussion of the mixed feelings that were born to almost all of us. On the one hand - it's nice to see that Subaru still makes great cars that very clearly meet customer needs and, judging by the American market, have an ideal price-quality ratio. On the other hand, it is sad that the turmoil in the global financial markets and the production potential of FHI, which impedes the expansion of Subaru into Europe, makes the mass success of this machine impossible, and it will remain the object of demand for a narrow circle of brand fans, fulfilled by 9.9 points with the number " mandatory program."
|
Model |
Subaru impreza |
|
1.6 / 2.0 |
|
|
Dimensions, mm: length / width / height / base |
4580 / 1740/1465 / 2645 |
|
Trunk volume, l |
460 l |
|
Curb / maximum weight, kg |
1310 |
|
Acceleration 0–100 km / h, s |
|
|
Maximum speed, km / h |
1.6 L - 181 (189) 2.0 L - 197 |
|
Fuel / fuel supply, l |
Ai95 / 60 l |
|
Fuel consumption: combined cycle, l / 100 km |
8.9 (9.3) / (10.7) / 6.4 (7.5) |
|
Engine |
Opposite, 4-cylinder, four-stroke, gasoline (FB) |
|
Location |
Front |
|
Cylinder Configuration / Number of Valves |
4 boxer / 16 |
|
Working volume cm3 |
1600/1995 |
|
Power, kW / hp at rpm |
84 (114) / 5, 600 110 (150) / 6, 200 |
|
Torque, N • m at rpm |
150 (15.3) / 4, 000 198 (20.2) / 4, 200 |
|
Transmission |
4WD CDG ACT |
|
Type of |
INC / CVT |
|
Transmission |
6MT / 5MT / CVT |
|
Chassis |
|
|
Suspension: front / rear |
Independent MacPherson / Rear Type Independent, with two A-shaped levers |
|
Steering |
1.6 - Power Steering / 2.0 - EUR |
|
Brakes: Front / Rear |
Ventilated disc with four-channel ABS |
|
Tire and Wheel Size |
195 / 65R15; 15 x 6 "J (for 1.6i) 195 / 55R16; 16 x 6.5 "J (for 1.6iS) 205 / 55R16; 16 x 6.5 "J (for 2.0i) 205 / 50R17, 17 x 7 "(for 2.0iS) |
