2018 Subaru Impreza Release Date, Price and Engine

2018 Subaru Impreza- One Franklin Further Away! We are all drooling in front of WRX STI and its over-proportioned wing, our hurts increase pumping with pure thought of taking it on the racing tarmac for some tire burning, and our ears indulge in its beautiful flat-four burble. Yet, what about the base of it? What about that rational side of it buried beneath all that sporty gimmicky? What about the Impreza which last year move forward and entered new generation? After one year on the market, let’s see what 2018 Subaru Impreza model brings.

2018 Subaru Impreza Price and Release Date

2018 model year doesn’t bring anything new, as it is still early for that, although it hides $100 price bump. Luckily the same bump is too insignificant to change any perception about it when it arrive this fall as it would be still offering decent bang for the buck. With one engine option price starts at $19.3k for the sedan and $19.8 in the case of the hatchback, while an upgrade to CVT from manual asks for modest one grand. Starting price shoots above one attached to Focus, Elantra, Forte or Sentra, but you do get that famous Subaru’s AWD for no extra charge.

If we jump over $22k Premium package just adding some limited amount of goodies to the base offer, Sport trim flavored with 18 inch alloys (2 inch extra than usual), spoiler, tuned suspension, torque vectoring, LED daytime lights, interior red inserts and stitching, 8-inch infotainment system (otherwise is 6-inch one) and some more, comes with sticker price of $23k and upwards. Top of the line Limited starts at $25k, and it dresses the cabin in leather, brings LED headlights and add chrome trim for additional visual flavor, among else. As you see, despite starting price jumps a bit ahead of many of competitors, top one stays in the middle of the pack.

Rest of the Good Stuff

Current Impreza debuted with a new platform which is set to underpin pretty much everything Subaru’s in future. New chassis is visibly stiffer, and it makes wonders for it in corners, while properly weighted and quick to respond steering, along with beautifully tuned suspension just complement the good recipe. Naturally aspirated 2.0-liter H4 boost “usual” 152 hp and 145 lb-ft of torque, but it could make “unusual” old-school fun as it doesn’t shy away from bigger revs, forcing you to climb to 4000 rpm for that peak torque; (definitely something under extinction with a rain of turbochargers). 0-60 mph sprint last 8.5 seconds, which is nothing special considering the segment in question, along with 32 mpg combined of fuel efficiency.

If you don’t fancy manual, and the majority of Americans don’t, you’ll be pleased to now that Subi tried to mimic conventional automatic, making CVT perform fake shifts, thus mitigating incredibly annoying droning sounds associated with those type of gearboxes.

And Some Not So Good Stuff

As every Subaru, this Impreza might be pleasant to look but nothing further. It doesn’t try to lure you with elegance as Mazda 3, with fascia’s boldness as Sentra, nor with sharpness as Elantra. It gets worse with hatchback shape, which stands especially boring next to wild Civic, funky Corolla iM or bizarre “one door-lacking” Veloster. And, it can’t compensate the lack of visual thrills with a highly refined cabin as Golf does. Prettier and more visually complex interior than before, yes, but emotionally steering in general, hardly. At least it is fairly built, and new generation brought a bit more space.

And there you have it, visual dullness mixed with handling greatness, then blended with some mediocrity, and now hundred bucks pricier sums up 2018 Subaru Impreza’s story.

Competitors:

• Toyota Corolla
• Chevrolet Cruze
• Hyundai Elantra
• Mazda 3
• Honda Civic
• Ford Focus

2018 Subaru Impreza Hatch Price

Model	2018 MSRP	2017 MSRP
2.0i Hatch 5MT	$18,995	$18,895
2.0i Hatch CVT	$19,995	$19,895
2.0i Hatch Premium	$21,795	$21,695
2.0i Hatch Sport 5MT	$22,595	$22,495
2.0i Hatch Sport CVT	$23,395	$23,295
2.0i Hatch Limited	$24,695	$24,595

2018 Subaru Impreza Sedan Price

Source: cnet.com

The fifth generation of the Impreza has been released back in 2016 and since then it managed to attract a lot more people than before. In fact, with this model, Subaru managed to address some of the issues found in the previous model such as the awful interior or the rather dreary exterior. Unfortunately, the car is not nearly perfect and it seems it might receive a larger than usual update with the 2018 Subaru Impreza.

This version is expected to bring a new engine, some upgrades inside the cabin and possibly a more interesting design for the exterior. All of these are mostly expected to arrive on the US model which currently needs them the most. The Impreza is losing badly on sales against its competitors, so Subaru will have to do something in order to become a top choice among its competitors.

2018 Subaru Impreza Release Date

There are two parts on which new Impreza could walk. First one is that the 2018 MY is not going to evolve much further than the current edition and this would prompt the Japanese manufacturer to release new (probably unchanged model) early this year, probably in summer months. Another path is the path of many changes, which would generate more work on 2018 Impreza and thus set its release date for the end of the year. Either way, if you want new Impreza, the 2019 facelift is what you should look out to. 

Details

The engine is likely the biggest problem with the current model. It is known to be less efficient and also less powerful than pretty much any other engine in its class. On top of that, it didn’t manage to impress through its reliability either. On top of the engine, the Impreza could use a sporty model. We all know the WRX and WRX STI are basically Imprezas with different engines. However, these are known regarded as standalone models so Subaru could do with a sporty-looking Impreza.

This would not only appeal to a wider market than the regular car but it would give it the needed looks to compete with some of its hotter rivals. The price is still unknown at this point but we doubt it will change much. The base car is still likely going to cost around $19,000 with the top end models going for a bit over $25,000.

Design

The car’s looks evolved quite a bit over the older model. The 2018 Subaru Impreza is likely going to build on the great shape of the ongoing car. For starters, the hatchback could use an improvement. Even though it looks similar to the sedan, it has a sedate-looking grille and it looks a lot more like a wagon than like a hatchback. The latter can’t be easily changed but we would expect Subaru to at least install a new grille to take its unsurprising design away. On top of that, the car could really use a wider selection of rims which could really elevate the way it looks. The sporty model we were talking about could borrow design cues from the WRX and use them on the car. This would make it a great car for the younger people looking to get a cheap car that handles great.

Inside the Cabin

Considering how new the car is, we would be surprised if the 2018 Subaru Impreza will feature any large changes inside the cabin. In fact, even if they decide to go with the same interior, most would be happy. The current car features some of the best seats on the market with great side-bolsters and plenty of support for the spine. The rear seats are also very good despite not being great for carrying three people. In the front, the Impreza could receive a slightly higher resolution screen for the infotainment system, but this is unlikely, at least for the 2018 model.

Under the Hood

The only engine currently available is a 2 liter naturally aspirated flat-four which makes 152 horsepower and 145 lb-ft of torque. This is pretty much at the bottom of its class. The engine does offer 28 MPG in the city and 38 MPG on the highway when combined with the CVT. However, the performance is average at best and the fuel consumption really goes down when the engine is pushed to its limit. In contrast, the European version of the car can be had with a 1.6 liter flat-four turbo with 168 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque available from just 1,800 rpm.

This not only feels faster than the even 2.5-liter engine cars but it is also more efficient. The 2018 Subaru Impreza might bring this engine to the US which would make it a much better deal than now. Also, it’s old 5-speed manual could use an improvement but this is highly unlikely, at least for a couple more years.