Subaru has confirmed that the all-new Impreza is coming to the UK later this year, following its official European debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
The current Impreza has been something of a disappointment here in the UK, turning from one of the must-have cars of the 1990s to a slightly underwhelming, dowdy family hatchback.
There’s plenty to get excited about with the new one, however, with the new Impreza featuring a wider track, lower centre of gravity and a platform that’s 70 per cent stiffer than that of its predecessor.
Subaru says that should vastly improve how the car drives, while it will also come packed with kit like the EyeSight safety system, which includes autonomous emergency braking and adaptive cruise control as standard.
You can also expect a vastly upgraded interior, with the current Impreza holding the current Japanese Car of the Year title, with its cabin rated the best in terms of design, styling and equipment.
So far, however, there’s not much else to get excited about, as the 2017 Impreza will, like the Levorg estate, come exclusively with a CVT automatic gearbox upon release in the UK.
While other markets like Japan and the US get the sporty saloon version first unveiled at the LA Auto Show in 2015, here in the UK we’ll for now have to make do with the Astra-lookalike hatchback.
Still, there’s hope for the future. Symmetrical all-wheel drive is standard, while Subaru says that the new Impreza uses the same quick steering ratio as the BRZ and that there will be both WRX and STi versions of it in the future.
Whether that means that the Impreza WRX STi will finally make a proper return is unclear, but there’s potential. Let’s just hope it’s not another red herring like the BRZ STi…
