2008 Subaru Impreza WRX

The 2008 Subaru Impreza is a major redesign that hopes to bring their car more into the mainstream. For years now the Impreza has had a reputation for high performance in an affordable sedan. In large part it was unrefined car that didn't have all of the features that you would expect on a modern car. This appealed to a lot of people since the one thing that you could say about the Impreza was that it was a fun car. The new version is an improvement in almost every conceivable way as Subaru attempt to take on the compact sedan markets major players. In the process however the car has lost a lot of its personality which will probably be a turn off to the people who made the Impreza popular in the first place.

The first thing that you will notice about the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX is that the cars styling has changed to look like, well a traditional compact car. The older Impreza had a style all its own, it was one of those things that you either loved or you hated. The new styling is clearly intended to appeal to a broader audience. The new car is also bigger; it has been stretched out by four inches. This provides for considerably more interior space. The new Impreza is also wider so there is plenty of room for passengers inside.

The interior has also been upgraded on the new car. The older version was something of a barebones interior that seemed oddly out of place in the modern world. The new Impreza adds all of those things that were missing from the previous versions. There are things like a navigation system in this version. The main difference however is in the level of comfort. Whereas the Impreza made its reputation by being fun to drive this new model is focused mainly on being comfortable. It is quieter and smoother.

The one thing that hasn't changed on the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX is the drive train. A turbocharged, horizontally opposed 2.5 liter engine is the only option. You have a choice between a six speed or a five speed manual transmission or a four speed automatic. This is an area where Subaru are still behind the competition as they now offer much more sophisticated transmissions. If they want to compete with the big players in the compact sedan market they are going to have to upgrade in this area.

In almost every way the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX is a better car than the version that it replaces. It was probably inevitable that the company would change the car to target a larger market. The question remains just how successful will they be? They competition that they are taking on is very tough and in a lot of ways the new Impreza has lost the personality that made it successful in the first place.