What's New
The 2020 Subaru Impreza is back with an updated grille and front fascia and standard automatic door locks. Additionally, the Subaru EyeSight suite of active safety features is now standard on all models equipped with the continuously variable transmission (CVT).
The remaining changes include a new powertrain performance management system on the Sport sedan trim, new wheel designs for the Sport and Limited, and a new Ocean Blue Pearl exterior color.
Choosing Your Subaru Impreza
The Subaru Impreza is available in four trims: Impreza, Premium, Sport, and Limited. Pricing starts at $19,595 including destination for the base Impreza and reaches $26,695 for the Limited.
A hatchback body style is available on all four trims for a $500 premium over the sedan.
Engine Choices
Subaru equips the Impreza with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 152 horsepower and 145 pound-feet of torque. This all-wheel-drive model works with a five-speed manual transmission on Impreza and Sport hatchback models. The CVT is standard elsewhere and available for $1,300 on the manual models.
The Impreza sedan achieves an EPA-estimated 23 miles per gallon city, 31 mpg highway, and 26 combined with the manual transmission. The hatchback variant gets 24 mpg city. With the CVT, fuel economy jumps to 28/36/31 mpg (city/highway/combined) in both sedan and hatchback guise.
Passenger and Cargo Capacity
Despite its small footprint, the Subaru Impreza offers a spacious interior with ample room for four passengers and decent space for five. The rear seat has good legroom and is contoured.
The sedan offers just 12.3 cubic feet of storage space, compared to 20.8 with the hatchback. With the rear seat folded, the hatchback offers a generous 55.3 cubic feet of storage capacity, which rivals some small crossovers.
Safety Features
Subaru’s EyeSight suite, which is standard on models with the CVT, brings adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and lane keeping assist.
Limited models come standard with automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring, lane change assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and rear automatic braking.
The Impreza has a five-star overall safety rating from the NHTSA and is a Top Safety Pick Plus according to the IIHS.
Connectivity
Subaru equips the Impreza with a 6.5-inch touchscreen display, a USB port, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone compatibility. The Premium gains a second front USB port, while the Sport and Limited get an 8-inch touchscreen with navigation and wi-fi hot spot capability.
The base Impreza comes with 16-inch steel wheels, a six-way manual driver seat, a four-way manual front passenger seat, and cloth upholstery. Keyless entry, a manual tilt-and-telescopic steering column, full power accessories, and air conditioning are standard features.
The Impreza Premium features automatic headlights, fog lights, 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, and heated side mirrors. The hatchback gains raised roof rails. Inside, Subaru adds a six-speaker audio system, satellite radio, a CD player, and HD Radio.
A moonroof is bundled with blind-spot monitoring, push button start, and a six-way power driver's seat for $1,970.
The Sport trim features a few exterior changes, including 18-inch alloy wheels, integrated turn signals in the side mirrors, and body-color side rocker spoilers. The interior gains the bigger infotainment display, sport cloth upholstery with red stitching, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, push button start, and aluminum pedal covers.
On the sedan, it costs $2,470 to equip the moonroof, blind-spot monitoring, and an eight-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.
At the top of the roster is the Limited trim. Standard exterior features include adaptive headlights, chrome door handles, and fog lights. Inside, the seats are covered in leather and the driver gains six-way power adjustment.
Compare Impreza Trims Side-By-Side
We like the utility of the 2020 Subaru Impreza hatchback, which gives it an edge over the sedan. The standard manual gearbox is intriguing, but it sadly keeps buyers from the driver assist safety features that come with the CVT.