Impreza Official: 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX

[dOmInIX]

My god, is everyone in Subaru's styling department blind? That has to be the ugliest new car I've seen in quite a while. I wouldn't care how good it drives of how fast it is, I couldn't stand the look of it long enough to find out. The sedan version is particularly revolting, gruesome even from the front.

M

Exactly!

 

[Monster]

My god, is everyone in Subaru's styling department blind? That has to be the ugliest new car I've seen in quite a while. I wouldn't care how good it drives of how fast it is, I couldn't stand the look of it long enough to find out. The sedan version is particularly revolting, gruesome even from the front.

M

Judging by the photos i found on the net (i think the bronze coloured one is real) Jap versiosn and euro versions will get a slightly different front and rear styling than the U.S version, just like how the the U.S version of the Legacy gets extra long front bumpers, and the US Legacy Outback get its own unique front end styling.

I don't really mind the new car styling, simply because it is better than the old version. The interior styling is really horrible. I really cannot stand the ugly center console.

 

[martinbo]

You know what... guess...

I like it. It's so typically Subaru that I can't help myself. Sedan is so smart:

I can't wait to see it in the metal - sedan shape lends itself nicely for STi treatment. As for the hatchback, sure it's no A3 Sportback in the beauty stakes but as mainstream five-door fodder goes, it's a marked improvement over the poor-selling 5 door Sportwagon. Chicks will dig it.

 

[siko]

Pics and press release @ WCF here...

 

[martinbo]

Seriously. Such anti-Subaru sentiment...

Even the interior is really nice. By any standards.

 

[zetableh]

Interior is great. But if I wanted to buy a car that looked like a Honda, I'd buy a Honda. It's a good thing it's a nice interior, though, because that's where the driver spends most of their time.

 

[Choleric]

I am sorry, I usually have liked Subaru designs, I even liked the last WRX.

But these are going backward IMO, first the WRX and now this....

Pains me to say that even the old tribeca looked better than this IMO.

 

[Merc1]

Yeah it seems they're getting uglier by the minute. They must have lost some stylists or just plain old ran out of ideas. That WRX sedan is breathtaking ugly and disjointed looking.

M

 

[Centurion]

The interior has been improved, that I give Subaru credit for but the exterior is....*speechless*. I have like the design of Subaru cars since I first saw one but this one looks like it's from GM or something, designed over a weekend by a couple of design chiefs after watching a game of baseball and drinking a couple of Coronas. Uninspiring design with no character. The car is a mix of Saab, Subaru, Mazda and Pontiac. Big time disappointment.

 

[martinbo]

You know what... guess...

I like it. It's so typically Subaru that I can't help myself. Sedan is so smart:

(http://www.km77.com/00/subaru/impreza/gra/012.jpg)

I can't wait to see it in the metal - sedan shape lends itself nicely for STi treatment. As for the hatchback, sure it's no A3 Sportback in the beauty stakes but as mainstream five-door fodder goes, it's a marked improvement over the poor-selling 5 door Sportwagon. Chicks will dig it.

Hey! Some bastid removed the picture of the WRX Sedan off KM77! Now I'm stuck with a rather less exciting plain ol' hatch on my post.

I ain't going in no plane sucker fool!

Let's rather look at this photo...

This is quite a significant picture, see they've placed a lady behind the wheel... this is very much a component of the Subaru strategy to improve the appeal of the 5 door Impreza to female buyers.

Notice how much more sculpted the bonnet (hood) intercooler scoop is. The sheet metal actually forms the bulk of the vent compared with the previous WRX which simply has a plastic intercooler scoop slotted into an appeture in the bonnet sheet metal.

The more I see, the more I like.

What can I say...? I'm a Subaru loyalist and an owner. I'll probably get one of these too - either in sedan or hatchback guise.

 

[Osnabrueck]

They must have lost some stylists or just plain old ran out of ideas.

Merc, from what I can tell, the addition of Alfa and Fiat desiner Andreas Zapatinas to Subaru was doomed form the start and we can at least partially blame him for initiating this whole mess. He was the wrong man for the wrong company. At the time, Subaru design wasn't terribly distinct, but it was finally starting to carve out a handsome image it could call its own. With Subaru's image problems in the States, the only thing needed were solid models that stood out as hadsome specimens amongst their peers.

Instead of nurturing what was already working in Subaru's styling arsenal, Zapatinas acted as an iconoclastic "personality designer," a la Chris Bangle. This led to the creation of the very Un-Subaru like Tribeca which got rave reviews from the press, confused the hell out of hapless consumers unfamiliar with the Subaru brand and alienated Subaru's loyal base.

The Tribeca was planned ot be a breakthrough product for North America, and deserved to be. Instead, Subaru laid an egg - the thing just looked strange, and didn't resonate with prospects or owners. Fast foward a little bit and we see the Imprezza being outfitted with the same distinctive grille seen on the Tribeca. Reaction is mixed.

The rest of the story can be left to conjecture. Basically Andreas Zapatinas parted ways with Subaru. Reading between the lines we can probably surmise that he was fired.

Now, left with a quasi-7er type situation on their hands, management scrambles to do some revisionist history and "Fixes" the Tribeca, and is probably pretty gun-shy about adventurous styling and all to eager to purge the Zapatinas grille from the Imprezza. Unfortunately, whatever momentum Subaru had before Zapatinas showed up on the scene seems to be lost.

The new WRX is a pity, not just because it looks watered-down, but because it has nothing to do with any Subarus, past or present. It's just a smattering of design cues plucked from around the world. This car deserves much better.

If Subaru hired the right talent years ago, we'd be looking at some beautiful, aggressive cars. It's a pity.

 

[siko]

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[siko]

 

[martinbo]

I think it looks better every time I see it. Once again, if I consider the proportions of the under-selling Sportwagon against those of this new car I can see that, instantaneously, Subaru have a car with more mass-market appeal. Mechanically speaking, here we have what is arguably the best five door hatchback in the world in my opinion:

 

[NarutoRamen]

I agree with you Martin. Everytime I see it, I like it more and more. It's just such a nice, clean and friendly design. When I look at proportions, creases, angles, this car is great.

 

[martinbo]

You're dead right Naruto. The design isn't nearly as offensive as some publications originally suggested. Sure, the tail-lights are a tad ricey but that's something we've come to expect from Japanese makers. In fact, it's almost like a national trademark or something!

What we can be sure of is the under-the-skin superiority of this new car; a lower centre of gravity, improved Boxer engines, tried and tested permanent AWD, double wishbone rear suspension... all of it makes for some seriously cool kit. I'll take mine in white please...

 

[NarutoRamen]

^^I'll take mine is STi trim with Blue on gold wheels.

 

[siko]