The Subaru Impreza (Japanese: スバル・インプレッサ, Hepburn: Subaru Inpuressa) is a compact car that has been manufactured by Subaru since 1992. It was introduced as a replacement for the Leone, with the predecessor's EA series engines replaced by the new EJ series. It is now in its fifth generation.
Subaru has offered 4-door sedan and 5-door body variants since 1992. The firm also offered a coupe from 1995 until 2001, and a 5-door wagon from the Impreza's introduction in the form of a hatchback. Mainstream versions have received "boxer" flat-four engines ranging from 1.5- to 2.5-liters, with the performance-oriented Impreza WRX and WRX STI models uprated with the addition of turbochargers. Since the third generation series, some markets have adopted the abbreviated Subaru WRX
name for these high-performance variants. The first three generations
of Impreza were also available with an off-road appearance package
called the Outback Sport, exclusive to the North American market. For the fourth generation, this appearance package was renamed the XV (Crosstrek in North America), and is sold internationally. Colloquially, the car is sometimes referred to as Scooby.
Subaru has offered both front- and all-wheel drive
layouts for the Impreza. Since the late-1990s, some markets have
restricted sales to the all-wheel drive model—therefore granting the
Impreza a unique selling proposition
in the global compact class characterized by front-wheel drive.
However, Japanese models remain available in either configuration.
A 2019 iSeeCars study named the Impreza as the lowest-depreciating sedan in the United States after five years.
