Subaru Impreza
Subaru Impreza Car
Subaru Impreza Picture
The
Subaru Impreza is a
compact car that was first introduced by
Subaru in 1993.
"Impreza" is a coined word, deriving from an originally
Italian word, impresa, meaning a feat or achievement. In
Polish, "Impreza" means "party", "event" or "show".
The Impreza was introduced after the popular
Leone/
Loyale was cancelled with the aging
EA series engine. The Impreza was introduced with the popular
EJ series engine found in the larger
Subaru Legacy.
Subaru is the only company that can claim that their
drivetrain is
symmetrical for this class size of vehicle.
Compared to vehicles in a similar size class such as
Toyota Corolla,
Honda Civic,
Nissan Sentra,
Hyundai Elantra and
Mazda Protegé/
Mazda3, only the Impreza has always offered
AWD, and as of 1996 Subaru made this feature standard equipment in some markets. Subaru produces a lower volume of slightly upscale, well-equipped, sportier Impreza models, unlike other contemporaries in the compact category that offer
no-frills base trims.
Subaru chose to continue their longstanding use of the
boxer engine in the Impreza. According to Subaru, their configuration of the engine inline with the transmission minimizes body roll due to the lower center of gravity compared with offset engines in most other vehicles. The Subaru layout is also light-weight and lends itself easily to support all-wheel-drive, with power delivered directly to the front and rear wheels, using an integrated
transfer case located inside the transmission. The boxer design provides perfect vibration mitigation due to the fact that the movement of each piston is exactly countered by the corresponding piston in the opposing cylinder bank, eliminating the need for a counter-rotating weighted crankshaft (
harmonic balancer).
Torque steer is also reduced with this type of powertrain layout since the front drive shafts are of equal length and weight.