2012 Subaru Impreza Rescues April Sales Numbers
In the wake of yesterday’s industry-standard sales number inundation, there is a story that seems to have been overlooked in the hubbub: Subaru‘s 2012 Impreza saving the company’s sales numbers.
Redesigned for 2012, the automaker’s entry-level compact car was traditionally built on the same platform as its more performance-oriented WRX sibling. For this year, Subaru decided to sever that tie in favor of building a more mellow and economically-minded vehicle to better address the segment it was meant to fill.
While it’s easy to speculate about how a car will sell, or the merits of a redesign, the truth doesn’t really surface until its manufacturer releases sales numbers. With first-quarter figures available as of yesterday, it seems the somewhat bland Impreza, which lost horsepower this year thanks to it’s 2.0-liter boxer engine, was actually a hit with consumers.
In fact, if it weren’t for the astounding 158 percent sales increase over a year ago in April, Subaru would have likely posted a loss. Instead the brand issued a release heralding the “best April sales in company history.”
While we weren’t particularly in love with the Impreza’s underwhelming performance, it does its job very well, achieving 27/36 mpg city/highway with all-wheel drive.
The Outback still outsold the Impreza with about 35,600 units since April, 2011, but that represented a marginal increase. The Impreza, on the other hand, sold roughly 27,891 units for a massive 158 percent increase. While the company wouldn’t have posted an overall loss, there wouldn’t have been any rosy “best ever” statements either.
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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The Impreza is selling because it offers a nice combination of AWD reliability, fuel economy, comfort, handling, and convenience. We bought a Premium hatch/CVT three months ago, and couldn't be happier with it. It's got plenty of power, and the CVT is smoother than any automatic. It takes a little time to get accustomed to its quirks, many of which are solved by simply depressing the accelerator further. I know, AutoGuide finds the Impreza bland, and the engine noisy. But we bought it after test-driving the Elantra, Fiesta, and Focus, all of which felt insubstantial compared to the Impreza.
I test drove every car in its class.While it may not be the sportiest in its class, I found the total combination andqualityto be the best in its class,especiallyif you actually have to drive in the real world and in bad weather, plus you don't have to drive a gas hog any more to have an all wheel drive. I got the sports hatchback and think it is a great looking car. I liked it way better than the Mazda3 and the GTI,