From a fairly reliable, though somewhat ricey Aussie car mag…
http://www.hot4s.com/latestrides_new_wrx.php
What do you guys think? Personally… even though it IS a shock and a major change…I like it. Wider rims would do well, and a nice bodykit combined with some lowering will give it back that muscular appearance… It’s got potential.
I have serious doubts as to it looking like that during production, but if it is, I think its actually become an almost handsome car.
Plus:
New multi-link rear suspension is more suited to road use, which is what most Imprezas see.
Interior is again improved over the previous models.
The new-model weight increases have finally reversed.
Styling is very bland. Consider what happened in 2006 when they got creative…
Minus:
Hatchback != wagon. It doesn’t have the cargo volume us wagoneers need.
Powertrain is borrowed from the Legacy GT but is less powerful.
The opposed-piston calipers gained in '06 are gone again.
So are the aluminum hoods and suspension components.
The WRX really needs a 6-spd tranny to keep up with the competition.
It’s the first Impreza that doesn’t look better in rally blue.
Hmmm Mazda on the outside, Honda on the inside, I don’t like it much, it’s lost that in your face fast look that the present one has. I just hope it goes faster to make up for its lost looks.
yep… Sulavaca nailed it… very Mazda, at least the styling… Looks like a typical lump of ho-hum hatchbackness with a huge scoop… The Tai-Ke moutbreathers should love it…
Yes, it does look a bit Mazda… but I like it… are you calling me Tai-Ke plasma?? oh wait… my wife calls me Tai-Ke too :s
I’ve been thinking this morning that an M3 style make-over would do it good… A bit of widening, lowered, change that grill at the front, FMIC with a suitable bumper… NO WING… nicer exhaust tip (I’m only looking at styling, not performance - if it can’t perform, then it’s not worthy of the WRX badge) and some deep-dished 5-spokers…
to be honest… the WRC car looks decent… my.opera.com/Eebert/blog/show.dml/498807 … though it kinda looks like the 07 in wagon form…
here’s pics of a red 08: leblogauto.com/2007/03/salon … oiles.html
and THIS LINK seems to have the most info… including pics of a 4 door version…
worldcarfans.com/news.cfm/co … -in-detail
anybody in favour of a photoshop competition??.. make the new impreza hatch look like a REAL impreza…
haha… no no, just struck me how it’s sloppy Mazda like lines and lazy lumpish sillhouette make it look a lot like the 10 year old riced out civics with cheap tat “Made in Gaoxiung” body kits that the Tai-Ke moutbreathers always park outside the pool hall in my neighbourhood… especially the rear 3/4 view… uuuurgh… the Rex looks okay from the front, but we all know that’s just the scoop talking!.. 
lol… for some reason… i’m starting to think it remindsme more of a Proton Satria than a Mazda~
Goodness me! That second semi profile picture makes the standard Impreza look even worse. What’s with the great bubbly roof and windows? They have just sent the Impreza back to the eighties. With this edition I would almost say that the Casablanca looks to be not too bad now now by comparison.
Casablanca! That’s what I would have called it too no doubt!
Wasn’t this the original design for the new Impreza before the Mazda3 modified the lights a bit
I’m so bored with this lump already, can we have a new one please?
O.K. I admit the Honda Accord’s dash is much better looking than the new Impreza’s copy with nicer climate control buttons and a more expensive lid for the nick nack hole in the middle. Subaru obviously spent much time debating where they would place the central air vents, finally opting for them to be below the centre screen so they would be different to an Accord’s.
Imreza
Honda Accord
Ah… the Casablanca…I considered one of those… the ultimate sleeper… throw the WRX engine in (it’s just an impreza with a different body, right?) along with the running gear (or throw the body onti a WRX wagon)… performance related mods only, but not an overly-loud exhaust (for stealth reasons)…
Die-hard Subaru enthusiasts are saying pretty much the same thing. It looks like a Corolla/Mazda 3/Proton/whatever. Wagon guys bemoan the loss of the trunk space. Sedan guys cry over the sedan version that looks like an afterthought (and will only be available in the US and Australia). They are complaining that it doesn’t have any more power over the previous model. It’s wider but has no fender flares. It doesn’t look aggressive enough.
While some appreciate the stepping back from the ricer-ready lines, most feel it looks flabby and uninspired. I’ll say again that considering the awful, only-a-mother-could-love-it, face the '06 model got, it could have been worse.
The hood scoop is so wide and further forward on the hood because of the new (to this model) intercooler. They have standardised around the engine from the Legacy GT which has a wide, narrow plastic intercooler instead of the square alloy one the old WRX had. It’s claimed to be more efficient. Too bad the WRX only gets 227ps instead of the 250ps in the Legacy. Most likely they are trying to protect STi sales by maintaining a gap in power outputs. Speculation is that the new STi will not have significantly more power than the current model at 300ps. :shrug:
Subaru has announced it’s intention to become the Audi of the Japanese brands to move into line with the aging demographic in developed countries. They started pushing retail prices up in the US market with the launch of the (superb) Legacy GT and then the (flop) Tribeca. IMO Subaru mistimed or misjudged the market badly with the Tribeca launch, imagining that traditional SUV shoppers could be tempted into a crossover vehicle while in reality it was priced too close to similar vehicles with much more brand cachet. They have made a second blunder this year by dropping the Legacy wagons from the range when this model used to be their bread and butter. Now if you want a Subaru station wagon you will have to buy an Outback or Forester and put up with the silly plastic body cladding and high ride height. IMO they are going to lose the younger buyers to other brands with cheaper, more aggressive looking cars that are catching up in terms of performance, especially if they don’t value AWD. Anyone wanting a spacious touring wagon with road-oriented suspension and/or AWD is going to move toward Audi/VW. The luxury-sports buyer is still not convinced Subaru has enough brand status for him and will go on buying Lexus or Audi sedans. They are trying to please too many people with the new Impreza.
Anyway, you can read some of the argument that is raging back and forth here.
Here are a couple of photochops that have been done to try and rescue the poor WRX from terminal blandness. Note that some of them are ideas about what the STi version 10 should look like.
In defence of the current design, I can say that the first versions of the GC body (classic) Impreza had rather boring and stodgy looks. It wasn’t until the first facelift in 1994 that it started to take on that aggressive rally face. I’m predicting a return to the rally-bred looks very quickly after disappointing sales in 2008.
They fu*ked up my favorite car. It looks sissy. The 2006 is still gotta be the best looking version:
This week’s artist’s impressions of what the STi will look like…
It’s still no 22B, but it does look better than the awful thing unveiled in NYC.
It’s a big thumbs-down. Imprezza buyers (Subie buyers in general for that matter) kinda like that off-beat styling like Saab buyers. The new version is really watered-down and pedestrian. Unless the performance improves significantly, I’d say Mitsubishi will gain a lot of new customers for its Evo.
Can you give us a picture of the new Evo please?
wowwww… I just saw this and I really don’t like the new look. Bug eyed Imprezas looked the best I think… if I were to choose between the sedan or hatch I would pick the sedan though. The hatch is too mazda3/ford focus looking which I think are pretty ugly as well.
The old Impreza looks were not exactly pretty but different and not straight UGLY.
Oh yeah, heres the EvoX.
leftlanenews.com/mitsubishi- … ion-x.html
Looks straight outta a ricers wet dream. Kinda of elongated Spyder 4 door. Meh… the grill looks interesting though.
Nice overall look, but it’s a shame that they made the interior look over the top and on the tacky side. I like the brushed sued though on the top of the dash if that’s what it is, although that will fade in the sun. Those front seats look damn uncomfortable on long journeys and only good for whipping around corners. The stopwatch is an unusual touch, although I’m sure the boy racers will love that little gadget so they can rave about how it only takes them so many minutes, seconds, and milliseconds to get home. I feel even more of a shame that although I don’t like Evos as much as Imprezas, this one looks far better than the Impreza and I have to say that faced with a choice, I would probably take the erm…Legacy!
Mitsubishi seems to have also stolen some styling tit bits from other cars with this one, such as the rear lights that can be seen on countless Toyotas, Lexus, Nissans etc and the speedo and rev counter which are like cheap Chinese knock offs of the Lexus brand’s. It seems that Mitsubishi can never quite get that quality feel to stick to their cars and that’s why Subaru had always taken more customers with the Impreza, but I fear not so this time around.
I don’t like it 
The EVO-X looks kind of like an R34-GTR had a fun night with an Alfa~
I’ll take one though~ Methinks some lowering and fattening, along with replacement of that horrid wing… Yessir~