2012 Subaru Impreza 2.0i Sport Premium
The outgoing Subaru Impreza was a pretty good little car except for a couple of little things, ugly and thirsty.
Not a great trade from the very competitive car segment.
But let's take a run in this 2012 heavily revised Subaru Impreza 2.0i Sport limited.
That's a mouth full.
Check the tech and see if we can address the issue.
Now the fact that we're in a sport limited trim level on this guy and they've got like 19,000 trim level means we have a very limited selection of technology, standard or optional.
This guy is uniquely without check boxes to add gear.
For example, that's your head unit.
You cannot get the 6-inch LCD touch screen guide, which would also have navigation not available on this trim.
It's available on several others but not this Impreza.
You also have AM/FM radio but you can't HD radio in this car.
I mean you can't get it at all.
You do have however a USB jack which is very forward for Thumb Drives or iPods AUX is down there as well and notice in addition to CD, you've also got Bluetooth streaming audio and Bluetooth hands free is standard on this car as well.
Audio system for the output is six speakers bass and there's a bunch of a la carte stuff you can do.
You can option a tenant subwoofer for 500 bucks.
You can option a pair of additional twitters for 120 if it's not brassy enough for you or you can upgrade the speakers overall for 250 bucks.
It's an upgrade of 4 speakers.
I'm not sure what they do with the other two, leave them crappy I guess.
What you can go in this guy and we do have it is the CBT gear box.
There's no true (Cog?) based automatic, just the CBT continuously variable.
It also comes with paddles on the wheel as it is the fashion these days and as you can see, you've got a gate down here for automatic mode or over here, the simulated manual where it pretends like it has gears.
We'll see how well that works on the road in a minute.
Now under the hood on this 2012 Impreza is something small that is actually a big story.
Its engine got smaller from the last generation down from 2-1/2 liters to just 2 liters.
Flat four box are in there, it's a Subee after all.
You're gonna get 148 horse power on this guy, 145 foot-pounds of torque, not overwhelming numbers, but they do get this carved to 60 in about 8 seconds, if you've got a manual.
That's why it's almost a second and a half slower with our CBT.
But the pay off is in the MPG, 2736 now on this car with the CBT.
The outgoing model was like 2027.
That's like a different world.
But let's see how it is on the road.
A CBT is rather real good or real flip real, let's see how this one is.
You know, I'm a big fan of Nissan for its gear box but this one tends to have pretty good (friction?).
It doesn't give you that butter ball feeling that a lot of them do.
So good points on that and again, it makes a big difference in MPG.
You pick up like two MGP's, city and highway respectively by going with this transmission.
The car doesn't feel as slow as it looks on paper.
That's kind of the point of a car like this which is not a performance ride.
You're not gonna go to the track with it so who cares how fast it really is as long as it feels slightly and it does.
Now part of the goodness of a boxer engine is that it lays real low.
The center of gravity is down, just above the actual line which gives the car a nice low center of gravity around the front about the stirring and pointing wheel.
So the car handles rather nicely, considering that it has got kinda (hombolord?).
(??) about this car, I had a hard time living with day in and day out is the sound coming out of what I think is from the gear box.
It sounds like a belt rubbing on something all the time.
Not like it's broken but like it's gonna make me insane.
That's unfortunate because this car is otherwise fairly refined and well bolted together and it got the CBT thing so I would have to drive the manual just to see if it was much more refined and quite but I better end up go with the CBT anyway because it's a better real world choice and this one seems to be well executed
Up Next
2022 Ford Bronco Raptor: This Big Bronco Is Here
Up Next
2022 Ford Bronco Raptor: This Big Bronco Is Here
2022 Ford F-150 Raptor Goes Big With 37-Inch Tires
2022 Ford F-150 Raptor Goes Big With 37-Inch Tires
2022 Volvo C40 Recharge Is a Sharp-Looking Swedish EV
2022 Volvo C40 Recharge Is a Sharp-Looking Swedish EV
EVs vs. Gas Engines: We Do the Math on Carbon Emissions
EVs vs. Gas Engines: We Do the Math on Carbon Emissions
2022 Yamaha XSR900 Breaks Away From the Cafe, and Onto the 1980s GP Grid
2022 Yamaha XSR900 Breaks Away From the Cafe, and Onto the 1980s GP Grid
2023 Nissan Z First Drive: A Hotter Performer With Newfound Tech Smarts
2023 Nissan Z First Drive: A Hotter Performer With Newfound Tech Smarts
Driving Porsche's Top-Secret Prototype Electric Race Car!
Driving Porsche's Top-Secret Prototype Electric Race Car!
Our First Look at the All-New 2023 Ranger Rover Sport
Our First Look at the All-New 2023 Ranger Rover Sport
2022 GMC Sierra AT4X: More Capable, Still Fancy
2022 GMC Sierra AT4X: More Capable, Still Fancy
This Dakar Rig From Audi Runs on Electricity and We Drove It
This Dakar Rig From Audi Runs on Electricity and We Drove It
Tech Shows
Latest News All latest news
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories 1 More Season
Apple May Give FineWoven Accessories 1 More Season
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
US vs. TikTok: What Happens Next
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
What to Expect at Apple's May 7 iPad Event
Did a Week With the Apple Watch Make Me Use My iPhone Less?
Did a Week With the Apple Watch Make Me Use My iPhone Less?
How Google Tests the Cameras in Its Pixel Phones
How Google Tests the Cameras in Its Pixel Phones
Most Popular All most popular
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
Latest Products All latest products
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
Battle of the Humanoid Robots: MenteeBot Is Ready
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
2025 Audi Q6, SQ6 E-Tron: Audi's Newest EV Is Its Most Compelling
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Hands-On with Ford's Free Tesla Charging Adapter
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
Nuro R3 is an Adorable Self-Driving Snack Bar
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
Latest How To All how to videos
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
Tips and Tricks for the AirPods Pro 2
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
How to Watch the Solar Eclipse Safely From Your Phone
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro