2009 Subaru Impreza User Reviews

Pros

Nimble, great value, AWD, very reliable

Cons

Seats not supportive, rear drum brake (not disc), stereo weak in mid-range

Purchased As New

Have owned for 18 months ... first Subaru. Car is fun to drive. Great lane-changing and accident-avoidance nimbleness. Handles like a smaller car but has plenty of space inside. Don't understand people writing Cons about MPG. I drive aggressively around the city and fast on the highway and get 25-27 and 31-33 respectively with 5-speed manual. Maybe the automatic transmission is a dog. Considered buying Mazda 3 sport version (no AWD and too busy a dashboard) and 4-dr VW Rabbit (price premium)....read morehide

Pros

Horsepower, Look, Comfortable, Fun to Drive, Handling

Cons

Interior rattles, rattles and rattles. Cheap inside materials. RATTLES!

Purchased As New

Had the car about 2 months. Really a joy to drive. Handling is quick and ride is smooth. Accelration and power is great. I have the 223hp turbo charges GT hatchback. Room inside is good. The only negative is the car rattles like a box full of legos. Plastics are cheap causing them to rub and rattle. Rattles are terrible. They are so bad I even wrote Subaru asking to change the material on future cars. Did I mention rattles??...read morehide

Pros

Fun Car To Drive

Cons

Passenger Front Seat Can't Be Raised

Purchased As New

I researched cars for over two years and finally decided the Subaru Impreza Outback Sport in steel silver two tone was the car for me. In late August I drove the car from Colorado to South Dakota's Black Hills and averaged 33 mpg highway and 28 mpg city/town. For what I paid for the car, it's an absolute bargain. And the miles per gallon was far better than the sticker's 27/20. One of the best features of the Outback Sport is its ability to hug the road. I am totally pleased with my purchase and would encourage you to check one out today at your local Subaru dealership....read morehide

Pros

Good Ride and Handling. Pretty quiet, too.

Cons

Transmission, Seats.

Purchased As Used

Just rented a a 4-door with the automatic and drove it for 700 miles on the hilly, winding roads of western NC. Basically I feel the car has alot going for it, but it needs either a 5 speed auto or that new CVT that's in the new Legacy. The seats could be alot better with a tilt feature for the drivers seat cushion , and a telescoping steering wheel.
With a different tranny, I imagine the car will get4- miles mpg better and make better use of seems to be a good and strong enough engine.
Instrument cluster could be a little more legible and bright as well.
I felt very good about the handling and compliant ride at all times during the trip.
With the stated suggested improvements, I'd consider owning one. Otherwise, no....read morehide

Pros

Great handling, decent power, VDC.

Cons

Stereo system needs improvement.

Purchased As New

This is my third Subaru, but my first one purchased new and could not be happier. My girlfriend bought a new soobe before me about four months ago. While she was searching we went to Toyota, Suzuki, and Mazda dealerships (prius, mazda3, SX4). After test driving all three models the Mazda 3 hatchback was the front runner. The prius was cheap and cheaply made and suzuki was like a mini rollerskate. Finally we went to subaru where she fell in love with the Impreza Outback Sport. This was loaded with extras and styling demands attention.

As for me, I know a subaru's worth and bought the base Impreza 2.5i sedan, dark metallic grey. Anyone who is looking for a reliable car should at least test drive a subaru before making any decision....read morehide

Pros

Amazing handling, very quick & peppy, very fun car to drive! I love it!

Cons

Not many: gear ratio is a bit large with auto-transmission

Purchased As New

I love this car!!! My first Subaru, and I'm very happy with it. I got the 2008 (first year of new design), just the base Sedan model, auto-trans. I compared to others in its class: Mazda3, Civic, Corolla, Rabbit -- and I found the Impreza to be superior overall -- and a really fun car to drive. The AWD gives amazing handling, hugs the corners, great traction in both rain and snow (and I live in the north!). I don't think I can go back to 2-wheel drive now. With 170 hp on this base model, I find it very quick, and very peppy (i.e., great torque), great for passing and cruising at speed on the highway. I like the new body design -- some don't seem to like it, but I do! I find it a very comfortable ride, seats give good support, especially during hard cornering. Also, compared to others in its class, I found the Impreza had the least road noise (a nice thing for an economy car) -- (FYI, to me, the Civic was worst in road noise, surprisingly and annoyingly loud....). You get a lot of car for the buck, and I think it's the best in its class! I give it a BIG THUMBS UP!!! After my lease is up, I'm sold, I'll get another Impreza....read morehide

Pros

Full-time AWD makes car amazingly safe and fun to drive. Great brakes, stereo, powerful engine.

Cons

Would like a higher front passenger seat, optional sedan trunk liner, and rear windshield wiper.

Purchased As New

So many of my friends have had wonderful 10+ year experiences with their Subaru Foresters...but when I was looking for a used one, a fantastic deal came up on a Subaru Impreza demo...and I couldn't be happier!
To be honest, I have been surprised how good the gas mileage is -- when I don't have the heater or air conditioning on, about 27 mpg city/34 mpg U.S. (approximately 8 liters per 100 km city/6.8 liters per 100 km highway Canadian, I believe.)
The full-time AWD makes the Impreza grab the road as if it has claws, without slowing its speed. The acceleration is powerful, the brakes are amazing, and the car's cornering abilities turn mountain driving -- which face it, can be rather gnarly at times -- into a fun experience. Some people seem to have issues with the stereo, but I have a pretty good ear, and I love it.
After last winter's experiences on our icy, snowy western side of the Rocky Mountains, I was really glad that I had immediately added excellent winter tires -- hey, this car deserves to be met halfway! I would also recommend the optional fog lights -- key if you are ever going to be driving a poorly lit two-lane road in a snowstorm.
It's intriguing that some of the consumer reviewers have added rear sway bars to their Imprezas. Perhaps it's a good idea for extremely sporty drivers, but around here -- where you will hit either a moose or a mountainside if you're driving that fast -- the stock suspension works just great; people say the car's ride is very comfortable.
The sedan's back seat fits three large people easily, the sedan pass-through works great for skis, and the ability to lay the back seat flat really helps for occasional cargo hauls. That being said, a person with an extremely rural lifestyle who needs room for hay bales, or a large dog, might consider paying the extra $1000 or so to get the wagon version of the Impreza. Both versions look great, IMHO.
I am very much enjoying all the available power in this car -- who needs a turbo? even at 70 mph, there is obviously lots of room left in the engine for people who want to drive faster than I do -- and I feel this may be partly because I have a 5M, standard shift model. So, I would definitely recommend it, unless you adore automatics.
Because my previous car, a 1987 Toyota Tercel 4WD wagon, lasted 22 happy years due to its first owner having undercoated it, I immediately invested in that, with hopes of similar long-lasting results! Some consumer magazines say that undercoating is no longer necessary, but I am not sure their writers/editors live in the Pacific Northwest or Rocky Mountain regions, where cars sometimes go for months without ever really drying out.
Overall, I am extremely pleased that I could find such a fun-to-drive, safe car, with AWD, for such a reasonable price. And I was amazed to discover -- after I signed the papers -- that Subaru included a 3-year Roadside Assistance package in the deal! Overall, a great experience, so far....read morehide

Pros

engine, value, interior space, four wheel drive, good balance

Cons

interior blasticy, sound system not bad but basic

Purchased As New

I was originally buying a mazda 3 but quicklly ran to a subaru dealership and bought it. There is nothing wrong about this car over all. the ride quallity is good with a smooth boxer engine kept me ammused.

Pros

Power, ride, and AWD

Cons

Stereo could be a little better.

Purchased As New

I've owned 11 cars in 19 ys of driving and this is one of the best vehicles I have driven. It has a smooth ride and more low end torque than the other cars in its class. The suspension is a little loose for my taste, but then again there is the WRX. All in all a fun car to drive back and forth to work....read morehide

Pros

Agility in snow,comfort,price,performance

Cons

punk haters who dont even own the car but submit a review

Purchased As New

Paid 16500 prem pkg,averaged 32 mpg on a 3k mile road trip,one negative is the windows fog too much!!! The vdc in snow is amazing. Headroom and seats at this price point are very nice.