2008 Subaru Impreza
February 8, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
The new 2008 Impreza is about 2 months of from display at the New York Motorshow. The guys at AutoExpress have managed to somehow get their hands on these photos:
Apart from the obvious changes, there is some news that in the UK the new Impreza will no longer be offered in a Sedan! What the? There is no news yet if this is also the case with the Australian delivered vehicles, but I would surely hope not!
The five-door version pictured will be around 130mm shorter and 50mm wider with a kerbweight at around 1,400kg. In the UK the STi and the WRX are set to keep the 2.0L engine, whilst in Australia we are not exactly sure if Subaru will keep the 2.5L stroker, but all logic would say that the 2.5L will remain for the Australian market. There is also some rumour that in 2009 the Diesel Boxer will be released in the impreza range.
Subaru still haven’t given us a six-speed gear box for the WRX, as the car will come with a choice of five-speed manual or six-ratio automatic transmissions (the auto is still not confirmed for Australia – I don’t believe the WRX will get the Auto as it only counted for 3% of sales in the four-speed variant).
Now to move on to the STi version. As usual the STi will come with the upgraded six-speed manual. There is set to be an update to the Driver’s Control Centre Diff (DCCD). Rumour has it that a new rear multi-link suspension set-up might be used on the Impreza.
Rest assured, the New York show will give us some definite pictures, but as far as definite go, these pics are it!
Print it: 
In a word…YES YES YES. The hot hatch has arrived. No Sedan, no loss there. I think it would look pretty good without the wing also. This is a relief considering all the latest subaru’s have being getting the seriously ugly treatment. Tribeca comes to mind :)
I think this is hideous!
as a current 2003 WRX owner, I was really hoping to swap to an 08 model later in the year, but DEAR GOD! I can’t look at it.
I surely hope we get a Sedan cause I would never swap my sedan for a hatch! If subaru don’t bring out a sedan here in Aus, I will be driving across to the road to the Mitsubishi dealer and putting an order in for a Lancer GSR or EvoX please..
I like it. It’s got something SAAB going on but it looks good and I prefer it to the current shape, which isnt bad anyway.
I was suprised at the weight. It’s no longer a ‘lightweight’ giant killer. At 1400kg it weighs more than the old VL Calais V8.
They may need to screw the boost up!
Actually Steane the current kerb weight for the WRX in the last last 5 years has been around 1415kg
so if anything, this one is lighter!
Alborz, if I was you I would be heading over the the Mitsubishi dealer no matter what the Impreza looks like.
Get yourself an EVO !!!
Yeah I know
its just hard to switch teams.
I love my Subaru, its super reliable and awesome fun to drive, I know the Evo is a better car in terms of handling and power, but no idea on reliability.. but I am sure its on par with the STis
Yep, Evo X or a MY08 STi… gonna be a hard choice come December.. mind you the Mitsubishi guys told me we are not getting the Evo X till July 2008! So if thats the case, and the STi is here around Feb or so, the STi might be the winner!
is it just me or do the tail lights look 1994 ford laser-ish? i mean this this is hideous from behind and with the hyundai excel-style massive wing there is no way this should be considered a step up from current model!
the side lines and the rear of the car look very similar to BMW 1 series.
Still gets my thumbs up…
Looks a bit more like an Audi A3/S3 to me, or even a bit Golf GTI. The rear window has a nice slope on it as apposed to the more common flat back seen on most hot hatches.
I’m with you lazybones. I like the look.
No Aliens involved with the design of this one!
Its great no more sedans will be on the road. Since I saw the WRX for the first time, I told to myself this is a car ONLY for the experts, those who really care about specialized cars, and not for those who wants to say “hey, ive got a WRX, WATCH ME!”.
Congrats to the Subaru engineers, but theyre late at these decitions.
Cheers!
The year 1999 Impreza model is still the best. A rally pedigree. It works. Form and function. Simple. With shimmering round rally spot lights that made Impreza the name it was. A cult car. Does the Porsche 911 ever change shape? no. its a cult car. No need. The spirit of the Impreza is no more. All that is lost. The legend is dead. All they can do now are fakes
What a disgrace. Subaru has completely ruined their car. What a boring piece of crap.
what a disgrace boring ugly goes like a pig and for 40 grand uve got to be joking as a subaru die hard the only way to go forward is to sack the design team the moron who actually approved the car contact pininfarina and beg for a design before the company goes bust when u have a car that has cheap interior plastics poor design old transmissions you cant expect the public not to notice the mazda3 and the golf have quality finish to their cars they feel and look expensive and they dont compete in the world rally championship they have built a car especially for the championship but have they ever thought that sebastion loeb is simply just to good wouldnt it be a shame if subaru cant win a race with this car
My 2004 WRX will be in high demand if I sell in the future.
The WRX cult car is dead, replaced with the new ford focus look alike.
What a disgrace, sack the designers SUBARU, they got it wrong!!! your drop in new car sales in Australia should be proof enough, if you don’t believe the honest feedback on the forums!