2018 Honda Civic vs Subaru Impreza

What's the difference?

Once a varied fleet of economical small cars, the Civic is known by most as a reliable runabout. Then, in the mid ‘00s, the GFC came.

It hit Japanese manufacturers hard. Small hatches and sedans weren’t as profitable as they once were, aspirational sporty variants (VTi-R, anyone?) were dropped, once-household names took a back seat, and from the ashes has risen an endless stream of SUVs.

For this reason, small cars are expected to deliver more than ever before, and today’s top-spec Civic VTi-LX sedan is perhaps the ultimate reflection of that. It's massive compared to its ancestors, has a focus on luxury over sportiness, and could even serve as a replacement for the large sedan long-distance tourers of old.

Stick with me as I explain.

When Subaru said its new Impreza would lay “the foundation for our future”, it sounded a lot like the usual marketing hype that accompanies the launch of any new car, even the ones destined to sink faster than Jack Dawson once they eventually go on sale. 

But the words seemed particularly hollow in this case. After all, how could the Impreza small hatch or sedan be a foundation for a future we already know will be soaked in SUVs of all shapes and sizes?

That was 12 months ago now, and a quick peek at the sales figures since show that it was anything but hype. While most manufacturers are riding the SUV wave to sales success, the Impreza is comprehensively bucking that trend, and is on track to finish 2017 as Subaru’s equal-first best seller, along with the brand’s Forester.

Clearly there’s something going on with this fifth-generation, new-platformed Impreza. So we climbed behind the wheel of the top-spec 2.0i-S sedan for a week to find out what it is.