2018 Mazda 3 vs Subaru Impreza

What's the difference?

Mazda's indomitable 3 has taken on the feeling of an iPhone release - every year there's something new to add to its already-significant armoury of safety and specification. 

The 2018 Mazda3 is not a huge upgrade to the range, but there are a few little details to make Mazda's attractive small car that little bit more appealing. With two new spec levels and the nice touch of the reversing camera now being standard across the range, it looks like a quiet but measured response to Hyundai's reinvigorated i30 and the oncoming storm of the new Toyota Corolla.

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.