Subaru Impreza 2026 review: 2.0S | Toyota Corolla rival tested

In a world of more and more electric car drivers are you a Subaru Impreza driver? You either know this already or might know after our quick review of the Impreza 2.0S.

Ten years ago the Impreza was one of the go-to small small cars buyers choose, along with the Hyundai i30, Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla.

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And that reminds me, opting for the Impreza represents a choice not to buy an SUV, too. 

In fact, buying one of these is showing a bit of resistance to just doing what everybody else is and that’s pretty great.

The 2026 Subaru Impreza 2.0S - the price and best features

The 2.0S is the most expensive grade in the Impreza range at $40,990, before on-road costs, which is about $7500 more than the entry-grade 2.0L.

Can I just also throw it out there that for less than $8000 more there’s the close-to-perfect-for-the-money sporty sibling to the Impreza - the entry grade Subaru WRX with the six-speed manual gearbox? 

I don’t know… you’ve come this far, knocked back an EV, snubbed SUVs… and the WRX is iconic and probably one of the best performance cars I’ve driven for the dollars. Totally up to you. Did I say it had a manual? All right, I’ll stop.

The 2.0S is good value and I think the standard features list is better than almost all its rivals with a 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, leather seats (heated up front and power driver’s), 11.6-inch media screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger, proximity unlocking, 18-inch alloy wheels and LED headlights. 

Some quality touches such as the alloy pedal trims and rear door sills with mountain motifs just reinforce the Subaru reputation for making affordable cars that (I think) are so much better than they need to be.

Driving the 2026 Subaru Impreza 2.0S

That better-than-it-needs-to-be business I’m talking about is apparent in the driving of the Impreza, too.

All-wheel drive is completely unnecessary, but the stability and traction it brings makes this a safer and more enjoyable car to drive.

Same goes for the horizontally-opposed 'boxer' engine. A very different design to its rivals' powerplants, it sits lower and improves handling.

The ride comfort is also lovely for a car at this price, and if that’s what you're looking for the WRX with its harder ride is definitely not for you.

Really, the only part letting the side down here is the continuously variable transmission (CVT) which I’ve always felt stifles a car’s ability to lock in power to its wheels and that affects the fun factor for me, big time. 

You can’t get the Impreza with a manual, unfortunately, so you’ll have to live with acceleration which isn’t bad but also not great. The Impreza’s four-cylinder engine with its 119kW and 196Nm is more than capable but, yes, the CVT clips its wings.

Even with a dull CVT I think the Impreza is a lot more fun to drive than an EV, and being a regular hatch rather than an SUV makes it so lovely to pilot with none of that wobbling raised wagons do through every roundabout and over speed bumps.

Talking of SUVs, the Impreza and the Subaru Crosstek small SUV are very closely related in almost every way apart from looks, but the engine and platform are identical. 

Even so, the Impreza is much better to drive because of its lower ride height which brings better dynamics. 

The only downsides are for those who want to sit a bit higher in traffic and the scrapping of the Impresza's surprisingly low front lip on driveways (occasionally... sorry, Subaru!).   

2026 Subaru Impreza 2.0S not so ‘impressive’ fuel economy

The 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine in the Impreza does not have a hybrid system and its 7.5L/100km official fuel consumption is looking very high in an era where large hybrid SUVs are boasting 6.0L/100km.

I saw that figure go up to an average of 16.5L/100km according to the trip computer and that’s after 177km of motorways, suburban roads and city streets.

In the Impreza’s defence this test car had not been run-in and had less than 50km on the odometer at the start of my test and fuel consumption is considerably higher in the first 1000km of a car’s life.

So, I’d expect the fuel consumption to drop a lot closer to the 7.5L/100km Subaru says you should see.   

The 2026 Subaru Impreza 2.0S from safety to servicing

This is important. The Impreza was updated with new safety features last year which helped it achieve a maximum five-star ANCAP rating in 2025. 

So, if you’re buying an Impreza make sure it was built after April 2025 as this version received the update which included traffic sign recognition to an already solid list of safety technology.

Fortunately, the safety tech is not too intrusive in terms of alerts which are currently a big source of complaints regarding new vehicles.

Standard safety features include’s Subaru 'EyeSight' camera-based system, AEB (auto emergency braking), lane keeping assistance and blind-spot warning. All of the expected safety items are covered in the Impreza.

Onto another kind of coverage, the warranty, and the Subaru Impreza is covered for five year, unlimited kilometre.

Servicing is recommended every 15,000km or 12 months. Subaru has capped price servicing for the Impreza and you can expect to pay about $2450 over five years.  

That warranty is short compared to many rivals and that service pricing - ouch! It's high.

The 2026 Subaru Impreza 2.0S practically good looking

As a prospective Impreza owner, ready to ignore what many buyers are doing in choosing an EV, you’re also picking a hatch over an SUV which is almost the default bodystyle for consumers now. I really like that individualism. 

I also like the styling of the Impreza. It’s a pretty little beastie and the new Citron Yellow Pearl paint adds to the insect-like look. You can see my little video on the paint colour, too. It’s not as rare as you might think and many brands use it in their ranges.

The Impreza is only offered in hatchback form which is better for practicality than a sedan with the rear tailgate opening wide and offering 291 litres of boot space which also happens to be the same cargo capacity of the Crosstrek SUV. That’s on the smaller side but the Impreza isn’t huge at 4490mm long.

Cabin space is good, however, and even at 189cm tall I can sit behind my driving position with legroom to spare and headroom back there is good, too.

Cabin storage is more than adequate too with big door pockets, shelves in the dash and four cupholders onboard.