I recently bought a brand new 2020 Subaru Impreza hatchback. It’s the newest car I’ve ever owned; with 10 miles on the clock, the new-car smell that people love so much, and all of the perks that come with buying a new car. For example, I don’t need to worry about maintenance or any mechanical problems I may encounter. I have a warranty that takes care of all of that. It’s nice not to have to worry about these things. 

I got the manual transmission – it was a requirement for me – but despite the fact that it’s better than the automatic, the 5-speed gearbox in the Impreza is average. Gear changes aren’t always consistent, sometimes the gearshift gets in gear very smoothly, but sometimes it has a clunky feeling to it. I don’t know why. It’s also impossible to heel-and-toe, the pedal position doesn’t allow that, or my feet might be too big.

It’s relatively well-balanced and pretty predictable when you push it. It’s comfortable and civilized but, to be honest, that’s just a respectful way of saying it’s slow. It’s not too much of a problem though, because that means I get to floor it from 1st all through 4th and still be under the speed limit, or around that. 
I still have the stock wheels and tires so, when driving through twisty roads and really pushing the car, you can definitely feel the tires roll. A new set of aftermarket wheels and tires would considerably improve the performance of the car on twisties. 

I use Android Car Play a lot, for navigation and music. It’s good when it works, but it doesn’t always work. Sometimes it disconnects my phone or plays music in the back speakers only. Same for the touch screen, it’s very responsive until it isn’t. Sometimes it won’t let me pause the music. I need to press five thousand times before it understands what command I’m trying to select.
It needs work.
The whole infotainment system needs work. But it’s on the right path. 
The sound quality of the speakers is alright. It lacks bass but you can play with the equalizer a bit to remedy that. The biggest complaint I have about the sound system is that the music doesn’t feel like it’s directed to me, it’s more dominant towards the centre of the car, so it feels like the volume in my right ear is a little higher than my left ear. My friends told me that’s a stupid complaint, but I feel like it’s justified; I will be the one spending the most amount of time in the car so I feel like most, if not all, of the features should be targeted to suit me, not the other people in my car. 

I had the choice between the sedan and the hatchback. I picked the hatchback because I personally think the sedan looks terrible nowadays. But the 5-door, as Subaru calls it, is not a great-looking car either. It’s bigger than previous generations and less angular. The Impreza has definitely been eating Mcdonald’s on a regular basis these past few years.   

Wintertime in Park City, Utah, was a good setting to see how the Subaru would handle snowy conditions on the all-season tires that come standard. As expected from a Subaru, It did great. Good handling, good traction, and good body control. No complaints.
Unless you’re trying to have fun.
Traction control can’t be turned off. Pressing on the button that would normally turn it off, only reduces it by 40%. So it’s always keeping an eye on you to see if you need saving. I asked the Subaru dealership if they could let me turn it off fully, but they told me they’re not legally allowed: the government is not letting me have fun, as per usual. Additionally, if I were to take it to a mechanic who knows how to let me turn the traction control off, I’d lose my warranty…
Now, that doesn’t mean it can’t go sideways, it can, trust me. But you can feel the car tell you that it’s not safe. It’s like having your grandma watch you cycle fast as a kid “Be careful honey, you might get hurt, slow down !”.
To which I answer “Don’t worry Granny, I got this.”.

I’ve owned a reasonable amount of cars for my age. Some of my favourites I bought for less than the new iPhone. Two come to mind: my 1993 Mercedes 190e and my 1991 Honda Accord. They were very different cars but they had one thing in common: they had a story to tell; a personality.
The Subaru on the other hand, is soulless. It doesn’t speak to me. It might just be because it’s new, and new cars are engineered in a way to appeal to the masses and, most importantly, they are meant to appeal to normal human beings – the ones that don’t see cars as an essential part of their life. people who just want their car to go from point A to point B, the most important part of the journey being the destination. That doesn’t suit me. I deliberately take the long way there, wherever ‘there’ is. Subaru isn’t unique in this matter, most car manufacturers suffer from this epidemic.
Times are changing and I understand that, but it still saddens me. The only way to have fun in this car is if you’re pushing your limits and the limits of the car. And that’s fun in some ways, but I do miss finding joy at low speeds. In the 190e and the Accord, it was always a pleasant experience driving to the grocery store or going to work. Old economy cars were designed in such a way that regular everyday driving was a lot more enjoyable, sadly it will never be that way now.
As I said previously, it’s a shame.
But that’s life.

Max,