The current body style is starting to get old now. Its to be expected to see a decline in sales this late into the design.
You can read reviews from 15 years ago, and their biggest criticism is the car is fuddy duddy. Obviously that is the
primary reason the exact same body as a Crosstrek outsells the Impreza by 5 to 1.
I do think a bump in power would help the Impreza. Especially if we can get more power and better fuel economy (like the Crosstrek experienced).
Every review you read of the Impreza, from Consumer Reports and on, says that the Impreza delivers AWD with a reasonable power for the best price in America. It also has the best fuel economy for AWD and naturally aspirated non hubrid vehicle in America. For people who don't like CVT they maintain the 5MT.
But sales are dropping like a stone. Since the 2023 model year also has no changes, we can expect sales to go even lower. The high priced gasoline seems to have no effect. The bottom line is the
- 2023 Crosstrek Sport costs $3105 more than the 2023 Impreza 5 Door Sport with CVT,
- 2023 Crosstrek Limited costs $2305 more than the 2023 Impreza 5 Door Limited.
A big factor (but not the only one) is the extra 30 hp.
But one huge factor is no matter how similar they look to us, the EPA classifies the Impreza as a car and the Crosstrek as a type of light truck.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for light trucks are 26% lower than for cars. In four years they are both going to increase but light trucks will be 29% lower than for cars. Going from the 2.0L to 2.5L naturally aspirated engine makes a relatively small decrease in fuel economy compared to going from a 2.5L naturally aspirated to a 2.4L turbocharged engine. However, it is possible it is just enough to mess up CAFE requirements for the Impreza. Only Subaru has that data.
It is even possible that the 20% increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements for passenger cars are severe enough that Subaru will simply discontinue making all cars in four years. I'm talking about the Legacy, Impreza, WRX, and BRZ. They are a relatively small percentage of the Subaru business, and it will be much easier to stay in compliance with just SUVs and EVs. For 2022 percent of Subaru US sales for cars are:
5.4% | Impreza |
4.6% | Legacy |
2.9% | WRX |
0.6% | BRZ |
The CAFE standards for SUVs are much lower and they will only increase by 15% over the next four years. I think in order to do that Subaru will still need a new halo vehicle, but it will have to be an EV. They are talking about an electric STI.