Subaru Impreza STi

Subaru Impreza STi
Originally uploaded by Daniel_swe

For the high-performance versions of the Impreza, see Subaru Impreza WRX and Subaru Impreza WRX STi
For the off-road, outdoor activity version of the Impreza Sport Wagon, see Subaru Outback Sport
For the Saab-branded derivative of the Impreza, see Saab 9-2XSubaru Impreza

Manufacturer Subaru
Parent company Fuji Heavy Industries
Production 1993–present
Assembly Ōta, Gunma, Japan
Predecessor Subaru Leone/Loyale
Class Compact


The Subaru Impreza is a compact car that was first introduced by Subaru in 1993.

"Impreza" is a coined word, deriving from an originally Italian word, impresa, meaning a feat or achievement. In Polish, "Impreza" means "party", "event" or "show".

The Impreza was introduced after the popular Leone/Loyale was cancelled with the aging EA series engine. The Impreza was introduced with the popular EJ series engine found in the larger Subaru Legacy.

Compared to vehicles in a similar size class such as Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, Mitsubishi Lancer and Mazda 323, only the Impreza has always offered AWD, and as of 1996 Subaru made this feature standard equipment in some markets.

Subaru chose to continue their longstanding use of the boxer engine in the Impreza. According to Subaru, their configuration of the engine inline with the transmission minimizes body roll due to the lower center of gravity compared with the offset engines in most other vehicles. The Subaru layout is also light-weight and lends itself easily to support all-wheel-drive. The boxer design provides perfect vibration mitigation due to the fact that the movement of each piston is exactly countered by the corresponding piston in the opposing cylinder bank, eliminating the need for a counter-rotating weighted crankshaft (harmonic balancer). Torque steer is also reduced with this type of powertrain layout since the front drive shafts are of equal length.