Subaru is a powerhouse today. And particularly, it’s a powerhouse in the American market. In 2023, Subaru sold just shy of 1 million cars worldwide; of which 632,000 found homes in the US. Subaru has built its modern brand image on the pillars of all-wheel drive, boxer engines, practical wagon/SUV body styles, and outdoorsy ‘adventure-ready’ styling. Our featured car, a first-gen Impreza from 1996, has two of those things. But nonetheless, it’s a fascinating relic of another era, when Subaru was still finding itself and trying to nail down exactly what kind of car company it wanted to be. Mighty oak, meet acorn.
Of course, even in the 1990s, Subaru was no newcomer to the American car market. Subaru of America began selling cars in 1968, after visionary/huckster Malcolm Bricklin started hocking diminutive Subaru 360s in a market deeply unsuited for them. Quickly, though, Subaru of America began urging Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru’s parent company, to introduce vehicles more suited to American tastes, and by the mid 70s Subaru had started to make a name for itself in the US.
By the end of the decade, Subaru was well-regarded for selling small, efficient cars — particularly wagons — with unique engineering and practical bodywork, such as this 1978 DL. By and large, Subarus had either front- or four-wheel-drive way before they were commonplace in the market, and their horizontally-opposed boxer engines were smoother and more compact than the inline-4s of the era. There’s enough room in that engine bay for the spare tire and the jack! Try that with an Iron Duke.
Image credit: Subaru of America
However, Subaru’s formula wasn’t set in stone. At the time, the customer base for four-wheel-drive wagons was relatively small, so throughout the 80s, Subaru introduced new models in new market segments to see what else would stick. This gave America cars such as the sporty Subaru XT (featured above, in 1985), the subcompact Justy in 1987, and the marvelously-complex SVX grand tourer in 1992. None of these models were huge sellers, though, and the main draw of Subaru continued to be their more practical 4WD vehicles. I can’t tell you how many Subaru wagons from this era kept puttering along well into the 2000s in my cold-weather-climate hometown.
In 1993 — coincidentally Subaru of America’s 25th anniversary — the company introduced the Impreza to the United States. Featuring thoroughly-modern aero styling in contrast to the boxy Subies of the 80s, the Impreza was the replacement for the long-running Leone (GL/DL/Loyale in America) and was based on a shortened version of the Legacy platform, itself introduced three years prior. Like its predecessors, though, the new car still had a variety of boxer engines under the hood, came as either a sedan or wagon, and could be had with optional all-wheel-drive. Don’t mess with success, as they say.
The Impreza was part of Subaru’s attempt to attract young, Gen X customers who were beginning to buy their first new cars. In fine early-90s fashion, Subaru introduced the Impreza with irreverent commercials to court the grunge generation. The ‘punk rock of cars,’ indeed. Subaru did have quite a lot of success targeting a different demographic of folks with other ‘unconventional’ ads later on in the decade, but that’s a story for another time…
The coupe body style went on sale in 1995, and was specifically designed with the American market in mind. Cheap, sporty two-doors were still popular in the mid 90s, and seeing as the SVX was way out of most young peoples’ price ranges, the Impreza coupe made its debut to compete with the likes of the Toyota Paseo and Dodge Neon. Despite the rear spoiler, this Impreza is strictly a commuter car. The performance versions would come soon enough, though.
This particular Impreza has the EJ22 variant of the Subaru flat four engine, displacing 2.2 liters and producing 135 HP in its naturally-aspirated form. No turbo yet; again that would come later. As the faded badge beneath its nameplate indicates, this coupe has optional AWD — it would later become standard on all Imprezas in 1997. It’s also a true local car — Bowser is a chain of dealerships in the Pittsburgh area, and this one sports a dealer decal listing Oldsmobile, Isuzu, and Pontiac as its former lot mates. And where they have perished, Subaru has thrived. Subaru sells about five times as many cars per year now as they did when this Impreza was new. This Subie’s a grizzled survivor, just like so many other residents of this town.
Of course, the Impreza wouldn’t remain a mere commuter car for long. Right from the get go, Subaru sold a butch version of the Impreza known as the Outback Sport, to capitalize on the success of the larger car. In 2012, Subaru introduced a modern version of said off-roader known as the Crosstrek, which in the style of the Outback, is an Impreza hatchback with a lift and more aggressive styling. In SUV-crazed America, it was an instant hit, and now outsells the car it’s based on 5-1.
And who can forget the WRX? Subaru wasted no time slapping a turbo on its boxer engine and stuffing it into an AWD Impreza, creating one of the most legendary performance cars of the modern era. Along with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, the WRX was a menace in the WRC in the late 90s, and is immortalized as a dream car in the hearts and minds of anyone who played Gran Turismo.
Ironically enough, from its inception, this rally monster has been primarily a four-door car, with only a few early special edition WRXes, such as the 22B, ever coming as a coupe. Thus the two-door Impreza was largely doomed to commuter status, and Subaru dropped the Impreza coupe when the second generation of the car launched in 2000. We Yanks didn’t get the first-gen WRX, as we only got it starting in 2002 with the ‘bug-eye’ car. But ever since it’s been a staple of the vape juice-and-Red Bull crowd, and Subaru routinely moves 20,000 units each year in the states — barely less than what the plain-Jane Impreza.
Like many other cars of this age, this Impreza walks a fine line between classic and beater. It’s rare, as it’s a one-generation only body style, but it’s not a WRX, so there’s little demand for it and its two-door ilk. Though originally aimed at Gen X, now their kids are the ones snapping up 90s cars and taking them to car shows. And this Impreza also isn’t old enough to be ironically popular amongst the Radwood crowd, like an 80s Malaise-mobile would be. Stuck in limbo, just like the Impreza in recent years. The WRX and Crosstrek are big hits; the Impreza itself lingers along because it’s the basis of these popular cars. Always the acorn, never the oak.
This example is grimy and missing its hubcaps, but it’s complete. The interior looks decent enough, and there’s no obvious surface rust; a miracle after living a life in wet, salty Pennsylvania. However, its inspection is expired, so who knows what this car’s future holds. It’s been years since I’ve seen an Impreza coupe in the wild, and who knows how many of these are left. But Pennsylvanians love their Subies, and have for a lot longer than the rest of the country. So hopefully this old girl will stick around for a little while longer.
I’d almost forgotten that these were available as a 2-door here. I wonder if it was sold in Japan even? Except for genuine sporty coupe variants, they they tended to shun 2-door sedans.
Given how the Impreza has come to be overshadowed by the WRX and Crosstrek, it’s almost surprising to see it still in their current line, but there it is, the wallflower. I’m not sure I’ve noticed a new/newish Impreza for a while. It’s a reflection of how the market has been evolving: basic cars are so out. Better to buy a used Crosstrek than a new Impreza.
“I wonder if it was sold in Japan even?”
It was, and it bombed. WRX versions were added at the end of 1996 in an attempt to boost sales, and even then they were handily outsold by the sedan and wagon.
Looks like a bit a “Lawrenceville”. That “Sub wagon”, pic brings back memories of youth.
This grotty beater proves a point that others have made before, which is that the most basic version of a design can sometimes prove the most visually revealing.
Notice the really-quite-dainty glasshouse that the pillarlessness creates? See, especially, that “fold” line 2/3 the way up the side of the car, which goes right around (except across the front) and gives the car a properly unique shape? They’re neither of them so obvious on posher models, where wheels and spoilers or trim interrupt the view. I say all this because from the day it was released, I thought this car had an intriguing form, and it turns out to be one that’s aged well, save for that desperately Anycar front, which looks as bland as it did upon day one.
Btw, our most basic ones had grey plastic bumpers (and no-cover steel wheels), which sure as eggs told the neighbors you really, probably, couldn’t afford that size car, and which also looked pretty turdly. Did the US get that?
I believe that in the US, even the entry-level Impreza L models had body-color bumpers and wheel covers.
Whenever I think of these I’m reminded of a friend of my sister’s who bought one of these – just like you said – as a Gen X customer buying her first new car.
She was quite proud of it – similar to our featured car here except it was green, and I remember her liking the “sporty” spoiler too. I had quite a few rides in her Impreza, and it was… acceptable. I recall it not being very refined even for a cheap 1990s car, nor the build quality being too great. But it was cheap, both in list price and with dealer discounts.
But I guess Subaru realized its fortunes didn’t lie with cheap entry-level cars.
I love the Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Isuzu dealership sticker on this car. That alone is quite a relic!
Styling, reminds me of the early ’90’s Dodge Colt/Eagle Summit. Which I found, better-looking.
I looked at a beater grade Imprezza wagon it was a Gravel express version lugged tyres the whole package was there but worn and it drove ok, it bid past my maximum for such a car,
I owned a 1999 Outback Sport. I was looking for a small wagon to replace our 1985 Civic Wagon and was offered an amazing deal on the last year model. I was not particularly interested in AWD, but I quickly became a fan in the Toronto winter. The first year I had it a tree fell on it. The damage was not severe, sort of like hail damage, but it required removing the windshield. It seems that they did not do a good job, and after 10 years the rook started to rust around the windshield, to the point of leaking. The car still made it to almost 20 years. With nothing but regular service for over 10 years . It was a 5-speed which had a torsen center differential and it was a blast in a couple of inches of snow. I did not like that they put the WRX type hood on it with a fake hood scoop and vents. I was also not a fan of the frameless windows, as they got noisy as the car got old. We replaced it with a Crosstrek that I did not like as well. No more 4 wheel drifts in the snow. The AWD was too sophisticated.
Interesting, I remember these, I’d love to see how the interior is holding up .
-Nate
My Dad bought a new ’76 Subaru DL in the same exact color as that ’78 DL wagon shown in your photo; Subaru must have gotten a volume discount on that color of paint as it seemed that most of the 70’s Subarus were that same yellow, I have a hard time imagining one in any other color. The writing on the side says “Front Wheel Drive” which my Father’s of course also was; I think there was only one AWD model (a wagon) in ’76. Front wheel drive still wasn’t too common in 1976, but we were on our 2nd tour in Vermont, and as the car was his commuter, he didn’t want to pay too much; the Rabbit and Dasher were pretty high as was the Civic; he distrusted Fiat (I had a bad experience with a 128) and didn’t like the Datsun F10, not due to its styling per se, but there was a vent on the hood that looked to him like a last minute engineering change (maybe to cool the carburator?) that he didn’t trust.
He kept the Subaru till 1980 when my sister took it over (she only had it a few more years).
No one in my family has since owned a Subaru, I was interested in when they went AWD only, didn’t know that they offered optional AWD in models like this Impreza but guessing that by the end of the decade they were probably all AWD, but not sure which year FWD ceased to be available…probably marketing had more than a little to do with the change especially for northern dwellers (my family moved to the sunbelt quite a while ago (42 years) , which probably is one reason none of us have bought a Subaru since Dad’s first one).