Battle begins in bid to fight used imports

Subaru's larger-engined and further refined WRX and STI performance heroes may be the weapons of choice in next year's Impreza range, but it's down at entry level where the battle's being fought.

The company is importing 600 special base-model 92kW 2-litre hatches and sedans in quarterly batches solely to fight used imports, says New Zealand general manager Wallis Dumper.

"It means a new car can be ordered in advance in preference to the vagaries of buying a used import," he said.

"This has to be a good thing for anyone who aspires to that distinctive new-car smell."

Pricing starts at $24,990 for the five-speed manual hatch and Dumper said the vehicle's specification includes side airbags now standard on all models except the hot STI, whose sports seats would interfere with deployment.

Meanwhile, the new mainstream 118kW 2.0R, which starts at $34,990, offers the 2-litre DOHC flat four, whereas similar Japanese domestic-spec models that may find their way to New Zealand have a 1.5-litre unit, said Dumper.

The MY06 lineup, instantly identifiable by a version of the three-piece nose first seen on the American Tribeca (due here next year), is the last hurrah for this Impreza platform that appeared in 1999 as a 2000 model.

WRX and WRX STI, the models forever linked with the World Rally Championship, will come here in an Australian specification that includes a 2.5-litre engine with similar output to the previous 2-litre, but developing 320Nm torque in the WRX, 6.6 per cent better than before.

The STI's 206kW is available at 5600rpm rather than 6400rpm. Drivability of both cars has been improved.

One of the trick features on the STI, the driver control centre differential that allows the driver to set-up the amount of oversteer or oversteer, includes a mechanical limited-slip differential that can distribute torque 41:59 front to rear rather than the previous 35:65.

And a note to enthusiasts: while Impreza's exhaust system has been redesigned to improve engine efficiency, it regains that throaty growl some had complained was missing on its predecessor.