Spy Photos: 2012 Subaru Impreza Front and Rear

not a fan of the wheel arches, you need 22" wheels just to make them look proportional

@ ethanp71

those are obviously only test wheel/tires.
Front looks Hyundai-ish.
I think 06-07 were great styling years. 2011 is good too but they need to go back to the smaller less mainstream look

I agree, its sorta Saturn Ion lookin. The headlights also look very GM Cobalt esque.

Boring again! Why can't Subaru just come out with one great-looking design? I'm a huuuuge Subaru fan and I'm on my fourth one but I have been dissapointed with all of their newer designs.

Although something tells me this isn't a complete car...

I second the Saturn Ion comment. Is that an X1 I spy behind it? Interesting how the passenger compartment has more in common with the crossover behind it (wide cab and flat sided) than it does with a typical car (narrower with a noticeable angle)...

Taillights of a Honda City?

That front end is ummmmm... not good. Especially where the hood attempts to meet the headlights and grille. That gap is wide enough to supplement the engine cooling with more air. At first I thought maybe the hood just wasn't closed all the way. But the gap down the fender line doesn't look like it has much room to 'give' and the panels line up -- which leads me to believe that it really might be the actual shut line. I'll admit it's just a preliminary assessment but I will still reiterate: not good. I'd still give the front down marks even if the gap improves.

And those wheels/tires! The fender area above the tires extends so far that the wheel/tire combo looks puny. The flares don't help; they actually hurt. It might look good on the inevitable WRX variants which will have larger wheels, but it doesn't work on the base 2.0/2.5 models.

The car does semm rather Cruze-like in some ways: general silhouette, window line (excluding GM's triangle extension on the C-pillar), and the way the headlights wrap up into fender tops. But GM did the detail work far better (there's something I didn't think I'd ever say -- times change). The Cruze looks more complete. Subaru tried some things here that individually might have been OK but somehow things don't come together well in the final package. It looks like it's 75% done.

I'm still disappointed after seeing the concept. This looks too bland. Hopefully it will be a great driver and have decent interior materials.

yikes, it's worse than I thought.

Looks like something Kia of the past would have made.

Not impressed, Suburu needs to stop trying to be mainstream and go back to being Subaru.

SCREWED.
the pooch.
AGAIN!!!

*groan*

Three words: HIRE.NEW.DESIGNER. (add a fourth) NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry, the Cruz is 1000x better looking than what I am seeing in those pictures.

In their entire history Subaru hasn't produced a great design; why would they start now?

Although, the current Impreza 5-door isn't too bad, except for the front fascia. This, however, is not much of an improvement in that regard.

Yet again, I'm soo disappointed... This is farewell.
I'm going to get a real sporty car, a SEAT Leon.
Too bad, after having 2 Imprezas, every new model just disappoints me even more.

I think it's unfortunately really ugly.

That is not good at all, man.

Looks like a small Legacy to me. *shrug*

Looks heavy.

The furrowed headlights remind me of the Cruze. So does the profile. Nondescript. But aside from the previous Legacy/Outback I haven't thought any of Subaru's designs have been that great. AWD sells 'em.

Great!!!

Honda Accord sedan tail lamps and Chevrolet Cruze head lamps....

Not a good thing!!!!

Come on Subaru fire your design team already!

Failed.

Disappointing design with elements that just don't work. Not surprised after we got a profile picture a few days ago. If I was a Subaru fan, this car wuold be a huge disappointment.

the character line from the front door to the front fender looks mazda3ish to me. agree with the saturn ion windows, too. the best any subaru fan (clearly not me) could hope for is that it looks better in person (like an XJ or an M56).

nah, nevermind.

It really does look like an Ion roof and window line with Cobalt headlights and a Cruze front and profile. The back looks like a Subaru and is OK, in my opinion.

Okay, everyone take a deep breath and relax... Here's the deal:

• The camera lens used in the spy shot was a 500 mm telephoto lens.* That's a very powerful lens, and really compresses the image making the car look squat, fat and short.

• It was a base trim model (dull!) with steel wheels.

• It was black car on a miserable rainy and depressing day when those shots were taken.

• The setting in which the car was photographed was downright ugly (industrial, trucks, etc.)

They really couldn't have picked a worse day, situation, or a duller model to shoot if they tried. So yeah, the car comes off looking pretty bad.

* = data from image says focal length 500 , shutter speed 1/600 canon 50D

Let's wait until we see some better images, or better still, see it in person before passing judgement.

I'm tempted to give serious thought to picking up a 2011 WRX while I still have the chance; hopefully we'll hear something about the new WRX drivetrain soon.

It'll do!

Front end looks like that of the Elantra. Check it out:

http://www.carsendse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2011-Hyundai-Elantra-Front-View-525x515.jpg

Front end looks like that of the Elantra. Check it out:

http://www.carsendse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2011-Hyundai-Elantra-Front-View-525x515.jpg

The X1 is making the dealer rounds now up here (GWN). It's already on billboards, so I guess it's available right now. BMW.ca has it on the website, and it bases at 38,500$, about 1,500$ less than the 1st-gen X3 in 2010.

Rear end blows. Subaru just had to do something to make the car odd.

WOW

looks like a Tucson....yes a Hyundai Tucson

and the rear end just has no inspiration at all.

at least the 08-11 was different, even if it was mostly regarded as ugly. This is just zzzzzzzz

I think that 36 mpg and AWD trump the bland styling.

I am hoping that rsholland is correct.

If the Impreza gets the 36 mpg highway with the automatic (CVT?) and only 27 or 28 or 29 with the manual transmission, I am going to be very upset.
The current Legacy gets 31 highway with the CVT, but only 27 with the SIX speed manual-- an improvement of ZERO over the previous modedl with the FIVE speed manual.

It is not just the designers who are screwing up here.

Overall, it is a good looking car and my opinion now of it compared to when I saw the profile is better. There definately is a big change in the overall look of the car and it seems alot less conservative than it was. WRX versions are going to look great as is the 5-door version without a doubt. Still, there is a hint of GM in the look....and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The only thing that worries me is the addition of that smallish sounding 2.0 Boxer with just 146hp. I hope that doesn't end up being the only engine option in the lower line versions and I don't remember any mention of 6-speed manual and automatic transmissions.....I'd still buy the car even with a 5-speed though.

"In their entire history Subaru hasn't produced a great design; why would they start now?"

If by great you mean beautiful then you're right. However Suburus were alway interesting, quirky, different, clever, ... whatever word suits best.

They didn't appeal to everyone but that was one of the things that made them special. I for one like cars that are different, not toned down to appeal to the general masses.

The world has Corollas for them.

It's nice in some ways. It seems to have a higher body profile than the previous model, which fits in with the trend of downsizing big cars and raising small cars; closer to the middle. In some ways, it is not as nice as the departing model, which has more streamlined european urban car looks and grace. This new Impreza obviously shares its design with the Legacy, and it seems to have taken cures from the Toyota Corolla. It think it's simply a matter of personal preference with regard to whether or not the new design is better than the previous. I prefer the previous; however, I can see the value of the new, as it seem more mainstream, which might be a preference for some. I drove a mediocre, plain minivan for a few years. Although it was not exciting, I appreciated, at times, driving a car that allowed me to blend in. I typically have cars that stand out and get looks around town. My wife called the minivan our spy car. This new Impreza looks like it could be a good spy car. The engine being downsized to lower HP and tourque might be why the MPG is improving, but I would cerainly not want less power than the current model; I would want more. But then, I'm sure the turbo version will provide plenty of power for those who think this mediocre new design is worthy of having performance underpinnings.

Yeah, It's the entry level version of compact sedan. They've always favored engineering over styling.
Still will have alot more personality than most eco-boxes.
More importantly though, I want to know whats parked behind it????
Outback Sport version? Or something else? hmmmm

The front looks like the previous gen legacy gt which I like. The rear end looks very strange, the proportions seem a bit off. Now I've liked all previous Suburu designs but this seems so generic. Like stated before the angles of the shots are bad and it does have really crappy tires and it is raining. I think this car will look alot better in higher trims. The 2010 WRX I used to drive just looks alot better than this and previous editions looked even better than the version I had. The old bugeye was so ugly it was cool. This is just plain ugly. For the record I traded in my 2010 WRX for a 2011 C300. I guess even a die hard Subaru fan wanted something that "looks" nice.

I can't wait to see the WRX and STI version of this (if the STI is still made)

@ericzs: People above your comment are saying it's a BMW X1. It seems to look like one (it's definitely a BMW, check the center of the rims in the last picture.

looks horrible

what was wrong with their concept car?

I think I just threw up a little.
The car is ugly and the lines are ugly.
what happened to their concept car? This one looks NOTHING like it

It looks "cheap" in the same way the current Forrester does. Upper trim levels hide it a little with leather, electronic toys, fog lights, nicer wheels, etc, but it is apparent in the basic models. For some reason where the window frame meets the body gives it away, like they couldn't bother(afford) to design some extra trim to make it a smooth cohesive transition.

The front looks like the last generation legacy which means this is not the actual vehicle which is why there's no camoflauge on it I think it will look like a mini legacy/outback which is out now

It will look decent in full STI trim.