Mentioning about Subaru Impreza, people will be thinking the sporty Impreza WRX that look of a classic sedan with a powerful turbo-charged boxer engine and the AWD. Of course, not to mention the WRC and the late Colin McRae...

The style of the new Impreza did a good job of advertising the car and having people talk about it despite high criticism and rough comments from some hardcore fans. With the signs of a new era, Subaru's new policy to go for comfort and safety over performance.

The main differences of S-GT are visible from the side and rear views, comparing to the previous model (GDA/GDB). Even though it is not easy to know the exact reasons behind such a dramatic change for a car that had always been a sedan. The result does take some time to get used to it.

Today, me and my friend visited MotorImage to test drive the Impreza S-GT 2.0 Turbo (AT) as i got the e-brochure sent to me during the launching in Malaysia last month by Paul Teh from MotorImage. He is a nice guy and been with Subaru since the days of Auto Dunia until now. So, no doubt that how well experienced he is. Further, I am a big time fans of Subaru. This is a golden opportunity to test drive this baby and personally review it in my blog.

The moment of this test drive session, the outside temperature is 35 degree celsius which is no good for a turbo-charged vehicle. So, we will see what this S-GT can show us with this newly designed powerplant.

Below are some photo snaps of the showroom unit which is black in colour.

However, for test drive and media review purposes. MotorImage got us a S-GT test unit which newly brought back from AsianAuto for Media Review. I am lucky enough today that I could take this opportunity as next reviewer. Paul arranged the car for us to test drive and place it outside of MotorImage Showroom.

Stepping into the ride...

There are quite a lot of changes as well, the interior reminded me a bit of the look of Toyota Caldina. Especially due to the overall quality feel of the materials. The design is clean and nice, featuring soft colors and absolutely no S-GT logo or any other signs of sportivity whatsoever. The thing is that the Subaru Impreza S-GT is a family car! The new Impreza benefits from the spacious interiors and having generous legroom inside the vehicle which is good for long distance rides.

The ride is quiet, smooth, comfortable and coupled with responsive handling. The steering wheel is light and responsive.

During my test drive session, i accidentally hit 2 small potholes at Sri Hartamas and amazingly i hardly feel it. I would say that the suspension setup is softer comparing to the previous model. I putting the car with hard corner, this baby still maintain the comfort level for all occupants and the road holding ability maintain superb. You will still feel the grip on the road!

Personally, the G-force that generate from this S-GT is lower comparing to the previous model of WRX. Thanks to the new double wishbone design in the rear suspension. This achieve optimal balance of high handling performance, good ride quality and low road noise.

The Impreza S-GT that currently offer by MotorImage is a JDM spec which having 180km/h speed limiter. Hence, you will notice the speedometer showing the top speed of 180km/h only. Of course, you can remove the speed limiter by placing a after-market speed cut module but this void the warranty for sure.

This Impreza S-GT is factory fitted with Twin Scroll Turbine on the 2.0 turbocharged horizontally-opposed engine (boxer engine). With the benefits of twin scroll turbine, the engine doesn't feel much turbo lag and responsive at all range of RPMs. This baby takes you 0-100km/h under 8 seconds with the auto gearbox.







The S-GT is easy to operate and fuel efficient. The auto transmission of this S-GT is known as SPORTSHIFT, and designed by Prodrive Ltd. It is not a normal 4 speed auto transmission, but design for versatile gear change to suit all-driving conditions hence it is very responsive as well.

The automatic transmission offers a semi-auto mode (+ -), making sporty, stable driving possible which allows the driver to fully exploit the SPORTSHIFT system.



An Info-ECO indicator lamp lights up on the meter panel when the car is running in fuel economy mode. This ensure the driver able to maintain the driving style at the most economical and squeeze the max mileage from every tank of fuel.

Clarion HU that come standard together.

Impreza S-GT 2.0 (AT) Specification:-

• DOHC 16-vales AVCS turbocharged intercooled engine
  • Max output: 250PS @ 6000rpm
  • Max torque: 333Nm @ 2400rpm
• Double wishbone type independent suspension
• Disc brakes (Front & Rear), ABS with EBD
• Auto climate Air-conditioning system
• Remote Keyless Entry
• Multi information display (e.g. avg fuel consumption)
• Bucket seats, 60/40 Split fold rear seats
• Electric remote-controlled door mirror
• HID headlamps
• LED rear combination lamps
• Roof spoiler with LED brake lamp
• SRS Dual Front Airbags
• 17" Sports Rim
• Cruise Control
• Isofix
• Clarion Headunit