Overview
The stylish Subaru Impreza is back for the 2021 to yet again impress drivers with its excellent standard equipment, high-quality interior, and nimble drivability. It continues to stand apart from competing cars with its available manual transmission, standard all-wheel drivetrain, and excellent driver-assist technology. The upgrades on the 2021 Subaru Impreza include the addition of a rear spoiler on the Sport hatchback version and a new engine performance management system called SI-Drive for the Premium trim level that specially tunes it for optimal performance.
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Impreza Sedan Trims
The Subaru Impreza, which debuted way back in 1992, has built a following as an affordable all-wheel-drive sedan with a lot of attractive attributes. With its affordable price point, excellent fuel economy, and standard Subaru Symmetrical AWD, it’s earned a lot of fans. The 2021 Impreza is made in four trim levels – base, Premium, Sport, and Limited - in both four-door Sedan and 5-Door hatchback body styles. On this page, we’ll focus on the sedan version.
As mentioned, all-wheel drive is standard on the 2021 Impreza. Its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine makes 152 hp and is paired with a five-speed manual transmission in the Base trim; a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is optional on the Base and standard on the rest. With the stickshift, the ’21 Impreza sedan gets an EPA-estimated 23 mpg around town and 31 mpg on the highway; with the CVT, it changes to 28 city/36 highway. Now, let’s look at what standard and available equipment you can get on each of the trims.
Base
The entry-level grade gets a nice slate of standard features. On the outside, it has 16-inch wheels, roof crossbar mounting points, keyless entry, and power-folding side mirrors. Inside, it gets a front USB port, a rearview camera, and a 60/40 split flat-folding rear seatback. Infotainment is handled by a 6.5-inch touchscreen that includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth (audio streaming and hands-free phone connectivity), and a four-speaker audio system. Subaru EyeSight Driver Assist is available to provide a pre-collision braking system, lane departure and sway warning, and lane keep assist.
Premium and Sport
This trim adds the EyeSight Driver Assist technology suite as standard, in addition to fog lights, automatic headlights, a windshield wiper de-icer, heated side mirrors, heated front seats, transmission paddle shifters, SI-Drive selectable drive modes, dual front USB ports, satellite and high-definition radio, a six-speaker audio system, and an on-board Wi-Fi hotspot. The Premium is also worthy of a moonroof, a sound-adjustable driver’s seat, push-button start, a PIN entry system, and blind-spot monitoring with lane change assist and rear cross-traffic alert.
This trim offers a more athletic spin on things in both its appearance and its performance. It loses the fog lights, but gets 18-inch wheels, a sport-tuned suspension, side mirrors with turn-signal indicators, side rocker spoilers, a single exhaust outlet with a stainless tip, a trunk spoiler, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, aluminum-alloy pedals, a color multifunction display, dual rear USB ports, sport cloth upholstery with red contrast stitching, and some infotainment upgrades (an 8-inch touchscreen and voice-activated navigation). The moonroof, power driver’s seat, and blind-spot monitoring with lane-change assist and rear cross-traffic alert remain optional. Buyers can also choose to upgrade to a premium eight-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.
Limited
At the top of the range, the Limited loads up on standard equipment with the power driver’s seat and a blind-spot monitor with lane change assist and rear cross-traffic alert, plus 17-inch wheels, LED steering-responsive headlights, high beam assist, reverse automatic braking, chrome door handles, leather upholstery, a rear-seat armrest with dual cupholders, and automatic climate control. The moonroof and Harman Kardon audio system are options.
Impreza Hatchback Trims
The Subaru Impreza 5-Door has all of the great characteristics of its sedan counterpart, along with a hatchback body style that many people prefer. Like all Subarus, it gets standard all-wheel drive, an assortment of modern amenities, and a comfortable cabin. The added utility and practicality of its fifth door means more space (20.8 cu. ft. of cargo volume vs. 12.3 cu. ft. of trunk volume) for carrying luggage, groceries, and other necessary items. With the rear seatbacks lowered, the Impreza 5-Door yields a fantastic 55.3 cu. ft. of cargo volume. It’s set up for optimum cargo-carrying versatility with a 60/40 split flat-folding rear seatback and two grocery bag hooks and four tie-down hooks in the cargo area.
For 2021, the Impreza 5-Door has been upgraded with Subaru’s SI-Drive engine management system. It comes in four trim levels – Base, Premium, Sport, and Limited – all of which have a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 152 hp. Let’s look at the standard and available features for each in greater detail.
Base
The base comes with a nice selection of standard features, and it’s one of two Impreza 5-Door trims that can be had with a manual transmission. Outside, it has 16-inch wheels, a rear window wiper, a roof spoiler, and keyless entry. Inside, there’s a USB port, a rearview camera display, and Subaru’s StarLink infotainment system, which has a 6.5-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming, and a four-speaker sound system. Buyers can add the optional Subaru EyeSight Driver Assist Technology bundle (pre-collision braking, pre-collision throttle management, lane departure and sway warning, and lane-keep assist) and an auto-dimming rearview mirror. With the manual, the base gets an EPA-estimated 24 mpg in the city and 31 mpg highway, and with the CVT it returns 28 city/36 highway.
Premium & Sport
The Premium adds EyeSight Driver Assist Technology as standard equipment, along with fog lights, automatic headlights, raised roof rails, a windshield wiper de-icer, heated side mirrors, SI-DRIVE selectable drive modes, heated front seats, satellite and HD radio, an onboard Wi-Fi hotspot, a six-speaker audio system, and an additional front USB port. Options include a moonroof, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, a PIN-code entry system, push-button ignition, and blind-spot detection with lane change assist and rear cross-traffic alert. This trim comes only with the CVT, and its EPA-rated fuel economy numbers are 28 city/36 highway.
This performance-enhanced version is the other trim (besides the Base) that’s eligible for a manual transmission. It drops the EyeSight Driver Assist Technology system, raised roof rails, fog lights, and SI-DRIVE system, but EyeSight and SI-DRIVE can be added back as options. Some highlights of the Sport’s standard features are the PIN-entry system, push-button start, 18-inch wheels, a sport-tuned suspension, side mirrors with integrated turn-signal indicators, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, sport cloth upholstery with red contrast stitching, aluminum-alloy pedals, dual rear USB ports, and an infotainment system with an 8-inch touchscreen and voice recognition. A moonroof, a power driver’s seat, and blind-spot detection with lane change assist and rear cross-traffic alert are available, as is a premium Harman Kardon audio system with eight speakers. The stickshift version of the Sport achieves 22 mpg city/30 highway; with the CVT it gets 27 city/35 highway.
Limited
At the top, the Limited returns the EyeSight Driver Assist Technology pack, fog lights, roof rails, and SI-DRIVE. It also has 17-inch wheels, steering-responsive LED headlights, chrome door handles, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, leather upholstery, automatic climate control, blind-spot detection with lane change assist and rear cross-traffic alert, high beam assist, and reverse automatic braking. The moonroof and Harman Kardon audio system are still optional, as is an integrated navigation system. Like the Premium, the Limited is made only with the CVT and it achieves 28 mpg city/36 mpg highway.
Standard and Optional Features
The base comes with 16-inch steel wheels, roof crossbar mounting points, cloth upholstery, 60/40-split flat-folding rear seats, and a rearview camera. The Premium adds 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, fog lights, raised roof rails and a roof spoiler for the hatchback, heated side mirrors, a windshield wiper de-icer, and heated front seats. Keyless entry/ignition and a power-adjustable driver’s seat are optional. The Sport gets the keyless entry and ignition along with 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, a trunk spoiler for the sedan, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, sport cloth upholstery with red contrast stitching, and aluminum-alloy pedals. The Limited is loaded up with the power-adjustable driver’s seat, 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, steering-responsive LED headlights, turn-signal indicators for the side mirrors, automatic climate control, a cargo area cover for the hatchback, and leather seats. A sunroof is offered for the Premium and above trims.
Infotainment and Technology
The base is set up with an infotainment system with a 6.5-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming, a USB data port, and a four-speaker audio system. The Premium adds a couple more speakers and satellite radio, while the Sport and Limited each get a voice-activated infotainment system with an 8-inch touchscreen, four USB data ports, an on-board 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, and HD radio. A premium eight-speaker Harman Kardon audio system is optional for the Sport and Limited, and the Limited is eligible for navigation.
Driver-Assistive Features
Subaru’s EyeSight Driver Assist Technology suite is available on the base and Sport hatchback, but it’s standard on the others. This advanced package consists of pre-collision braking and lane departure and sway warning with lane-keep assist. Blind-spot detection with lane-change assist and rear cross-traffic alert is available for the Premium and Sport versions, but that feature is standard on the Limited. The Limited also gets reverse automatic braking and automatic high beams.
