I've said before here....i love my Impreza. Mine is the sedan... wish I had gotten the wagon for the space but it is still awesome.

Overall cargo space I think Fit is probably better due to the flat seats when folder down. But trunk space alone...the Impreza is definitely better.

Do you care about awd? If so...Impreza.

Rear seat room? Fit....hands down

Sportier? Impreza

MPG? Fit...by far.

Safety? I am sure the Fit is fine but Subaru's are tanks. The big huge SUVs driving next to me on the roads don't scare me one tiny bit.

If I wasn't so tired on my ~27 mpg and the tiny space for passengers in the back I'd definitely go with the Impreza again (wagon/hatchback this time)

 

Thanks Evesowner. Its good to hear from someone who has owned both vehicles. Yes, the Subaru safety is pretty good, and I find their Eyesight technology very interesting. Sadly its only available on the highest trim Imprezas. Its cheaper to buy a Subaru Legacy with Eyesight than an Impreza with Eyesight tech. package!!

I would prefer the AWD for my region, but yes the lower mpg is bothering me, especially when I was considering the Prius/Prius C.

Since you have the Impreza sedan I had a question - when you fold down the rear seats is the clearance good (wide and big enough - would a single mattress go through)? My wife prefers the sedan version of Impreza over the hatchback, hence inquiring. (Though I prefer the Impreza hatchback and also really like the Fit.)

 

Doh...just to be clear I do not own a Fit yet. I've made up my mind to get one but I am set on a specific price. It might take a few weeks before I really get it.


My sedan Impreza's seats do not flat down. Plus its a 2003. So very different than the newer ones. However, I've folded down the seats at the auto show...not too flat at all when compared to the Fit. But the Fit is truly in its own league when it comes to the seats folding flat

 

oh okay ... best of luck in getting a good price. even i am trying to not rush in getting a new one soon and checking out more cars, and in the process hoping the Fit price is more negotiable if i decide in its favour.

 

I had a new Subaru Outback. It came with bad front wheel bearings, the windshield cracked, cruise control was intermittent, if I floored it I could count to three before anything happened, the generator went bad and it would sometimes run rough. I traded it in on a new 2007 Honda CRV and the Honda never had any problems. I traded the CRV for a 2015 Fit and we are very very pleased.

 

Hmm seems like you had a lemon, as I thought nowadays Subarus are as reliable as Honda. The ALG Residual Value % for the Subaru Impreza is as good as the Honda Fit according to Honda's own website (Compare Vehicles - Official Honda Web Site

 

Just pointing that fact.... I swear that story is 100% true but i swear it is the truth and i am ready to admit maybe my buddy didnt knew how to launch properly but ive betten a Subaru Impreza (stock n/a 2.5 standard) in a straight line for at least 1/8 of a mile before we had to slow down (speed limit of 55mph). Such a peppy little vehicle the Fit its amazing

 

I believe your story. Why? Everything I'd read and seen tells me that the CVT on the Fit is something special. My personal experience with CVTs outside of the Fit (I've only test driven the Fit so far) is that cars with CVT are...somewhat boring. Every review of the Fit CVT mentions surprise when it comes to the performance of the CVT since most CVTs...suck. The subaru CVT is nearly as bad as the CVT on my wife's Rogue...boring. So to hear a story of the Fit outperforming the Impreza on a short sprint doesn't surprise me too much.

 

Boooooooo!!!!! Haha learn standard!!! So much fun!

 

If you consider highway cruising at the same engine speed as a '74 Pinto fun.

 

The CVT in the fit does suck compared to a traditional automatic with decent power. They manage to hide the weak power characteristics of this engine with the CVT, but its nothing I would call sporty. A manual might be better because of the gearing, fun wise.

I just tried to put a bike, sister in laws bike, she is 5 feet tall, its a size 46cm road bike (xxs), and was unable to fit it in the vehicle with the wheels on. It would also not fit straight down one side with the front wheel off, had to be placed at an angle. That being said it did fit comfortably in the vehicle after the above orientation.

Would take a good hard look at it, drive both, and pick the gas mileage, or the fun drive. Would also take into consideration the driving characteristics. The fit is really bouncy on the freeway. If its better than the precious years then damn...
Plus the wind and engine noise.

 

True that haha but I still get better mileage than the Pinto hahaa

 

It seems the hr-v has similar cargo space to the impreza hatchback. Just that hr-v is going to take another 6 to 9 months to come. And price and mpg are still not known

 

If the AWD is important to you, Honda's doesn't come close to Subaru's. We don't know the ground clearance/snow depth either. The standard Impreza's is only about 3/4" more than a Fit's, but the XV Crosstrek's is like 3-3/4" more. Dunno where the HR-V will come in.

 

I am still debating if the AWD, is all that important. It would be nice to have it, if everything else is also equally good. It wasn't the only thing making me consider the Impreza. The lack of floor space in the Fit trunk with the seats up might not be good enough, hence the hr-v looks promising, i have some time before i make the final decision, but with delays seen in earlier Fits, I doubt i am going to wait till the hr-v deliveries actually start.

 

Where I am, we get snow about 4 ± 4 days a year with 4 ± 4 inches each event (zero inches is ice). We have good road crews that brine, salt, and plow proactively. My son has a 2009 Fit and has never missed a day of work. Neither did I with an '89 Ford Escort or a '97 Acura GS-R. In fact, we got four inches Monday and our Fit did just fine in it. Neither traction control nor VSC ever activated. Jeeps, Subarus, and CR-Vs are insanely popular here, but it just makes no sense for me to have an AWD 360 days of the year. OTOH, I wouldn't have a pickup without 4WD.

 

I just measured today- with the back seat up cargo area has width between the wheel wells of 39 1/2 inches, and it is 24 inches deep at the most narrow spots. I didn't measure height because I was measuring in order to purchase some trunk organizers that are only 10 inches tall. Hope that helps!

 

Do you know if this is fixed with 2015 Subaru 2.5 models?

I have a 2005 Subaru Forester with 80k miles and it had only 1 problem - mid exhaust pipe broke off at the seam because of rust and it was fixed under warranty. Other than that, it had no other problems.

 

I don't know... seems I recall 2015 owners with the problem. It was like a coin toss as to whether you got one with oil consumption...

You might want to follow the oil threads on subaruforester.org

 

Thanks Khuefner, your measurements tally with what Fitmo provided. The lack of cargo floor space in the Fit vs the Impreza was a bit dissapointing, but then obviously longer rear seat legroom compensates and shorter overall length compensates to a certain extent.