2012 Impreza thread

[imprzya]

Originally Posted by G-Omaha

I just picked up my new Sport Limited BL2 with toms of "Eye Candy". Initial comment is: Sweeeet...

Congrats! Post up some pics!

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[Zeeper]

http://www.autoguide.com/manufacture...view-1841.html

not a rave review, apparently not everyone is as impressed as I am. Then again, I live in the hilltowns of upstate NY so the AWD is king of the hill, which isn't hard because many other cars won't make it up the hill...

I am still just breaking mine in, but here are my continued impressions (5speed sport):

• The 5 speed clutch is not nearly as stiff as my last new car with a 5speed, it is easy to drive and solid and I haven't stalled it.
• It does not coast in neutral nearly as well as my last FWD Elantra -- that is one of the AWD penalties of course
• The stereo is not great, but is completely adequate for me -- I won't be buying aftermarket speakers but I didn't expect much -- I think it was better in my last car.
• The engine/drivetrain has some very different sounds that I have to get used to. I think the boxer has a specific sound that my last car did not.
• The doors are solid/heavy and the seats are comfortable and interior space is roomy. I don't even have the seat pegged all the way back like I did in my last car which was longer than the impreza.
• I'm averaging about 27mpg on the first tank of gas, but I have no idea how much the dealers let it idle before I bought it with 9 miles on the odometer.
• My insurance went down a few dollars.
• Visibility is fantastic.
• Overall I couldn't be more pleased at this point!

[Sidewindor]

Originally Posted by imprzya

Congrats! Post up some pics!

+1 G....I wanna see them too since I am still waiting for my Sport.

[G-Omaha]

Originally Posted by imprzya

How can you tell if the car has started or not?

Blinking blue light on the remote unit.

[G-Omaha]

Originally Posted by imprzya

Congrats! Post up some pics!

I took some pictures with my iPod; however, either the unit does not take good pictures or I don't. Suspect both are the case. I'll have to wait until my son gets off work and most probably this weekend before this can be accomplished. I do intend to do this and also provide a few pictures to Joe Spitz for his to post on his site as the BL2 combinations is going to be somewhat rare. I believe that I have the first one in Nebraska.

[imprzya]

Originally Posted by G-Omaha

Blinking blue light on the remote unit.

Cool, I'm going to try starting it from my desk at work. My car is on the 4th floor of the ramp, my desk is on the 5th floor, that would rock if it worked!

[RxMPLS]

Originally Posted by grzydj

Again, the break in period literally lasts for thousands of miles. You may not see optimal fuel economy numbers until you've had the car for nearly a year... depending on how much you drive. This is very normal.

Do you have a scientific article to back this statement up?

My last Subaru was purchased new as well, and my mileage never changed.

[G-Omaha]

Originally Posted by imprzya

Cool, I'm going to try starting it from my desk at work. My car is on the 4th floor of the ramp, my desk is on the 5th floor, that would rock if it worked!

This unit is the same as that in my Wife's 2010 Outback. I can remote start that car from street level to anywhere in the 5 floor parking lot about a block away. I suspect that you will be successful.

If it starts, then just depress the button again and hold for 5 seconds and the car will turn off. Three blinking lights will indicate the "shutdown".

Tomorrow morning, if it is cold enough, I am going to see if I leave the HVAC in fully automatic that the mirror, front, and rear defroster automatically turn on (auto is a feature of the limited models). My wife's outback does this and it is a great feature that cuts out most of the scrapping.

[Benchmark]

My 07 Civic Si's gas mileage has been consistent within 5% since 07 when it was purchased new.

Originally Posted by RxMPLS

Do you have a scientific article to back this statement up?

My last Subaru was purchased new as well, and my mileage never changed.

[grzydj]

Originally Posted by RxMPLS

Do you have a scientific article to back this statement up?

My last Subaru was purchased new as well, and my mileage never changed.

Google reveals plenty of information about what happens to a new car during break in, not only to the engine, but to the transmission, brakes, bearings, hubs, joints etc.

There are a lot of brand new parts that are designed to last millions of cycles. Those same parts will slowly loosen up to specific tolerances and function fine.

I like what Motor Trend had to say about this topic a few years ago.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/e...e/viewall.html

YRMV

[Zeeper]

Originally Posted by Benchmark

My 07 Civic Si's gas mileage has been consistent within 5% since 07 when it was purchased new.

My last car had a mileage improvement of about 10% after it broke in -- it was also a 5speed but the clutch was quite stiff (I stalled it quite often until the clutch broke in) and the brakes were very grabby initially. I tracked the mileage with every fill-up and could see the improvement after the first 6 months of driving.

It is pretty hard to compare MPG's now without knowing how much time people are idling the engine (with remote starters, for example) and where they live (due the difference in gasoline mixes sold for colder areas of the country) -- but in any case do the scientific experiment yourself and see if you notice your mileage improves over time after the engine is broken in.

[elkgrovejerry]

Joined fuelly 30mpg

[BrysImpreza]

Subscribed as I'm considering a Sport Limited this spring. My biggest concern is the MPG I'm seeing, no one has broken into the normal warm-up sweet spot, but 24.5, 28? I am getting better than that on my 2004 Impreza TS, going 80 on the highway, with the ancient EJ25, 156K and 5 speed manual, I was expecting more from the 2012.

My buddies' 2012 SkyActiv Mazda 3 5 door, 6-speed auto, with sub-1K, is seeing 35-37mpg mixed city / highway. So I really hope the Impreza has a steep learning curve or I am really going to consider the Mazda and snow tires.

[Benchmark]

Originally Posted by Zeeper

My last car had a mileage improvement of about 10% after it broke in -- it was also a 5speed but the clutch was quite stiff (I stalled it quite often until the clutch broke in) and the brakes were very grabby initially. I tracked the mileage with every fill-up and could see the improvement after the first 6 months of driving.

It is pretty hard to compare MPG's now without knowing how much time people are idling the engine (with remote starters, for example) and where they live (due the difference in gasoline mixes sold for colder areas of the country) -- but in any case do the scientific experiment yourself and see if you notice your mileage improves over time after the engine is broken in.

That's correct. You cannot compare someone else's gas mileage with yours without taking into account all the variables that you mentioned. You can, however, compare it to gas mileage of your previous cars if the driving conditions are similar.

This 2012 Impreza is actually for my wife. Her other car is a 2005 Forester (non-turbo) with an EPA gas mileage estimates (based on the current standards) of 20/26/22 (city/hwy/combined) and she's actually getting 27. I guess you can say she's getting 1 mpg above EPA hwy or 5 mpg above EPA combined.

I'm driving a 2007 Civic Si with EPA estimates of 20/29/23 and I'm getting 30. I guess you can say I'm getting 1 mpg above EPA hwy or 7 mpg above EPA combined.

The Impreza has EPA estimates of 27/36/30. So what do you think my wife and I should get driving the Impreza? I'm hoping she'll get 35-37 and I'll get 37.

[Jumpem]

Originally Posted by RxMPLS

Do you have a scientific article to back this statement up?

My last Subaru was purchased new as well, and my mileage never changed.

I agree with this. My 2010 Outback CVT was getting the same mileage on the first measured tank as it is at 70k.

[53x12]

Originally Posted by G-Omaha

Not a good idea and not recommended. Expect a Check-Engine light in the near future and maybe some repairs past that point.

I disagree regarding the repairs part. I have +130k on my car and top off with no problems at all. Now if you are worried about other reasons not to, that is a different issue. But I have had zero problems.

[53x12]

Originally Posted by BrysImpreza

Subscribed as I'm considering a Sport Limited this spring. My biggest concern is the MPG I'm seeing, no one has broken into the normal warm-up sweet spot, but 24.5, 28? I am getting better than that on my 2004 Impreza TS, going 80 on the highway, with the ancient EJ25, 156K and 5 speed manual, I was expecting more from the 2012.

My buddies' 2012 SkyActiv Mazda 3 5 door, 6-speed auto, with sub-1K, is seeing 35-37mpg mixed city / highway. So I really hope the Impreza has a steep learning curve or I am really going to consider the Mazda and snow tires.

That is what I am concerned about as well as we wait for our car. Was also looking at the new Mazda3 SkyActiv but went with the Subaru for a few reasons. Hopefully it was the wise decision.

[G-Omaha]

Originally Posted by 53x12

I disagree regarding the repairs part. I have +130k on my car and top off with no problems at all. Now if you are worried about other reasons not to, that is a different issue. But I have had zero problems.

Which year car do have? I ask because there have a few changes in the evaporation systems over the years. Too much fuel causes bad things to some of the fuel system filters. Had that problem in my old T-Bird where I was anal about putting the most gas into the tank on each fill.

[G-Omaha]

Picked up my car with 8 miles on it. I now have 25 miles registered and the Gauge indicates 10.? MPG. I'll bet that will change real quick as my son is now out and about driving it. I'm looking for 30/31 MPG overall average (City/Interstate combined - hard to gauge mix). I was getting about 20/21 on my '08 OBS overall except in the winter, when we used the remote start to preheat the interior and seats.

[G-Omaha]

Originally Posted by RxMPLS

I did an online quote through USAA before placing my Impreza order; the new Impreza was about $9 more per month than my 2002 Forester. I thought that seemed fair, considering the difference in value...

Picked up my Sport Limited with a ton of accessories. USAA rate for my new car insurance is $2.15 per month less than that for the 2008 OBS that it replaced.

[subiTWO]

Break-in: it took 8 thousand miles with my '00 Outback. My Limited has finally started coasting without noticable
drag after 700 miles. Is everyone checking the oil level? NOW is the time the engine is burning the most oil, and you don't want to be low.

Mileage: The Electronic Fuel Guesstimator suggested (lied) that I was getting 33.5 mpg. The pump insisted that it
was 28.8. On my second tank (premium without that dayum alky) got me 29.9. I'm back on gasahol, and with 15
degree colder temps, expect 28ish at best. This is less than I expect, especially with the hypermiling I've been
doing. Also, for those that care, mileage really drops fast after 55 mph. It's impossible to tell with the
constantly-jumping EFG, I resorted to resetting the other mpg setting, and looking at 2-4 mile averages. Looks
like 45 mph is good for over 50 mpg.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the wacky CVT. I love it, but I'm quite surprised at how a miniscule amount of
throttle off of a stop results in very stong accel at 3500 rpm, and then at 30 mph the tranny jumps to high-gear
and 2000 rpm and barely accelerates. All without the slightest change in throttle position, while accelerating to
60. Our '12 Outback behaves exactly as expected, with lazy accel and low revs at tiny throttle opening.

I find that most fuel level segments last about 30 miles, with the first one going 50ish. With 2 segments still
showing, I've twice put in 11.6 gallons. Works out to 1.2 gallons per segment.

I have two pair of Polk Audio db 651s 6-1/2" speakers on their way, and will report in a week or so. Does anyone
know if the dash tweeter cover can just be pried off? Crutchfield doesn't list anything for that position, wanted
to see what I could rig up...

[alluringreality]

Originally Posted by abxex

Anyone have to put more than $500 down for the pre-order deposit?

I put down $1000. I figure the main risk would be if the dealer went out of business, otherwise I'm out a dollar in interest.

[subiTWO]

Originally Posted by 53x12

I disagree regarding the repairs part. I have +130k on my car and top off with no problems at all. Now if you are worried about other reasons not to, that is a different issue. But I have had zero problems.

To the readers out there- DON'T DO THIS! The evaporative recovery system will be ruined if it is exposed to raw gas.

[cpanic]

Originally Posted by subiTWO

To the readers out there- DON'T DO THIS! The evaporative recovery system will be ruined if it is exposed to raw gas.

I can vouch for this. It took 60k miles of topping off to do it, but my father ruined the evaporative recovery system on his Toyota Tundra. The check engine light came on and I believe it cost around $300 to repair it.

[A W]

Originally Posted by SleepNMnky

Didn't realize that was the norm. Will do. Been rainy & just started snowing, so not ideal pix so far.

Looking forward to your thread and maybe even a video or pictures of your remote starter? We'd love to see your range on that remote starter too.