And, whether you’re a sporty driver or Maud Flanders, you’ll love what they’ve done with the ride and handling. As has been the case with every Impreza your writer has ever visited, comfort and agility are balanced out expertly: Impreza rides with a comfortable tautness over almost everything, it’s sporty and agile and responsive without punching occupant spinal columns over bumps, and simultaneously, it’s comfortable and laid back in the ride department without handling like a wheelbarrow full of gravy. Once again, they’ve nailed the balance here, and the light, quick and sporty steering rack makes it a good bit of fun to throw around some corners too, if you like.

You needn’t be driving on pristine roads to enjoy all of this either, because of the other recurring Impreza attribute your writer loves: the rough-road ride. Even on the nastiest surfaces, Impreza feels solid, well put together and robust not flimsy, delicate, and like its’ about to cough up a ball-joint. Many cars in this segment feel like they’re coming apart beneath you on rough roads. Impreza? Not so much.

Some winter driving notes, yes?

With a set of (absolutely excellent) Bridgestone Blizzak tires, I noted zero issues with traction, ever. Equipped thusly, the always-on AWD system gets the Impreza off the line with ease, even in deep snow, with that smug, Subaru sensation of pulling effortlessly through a greasy intersection while everyone else sits and spins and slips.

Subaru AWD doesn’t require wheels to slip before it engages, so there’s always max traction, even right from the first inch of acceleration. There’s also virtually no feeling of power being shuffled between the axles, no wasted wheelspin, and no squirming from beneath the car as various processes fine-tune the power delivered to between each wheel.

Braking and handling are similar: with the Blizzaks putting up an enormous fight before relinquishing grip, the tester’s traction and stability control systems were able to work with relatively unintrusive effectiveness in the background as needed. Pushed, or encountered with a low-traction situation, it’s a controlled and predictable udnersteer that results.

Translation?

Here’s a good machine for feeling safe and confident and well backed-up, even in weather that makes CNN bust out the dramatic music and toss captions like SNOW TERROR and ICEPOCALYPSE across the screen. With winter rubber and a smart and effective AWD system, the Impreza grips the surface beneath like a Kim Kardashian unitard.

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