After showing the hatchback concept last month in Tokyo, Subaru unwraps a hint at the next-generation Impreza sedan today at the 2015 Los Angeles auto show.
The continually surging Japanese automaker, which is on its way to its seventh consecutive annual volume increase in the U.S., calls the concept C-car a hint at the future design language of Subaru.
Using the automaker’s dynamic and solid design language, which aims for “beauty stripped of excess,” the Impreza concept has a low and wide face with hawk-eye headlights and a hexagonal grille, “symbolizing the Subaru identity,” it says in a release ahead of today’s debut.
A character line running from the front fender through the door panels and to the rear shoulder is a key design element of the car’s profile. Dynamism comes from the line rising “energetically” toward the rear from the car’s lower door panel, Subaru says.
Extended fender flares are meant to reflect the reliability of the brand’s all-wheel-drive system, the automaker says.
The rear of the car also has a low-and-wide stance, and its combination taillights have the same appearance as the concept’s headlights.
The Impreza 4-door concept, wearing a ruby-red metallic paint, is almost 1 in. (25 mm) shorter in total length than the ’15 Impreza sedan, but the car’s wheelbase is 1 in. longer.
Height decreases 0.5 ins. (13 mm).
The concept being shown in L.A. is fitted with 19-in. wheels and tires, bigger than the biggest tires, 17-in., currently offered on the ’15 Impreza Sport and Limited grades.
No word on engine specifications for the next Impreza sedan. The ’15 model has a 148-hp 2.0L boxer 4-cyl.
The next-generation Impreza, expected next year in the U.S. as a ’17 model, is part of Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries’ midterm business plan. Dubbed Prominence 2020, the plan targets global sales volume of 1.1 million units and top levels of quality and service, while launching a new global platform and the next generation of boxer engines, all with direct injection.
Much of Subaru’s growth in the past decade has been driven by the U.S. market.
While it predicted just a 5% increase in U.S. sales this year, the brand was up 14.8% through October to 480,331 units, WardsAuto data shows.
Subaru also has seen the biggest U.S. market-share growth this year among all brands, with its slice of the light-vehicle market at 3.3% through October from 3.1% in the first 10 months of 2014.
However, the Impreza hasn’t been a huge contributor to that growth.
Unlike the way it sharply has increased volume in the small and midsize CUV sectors, Subaru remains a minor player in the U.S. C-segment.
Sales of 55,802 units through October are a fraction of the 306,693 tallied by the segment-leading Toyota Corolla.
