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The Third Generation Turns to Five Doors
The third-generation Impreza, the first development Akihide Takeuchi led, dropped the earlier station-wagon style and changed dramatically into a stylish hatchback with a European flavor. From the discussion that what was expected of the Impreza, which had competed in the WRC since the first generation, was a car with the image of the five-door European cars at the top of motorsport, they steered toward five doors. But in the end, the biggest regret was falling behind on fuel economy. The engine and transmission were modified versions of existing units, and the automatic was still a four-speed. Making it compact gave the impression that the luggage space was small, and the parts of the interior materials that were cut back amid the strong yen and cost reductions were criticized for low quality. Takeuchi looks back that they fell far behind on the sense that even at a low price, quality must be high.
