Subaru Impreza Wins Two Towcar Awards

Better known for its outstanding performance and roadholding, Subaru’s iconic Impreza has won two class categories in The Caravan Club’s ‘Towcar Of The Year 2007’ awards.

Facelifted for 2006 - and with a new 2.5 litre turbocharged engine - the Impreza WRX Sports Wagon beat off all challengers in both the ‘£20,000 to £25,000 Class’ and ‘AWD Under 1,800 kg Class’.

This was the 24th year of the highly-regarded competition which attracted 42 entries.

Features which appealed to experienced judges included the Impreza’s symmetrical all-wheel drive stability and traction and strong pulling power - all useful benefits to the towing community.

The trophy presentation took place this week at the RAC Club in London following gruelling towing trials at the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire.

The Subaru Impreza range now starts at £12,495 on-the-road for the new entry-level 1.5R Sports Tourer, while the winning car - the 2.5 WRX Sports Tourer - costs £20,995 OTR.

Apart from the security of symmetrical all-wheel drive which gives superb grip in all weather conditions, the judges were also impressed by the Impreza’s low-centre-of-gravity ‘boxer’ engine.

This horizontally-opposed turbocharged unit produces 230 PS and - more importantly for caravanners - 236 lb ft of torque for effortless performance and control.

When solo, the latest Impreza 2.5 WRX has outstanding performance, with a 143 mph top speed and 0-60 mph time of only 6.1 seconds.

This same engine is also fitted to the Forester 2.5 XT - a long-time favourite of The Caravan Club. In fact, the previous 2.0 litre turbocharged Forester was the overall towcar winner for 2004 and ‘Compact 4x4’ victor for 2005.

However, Subaru’s accolades do not stop there. This May the 2.5 litre engine won the ‘2006 International Engine Of The Year Award’ at the Engine Expo in Stuttgart, Germany.

The judges comprised 61 renowned motoring and technical journalists from 29 countries who appraised the ‘boxer’ engine’s performance, drivability, fuel economy and refinement.