2019 Subaru Impreza GK 5MT: Regular Car Reviews 

this is gonna be someone's first car 15-20 years from now, it may not look much but it's a kinda car that you have best memories with

Normal handbrake in 2019?! Good job Subaru.

The best thing about these cars is the oil filter placement 11/10

Black unpainted mirrors, blanked off fog ports and a 5-speed in 2019?! Good lord it really is a 90s car.

Its red and its AWD means its the new Evo

Friendship ended with EJ25 Now FB20 is my best friend.

You did a pretty accurate impression of how all of reddit reacts to anything

Reminds me of the Fit. Not advertised at all, but it can have a manual, even in 2019. Plus it's teeny.

Forester suspension on an Impreza. It's called the Crosstrek.

Some days I really feel like I'm the EJ-25.

When i was a kid impreza's were for going out for a drive in a blizzard. You could lose control and hit a snow bank than the car would pull it's self out.

Dude, I live in portlandia (for real) and I just came home from the dealership in my new 2019 Impreza. With a manual. And you just convinced me I made a good decision.

This is the most unashamedly appreciative vid on RU-vid for this version of the Impreza for what it is. Regular Cars forever

Everyone: 2020 Toyota Supra Mr regular: here a car with a manual edit: Thanks for 1K🤘

Okay, now this is epic. 4am video time baby.

Mr Regular being weird again.. *Perfect!*

Dear Special K, Your dehydrated strawberry to cardboard ratio is way off!!

3:49 to 4:22 was that basically your high school years , it’s sounds awesome

"the kid you actually want to protect" HAHAHAH

Mr. Regular reviews real Regular car

The shittier the car, the more fun it will be. That's how it goes these days. Also, Crosstrek is the new Forester mk1.

Okay but low key, the song at the end hits me right in the feels 🙌 I'm skeptical about the whole "the gasket issues are solved, no more crazy engine overhauls!" But I guess time will tell. If it works, then it'll be no contest. AWD cheap reliable sedan? *Key word reliable, aka no ringland*

that blinker is still blinking till this day

The EJ22 is still one of my favorite engines of all time. This is also one of my fav RCR reviews to date. Thanks!

Man, watching anything with an Impreza just makes me miss the Evo. Mitsubishi, please, if all you're going to sell is mediocre crossovers, do it in China.

Wait, this dude's gonna be 38?!?!

Coming from a daily WRX STi owner. High praise!

"Licence turned into a pumpkin" Best quote of the day.

"Parasitic" hydraulic steering Also known as the last form of power steering that will ever give any resemblance of genuine feel off the road.

Some kid is gonna buy this and air it out, put it on some aodhans, with a chassis mount wing, and a knockoff rocket bunny kit.

04:59 "Yo, you want a WRX?" "Dude, this is REGULAR car reviews."

I have a 2015 in automatic. Loved taking it out during snowstorms and just mashing the pedal and sliding around parking lots and sharp turns. the hatch is long enough for me to sleep in (I'm 5' 11") and i was able to fit everything i owned in it to drive 1,600 miles out to texas. it's wierd not seeing subarus everywhere

Holy shit a Roman outro I actually rewinded for.

*Dear, Ford.* *Thank you for not competing with us in the coupe and sedan markets. We've seen no drop in sales. Probably because we don't push SAVs as the only thing worth driving.* *Regards,* *BMW*

I can hear the fun you had with this thing in your voice. It really shows. Wonderful review!

It’s just mind boggling that the Subaru Crosstrek gets a new 6 speed manual, whilst the current Subaru Impreza still has the decades old 5 speed shifter. Actually test drive both and you’ll realize why their 6 speed is better. Honda’s been using 6 speeds on some of their manual transmission cars since the late 90’s.

"the ej22 was the engine you had if you had a beater subie in the 90's" nervously laughs as I drive my '99 outback sport with the ej22 in 2019.

I just recently got a 2020 Impreza sport hatch with a 5 speed and I absolutely adore it. I don’t expect I’ll ever get rid of it.

Hearing you gush about Subaurus, a video thats under 10 mins, wonderful. What a refreshing way to start my day.

This is the best review in a long, long time. Just great to c a 2019 manual car.

EJ25 still exists in 1 car, the USDM WRX STi

You have the same 2004 Forester I do. Love that car to bits. Spot on with that whistling noise (really loud on the highway especially)

Unironically your best video this year, top 5 all time.

I have a red 2017 Impreza hatch, next trim up and CVT, but I am still so glad you like this car! It was benchmarked on the Mazda3, which I think really shows when you throw it around.

I just test drove a manual crosstrek the other day, so the rev hanging was something I wasn't expecting. I do however like the feel of the manual overall.

I want Base model 1995: roll up windows,cassette player, hubcaps perfect 😙👍🏼 2019: backup camera, power locks, 17in rims ,sunroof,etc. 🤷🏽‍♂️

I love this car so much. Its my first manual whip and im loving how forgiving and smooth it is.

Thank you RCR. You just made my morning.

5MT '19 Imreza? That's why I'm here, love you RCR. Might be too similar but perhaps a review of the 6MT Crosstrek?

I want a 90's interior package! Just AM/FM/CD, Cruise Control, and AC. Don't need all that other crap (yes, I know some of it ia government mandated..grrr) driving up the prices of cars.

Man, I love this channel.

I can't believe I'm just now seeing this. I bought (leased) a 2018 Base Model Impreza Hatch 5MT brand new back in 2017 because I was too poor to get a WRX and absolutely loved it. I was in the same boat feeling like too many modern cars had lost their soul. There were too many assists and weird things keeping you from really feeling the weird and quirky things that older cars had. When I drove that 2018, I felt like I was back in my 2001 Ford Focus 5MT , hooning it around corners and bouncing off rev limiter. Subaru got something right with the Imprezas, and I hope that it gets trickled down to the rest of their line. Great review as always.

I have a 2019 Impreza premium hatch it’s a damn good car ❤️🔥🔥 mine is pretty modified! It’s got a full straight pipe from the headers back dual exit exhaust, 93 octane tune, upgraded injectors, aem intake, injen throttle controller, crackle pop/gunshot tune, billet power blocks, and a ton of Sti cosmetic parts. Like Mr. Regular said it’s not a wrx and never will be! Right now however it makes 193 whp and does 0-60 in 6.8-7.3 seconds which is not bad at all! I’m never going to sell this car, if your hesitant GO BUY AN IMPREZA YOULL LOVE IT

I thoroughly enjoyed this review. Having owned an EJ22, a few EJ25s, and driven a 5 speed FB20D Impreza hatch, I can say that everything Mr. Regular is saying here is correct, in terms of the overall return to form for Subaru. In my personal experience: On the EJ22: '96 single port, EL manifold, SOHC that went in my car at 190,000 miles as a temporary replacement for the original EJ25D (oil starvation at 177,000 miles). Drove it to 230k, it had blown head gaskets, had been overheated 100 times (and I mean pegging the needle, puking coolant), would fill it up with coolant and oil would come up in the rad fill, and yet when I pulled it out to swap in a stand-built 25D, it still ran perfectly fine, would have started right up. I tore it down and the block was dead straight. Can't say the same for the heads though. On the EJ25D: Currently building an EJ251/25D Phase II/I frankenmotor, 11:1 compression, and if I can find a set, JDM EJ20D NA cams and valvesprings which are 1mm larger, good for 7500 RPM, but peak power at 6500 RPM, which is the factory 25D redline. So it will make roughly 200 crank horsepower before tuning, and will make power everywhere from 2800 or so to 6500 RPM. With the 3.90 FD 5 speed (99-01 Impreza 2.2 trans and rear in a '99 Legacy), the end result is an angry freight train on the highway that's geared for 160 mph. Curb weight is 3100 lbs. On the FB20D: exactly correct. Nice, peppy, but not fast, very characteristic of the EJ22. Very smooth though. The shifter is a little loose for my taste, and the knob is way too big. Side note: the EJ257 still comes stock on '19 STis. They've now fixed the ringland issues for good. Sorry for the long comment, eh

Damn, The Roman and Mr. Regular really have you feeling a certain way at 4 in the morning

I like knowing that when I wake up on Monday morning, there is a new RCR review ready to go.

Rev hang is to reduce NOx emissions, not to make a manual transmission "more approachable". EJ is still alive and well in the STi The 5mt in the impreza is a cost savings effort; it's cheaper to produce than than the 6mt in the crosstrek (same car on stilts) and the wrx.

The only Subaru I owned was a 1979 wagon with a 1700cc motor. I loved it. My car before this was a 1970 VW bug. The Subaru seemed fast. All 70 hp. I liked the spare tire on the top of the motor,

I adore Mr. Regular getting so giddy over stuff like this.

AAAAND I just bought one of these, informed in part by this video. Thanks Mr. & Roman

Mr. Regular, the rev hang is for emissions! It's so the AFR doesn't get super rich when you come off throttle quickly and end up having a bunch of unburnt fuel.

I’m Japanese and after I finished watching this video, I was like “cool, I thought Subaru never made an Impreza with 5 speed manual anymore. I should definitely search for a GK Impreza” 5min later....... *5MT not available in japan* Me irl: 0:03

I love your sense of humor!!

It’s somber-some eulogy to a bygone era and quite melancholy feelings towards age truly makes a great reflection to the car and it’s changing market audience. Great video

Im supposed to be doing a project...

Rev hang burns all the oxygen left in the intake so the exhaust gas resembles butterfly farts on the emissions test.

the FB series of engines started hitting Subaru's (at least in Australia) in 2012 where we got one of the first off the line with our 2012 Impreza hatch. The biggest plusses of the FB: timing CHAIN (no more belt) and way easier to work on with easy access to the spark plugs, oil filter, and other regularly serviced components.

song hit me right in the feels...great review though!

Come to Argentina our base model Cars are exactly what you described. Also most Cars here are european

The Impreza in its base form looks so beautiful. I want to drive one of those someday.

this is literally the car i was considering from yesterday - thanks RCR!

Regardless of all the issues with the ej25, I'm still going to love it. TBH it makes me missy first gen Forester with a manual

What you said about someone dumping money into the engine bay to make it a wrx. I played that game with my 09 Impreza for a little bit, I should bring it out to PA to have you drive. Its a stage rally car now.

Wow this is EXTREMELY accurate. Somehow you profiled someone I know perfectly.

As an old school almost 40 year old Subaru guy, I really appreciated this video :) Thanks RCR!

Sport model comes with an STI short shifter!

Still want to see you take on the last gen Town Car / Grand Marquis and the last full size Cadillacs.

I have a 19 Impreza hatch, lol yeah it’s my college car for driving across 3 states. No problems, even at 14,000 ft in Colorado. That traction control off is what got me to the best campsite at the dunes, I love it.

I like your review because it's an opinion piece rather than a spec dialog.

Me: Why the hell am i up at 5AM? Also me: NEW RCR TIME

I love me some fresh rcr content at 3am🔥🔥

I'm happy they still make these

This is the review I was looking for. 👌

I know this is Heresy but I never liked diving manual transmission cars. Never did. I just love Automatics more. But it could be I was a boat mechanic in the Navy and developed a hatred of Clutches that you will never understand.

As someone who owns a 2016 base impreza manual, I approve

just got mine today ,coming from a 2018 IS300 this thing is already more fun and has 100 hp less the gas mileage is already a plus all around good car I love it.

RegularCars lol it’s funny cause i live right down the road in the small town of Shoemakersville and i love all the Berks county references haha i’ve been to Moyer Subaru too, love the vids man keep up the good work! do a review of my 96 Ram 1500 someday!!

FB20D Swap is going to be relavent

The crosstrek suspension is swappable as that's an impreza with a lift kit.

This is why I love Mr. Regular. Reviewing fun, old-fashioned cars that true enthusiasts will appreciate instead of flashy, boring cars made for social media. Thanks for keepin' it regular! ;)

I love Subaru. I don’t know why. But this captures all those qualities that makes the cars of the brand likable and its own thing.

honestly surprised subaru still gave this a 5 speed rather than a 6 speed. most companies now are going the 6 speed route because 'fuel economy' and 'ooooouuu so many gears'. also goldie review when?

Sitting here with my puking kids, and I see a new RCR! Sweet!

I leased one last year for our nanny. It was truly a momentum car. Slow yes but it really did like to rev and wasn't terrible to drive at all. I liked it.

I want this exact car. A lot of honest goodness here.

If this were a 5 door, it would be identical to my wife's Impreza, bought in February. My take: Impressive amount of features for the price, which coincidentally makes it the least expensive new AWD car available in the US. But to say it has "a bit of rev hang" is a gross understatement. I've been driving manuals for over 20 years and I still can't consistently upshift smoothly and quickly, oftentimes neither. There are times, especially in the upper rev range, that it takes entire seconds to get the engine and trans to sync up. It ruins what would otherwise be a halfway decent drive. /rant

This car looks way better in person.

As a Subaru technician this is surreal as hell lol. Thanks Mr. Regular.

I'm happy Subaru still builds cars like this. 23 years later, my EJ22/5M is still slugging through a 100mi/day commute without complaint.

No joke, I was washing my Impreza today, and some guy came up to me, saying that he wanted to buy his son an impreza. Lmao!!🤣