With the death of the GSW and AllTrack, let's remember that you can still buy a manual Impreza hatch for under $19,000.

Sure, it’s a hatch and not a wagon. Sure, it’s naturally aspirated and isn’t much more powerful than a base Corolla. But, it has symmetrical AWD instead of the Haldex AWD system.

The interior does not have the “near-premium” feel of the VAGCOM products — but if you like black and cloth: boy oh boy will you like a base-model Subaru. I would rate the cargo area as “not so bad.” A medium-sized doggo has plenty of room. I would rate the 2.0i as... Slow.

The manual is available on the Sport package as well (which gives you skirts and wheels), but not the Premium nor the Limited packages.

Still, if you need to get from A to B and live with actual winters, there are worse ways to get around.