But the compact Impreza lineup has been problematic. Excluding the WRX, which Subaru now treats as a completely separate program, there were always some things that wound up in the "reasons to consider another brand" column: dowdy driving dynamics and enjoyment, cut-rate interior feel or quality, and subpar infotainment options and navigation. Having fabulous AWD tech and good safety isn't nearly enough.

The 2017 Subaru Impreza is the first model produced on the Subaru Global Architecture platform, which will be used for all future models. If other models, including the coming three-row Tribeca replacement, show this much improvement, then the Impreza may become one of the more coveted compact cars.

Making leaps forward in driving feel, handling, interior space, and infotainment capability, Subaru has learned that if an automaker wants to keep growing, it has to pay attention to the whole car.

Over the road, the Impreza feels really solid, and that's not because it's substantially heavier. Subaru says that despite all the added steel for safety and structural rigidity (it's 70 percent more rigid than the 2016), it weighs within 100 pounds of the fourth-generation Impreza. It felt planted but more comfortable over ramplike freeway expansion joints and broken pavement than Motor Trend's long-term 2016 Outback, which sometimes overly softens such imperfections.

That same added steel helps safety, too. Subaru says crash energy absorption is increased 40 percent versus the 2016 Impreza. The outgoing models were TSP+ picks when equipped with EyeSight.

The steering feel is a big improvement. The new 13:1 ratio (down from 16:1) combined with the Limited trim's 17-inch wheels and some small adjustments aimed at reducing the delay between input and action results in a more responsive feel from the last-gen Impreza. Together with the control-arm suspension, which mounts a rear stabilizer bar directly to the body, it creates a car that responds quickly, tracks well, and gives a driver plenty of confidence on the mostly empty mountain roads east of San Diego and close to the border where Subaru took us to drive these Imprezas. Subaru says body roll is reduced by 50 percent.

2017 Subaru Impreza 20i Sport 5 Door front three quarters 02

Subaru's benchmarking indicated the previous Impreza's handling lagged badly behind the Audi A3, Ford Focus, Mazda3, and Honda Civic. By their estimation, it now surpasses the current models of those cars. We'll have to wait for direct comparisons, but we can easily say that handling and comfort has been drastically improved.

Visibility is good, thanks to smaller pillars and side-view mirrors that are farther back on the door to allow better viewing out of the quarter-windows up front.

There will be some who will say that the 2017 Subaru Impreza's 2.0i four-cylinder boxer engine, which now has direct injection and gets a 3 percent bump in horsepower to 152 and 145 lb-ft of torque, is underpowered.

But this engine combined with this CVT seemed to be able to handle most situations we threw at it. It would have struggled trying to overtake cars uphill, which is a situation one doesn't really run into that often. But in everyday driving, one would never consider this car to be frustratingly slow like a Crosstrek or a Honda HR-V. Throttle tip-in, sometimes an issue with Subaru, was gracefully linear and easy to control here.

In an everyday small car, the goal is to have a balance of power and efficiency. Decent numbers make up for whatever power could be considered as lacking. The sedan is rated at 28/38/32 mpg city/highway/combined with the CVT.

As soon as you sit in a $28,760 Limited, including $3,845 in options, you notice that it's a step up from previous Imprezas. It has leather and soft-touch surfaces in lots of places. It was easy to find a good seating position with the power seat, but we'd wish for eight-way seats so we could adjust the thigh support/angle of the front of the seat separately.

The arrangement of the displays is logical and not overly fussy. Expected information such as speed and trip data resides in the display between the gauges. The color multifunction display shows the functioning of the EyeSight safety system and similar information, and the 8.0-inch touchscreen handles all the Infotainment controls and the Apple CarPlay setup.

And speaking of infotainment, it's hard to overstate what a big leap forward this system is for Subaru. It was intuitive, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto make using the system as simple as using your smartphone. Those who looked at Subarus but shied away because of outdated, limited-capability systems compared to the Chevrolets and Hyundais of the world can no longer dismiss Impreza for that reason.