Two and a half years ago, I had a 2014 Impreza as a loaner for a week. The interior was beyond cheap on the lousy side, the ride boundy with lots of up and down jiggling, and the steering slow and artificial. It was a hatch and very, very noisy at highway speeds. Nasty.
This week I'm driving a 2016 Impreza, while Subaru, who no longer supply rear shocks for my '08 Legacy GT (good God, there's manufacturer backup for you) get in some aftermarket something or other replacement. Even with shot rear shocks, my old LGT at least tracks straight down the highway. This Impreza, a sedan, while much quieter than the '14 hatch, wanders all over the place on the highway seemingly at random, the steering is now too quick so corrections are darty and driving the dam thing is a chore. On two laners, no problem, and the ride is much better as is the interior than the '14. Then there is the driver's seat - apparently Subaru thought Westjet's economy seats are wonderful, what with a whole one inch of padding. 20 minutes and I had numb bum. Yuck. and trying to stop the driver's window on the way down, because it assumes auto down I guess, is an exercise in frustration - it just rushes back up. Useless. The engine is the usual Subaru naturally aspirated wimp. Much noise and fury after 60 kph yet not much motivation when prodded. As a whole? Uninspiring.
Frankly, the old square Chev Cruze I rented a few months ago is far superior in all ways to the Impreza as a driving machine, except for lack of AWD. Bombed around the Okanagan in that Cruze, no problem and discovered its cornering limits as it is consistent. Nice car. Great ride, quiet, sproingy steering feel but quickly adapted.
Anyway, fixing up the old LGT is worth it to me. It make both these cars seem like tin boxes. I'd say these newer '12 to '16 Imprezas are a car that needs to be driven a good half hour or more to see whether you can figure out if the thing actually suits you. Presumably the Crosstrek and WRX have the same basic seats. if they do, scratch them off my list - the seats and steering are what you really have to be happy with.