The Subaru Impreza Sedan Concept might have been a surprise that we all saw coming – go with me on that one.

Up close Wednesday at the LA Auto Show, it was a striking idea of what the Impreza’s successor will look like next year. It’s a striking idea that we saw last month at the Tokyo Motor Show with the Impreza five-door concept. And at that, this Subaru is less groundbreaking by a mere three weeks. It sucks to be second.

Still, this Impreza Sedan Concept is a looker. The grille is in line with recent Subaru offerings, but the face is generally angrier. Perhaps that’s why the company calls them, “hawk-eye headlights.” It’s a more muscular stance than the Impreza has ever had, following a trend of more assertive-looking compact sedans and bringing a more expensive look.

Mind you, Subaru has a history of intriguing concepts resulting in fairly middle-of-the-road production cars that do little to stir up their loyal following. I, however, think their clientele could use a little stirring and hope most of this concept arrives at a showroom sometime in 2016.

It’s surprising, even if we’ve seen it before.

Photos: Zac Estrada/Carscoops

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