My dealer was fine with installing HID but it would end up costing close to 4k when everything said and done...... at that price I won't be in a hurry and will wait to see if other options come available. If the next model gets them, then you can expect to pay more also.

 

The issue is the leveling switch. In Canada you cant have manually adjustable driver controlled HID headlights. The HID's must be self-leveling. I am sure you have seen how current HID equiped cars adjust the leveling when you turn them on. So unless Subaru makes a self-leveling model for Canada only, the HID's will not be on the car.

 

Personally I don't know what the big deal is with the HID's. Sure they would be nice to have, but I for one bought the car for it's performance... not it's headlights!

 

I guess its about how the car is sold in all the other markets. No one needs HID but its just supposed to be on the car. Its part of the differentiation between the Impreza, WRX and the STi. Besides its winter here in the frozen flat lands and there is so little traction that you cant even consider adding power until at least May. Now lighting I can use because its dark when I go to work and dark when I drive home! Having halogen lights on an STi is like kissing Cindy Crawfords sisters friend! LOL.

 

The issue is the leveling switch. In Canada you cant have manually adjustable driver controlled HID headlights. The HID's must be self-leveling. I am sure you have seen how current HID equiped cars adjust the leveling when you turn them on. So unless Subaru makes a self-leveling model for Canada only, the HID's will not be on the car.

Hmmmm...

Self-levelling mechanism in HID headlamps is required in USA as per their DOT. Canadian regulations (Federal standards) are almost the same as US ones with some exceptions like the permission of European headlamps, stronger bumpers, and such. When it comes to HID's, both countries require self-levelling mechanism. European regulations allow manual adjustments - in fact, it is mandatory for all cars to have headlamp levelling mechanism over there - either manual or automatic.

I believe, in the STi's case, Subaru of Canada decided not to have their on CDN spec cars in order to keep the costs down.

 

I always assumed it was the daytime running light issue.
In the US a car doesn't have to have daytime running lights, but in Canada we do.

The HID system has no daytime running lights. I remember seeing a chart of all the Impreza models in the US, and only the STi didn't have daytime running lights.

I thought it kept a nice theme with cheap engineering by Subaru (Sorta similar to how we only get 1 heated seat, since they took the other switch and used it for the differential control - where the WRX has two heated seats with both switches used for seats). Seams like Subaru just tries the quick fix method on some things.

Like inventing an HID system with no daytime running lights, and leaving it off the Canadian models which require daytime running lights instead of developing a daytime running light system with the HIDs. I don't think it woulda been that hard to have the little corner amber lights on all the time.

I also would've lived with having fogs that are the daytime running lights to have HIDs (I think some Audi models do this).