Phone and GPS Mounts for a Subaru Impreza

Subaru Impreza InteriorThis was not as easy as initially thought.  The Subaru Impreza works with a lot of mounts but there are several locations that will not work well.  Let’s look at our options.

Subaru Impreza Mount Analysis

Subaru vehicles always look easy to find good mount locations but they rarely are.  We just finished our Subaru Ascent mount evaluation and were equally perplexed on finding the best locations.

Our usual photo of the interior accompanies this article.  It has vertical vents.  That excludes a lot of mounts that only work on horizontal vents.  It’s got a small secondary console area.  Not sure why but could limit dash mounts.  The cup holders are placed too far back to be of any use.  It’s got a CD Player.  It’s got a windshield.  So we have two good locations and two not so good.

Subaru Impreza Windshield Mount Recommendations

The most popular location for mounting a cell phone or GPS continues to be the windshield so we will start there.  The Subaru Impreza windshield isn’t severely sloped and is in easy reach of the driver.

The Arkon Ultra Slim Grip Suction Mount is one of our favorite phone mounts.  This mount has an expandable cradle that expands to almost 7 inches when using the longest set of legs.  That’s more than large enough for just about any smartphone with or without a case or skin.  The phone will be held from the top and bottom.  The mount comes with an adhesive dash plate so that you can attach to the mount to your dash as well as your windshield.  The phone can rotate 360 degrees into portrait or landscape.

This suction cup mount opens wide enough to fit small tablets.  It’s important to be sure that your view isn’t compromised.  I wouldn’t do this on the models that have the extended display, simply not enough room for a tablet.   For example, looking at the 2022 model, there’s just not enough room to do it.

The same mount but for a Garmin GPS is the Arkon Windshield Dash Garmin Nuvi Suction Mount.  This has been recommended many times.  It’s a solid mount that we have personal experience with.  The manufacturer provides a 2-year warranty.  It’s more rugged and longer than the Garmin mount you received in the box.

Always ensure that mounting a device on your windshield is legal in your state.  Some of the following alternative solutions might work best for states where mounting to a windshield is illegal.

Vent and CD Player Mount Recommendations

The Subaru Impreza vents have vertical slats and that makes mounting a phone or GPS a bit difficult.   A good phone mount to consider would be the Andobil Air Vent Mount.  This mount can be used to hold most phone models with or without a case.  The ball and socket design facilitates a 360 degree rotation.  The included cradle opens to accommodate phones up to 3.75 inches wide.  The mount uses a unique locking clip to securely attach to horizontal and vertical vents.

Apple iPhone owners can scope out the Andobil MagSafe Air Vent Mount which is the same mount but with a magnetic adapter that pairs perfectly.

The Andobil Air Vent Mount can also be used for a Garmin GPS too.  All Garmin vehicle GPS devices made over the past ten years include a custom cradle that has a 17mm socket on the back.  Remove the cradle from the Andobil mount and you have a 17mm ball.  Just snap the Garmin cradle onto the mount minus the cradle and your GPS can be mounted to the air vent.

They still put a CD Player in the Subaru Impreza.  You probably won’t use it for a CD so might as well put it to some use.  Turns out the CD player is in a good position for mounting a phone or GPS.  Close to eye level.  It will make seeing the center console display a little difficult and you will need to work your way around it to hit some buttons.  It’s probably not the best place to put the phone or GPS but it’s a matter of preference.

How about a good CD player mount?  The Apps2Car CD Slot Mount uses a knob on the bottom to secure the mount within the CD player. I prefer this mount to others in this category as it will permit a more custom and secure fitting.  You don’t want the mount to rattle around inside the player.  The cradle opens to almost 4 inches which is wide enough for most phones and many GPS devices.

Other Mount Musings

While it’s possible to use the cup holder as a mounting location in the Subaru Impreza, we don’t recommend it.  The center console is simply too far back to be of any practical use.

So the windshield and CD Player seem to be the best choice for mounting a phone or GPS.  You can consider a vent or dash mount but they don’t seem to work as well as the windshield or CD Player.