Subaru Impreza STI

Road Test

Your Say

Test date 05 March 2008 Price as tested £26,040

For Strong performance, beefy styling add-ons, good brakes, good front seats

AgainstLow-rent interior, only comes alive at high speeds, high running costs

The Impreza family tree sprouted in 1992, and a complicated thing it is too, with endless iterations whose codenames (P1, 22B, RB5, RB320, WRX, STi, V-Limited) are the stuff of enthusiasts’ nods, winks and knowing grins.

The second-generation version arrived in 2000, distinguished by an unfortunate bug-eyed look exorcised by a Peter Stevens facelift in 2003, then another in 2005 that also brought the 2.5-litre engine.

The arrival of this latest-generation Impreza has been an event tinged with contrary feelings of faint regret and hopeful anticipation. Regret that this new-generation five-door version of the legendary boxer-engined B-road blaster is barely any better looking than the last, if at all, and anticipation that as Subaru rolls out progressively more powerful versions, the resulting confection will be a little more appealing.

This WRX STi certainly gets off to a better start by providing more power, more toys, a new multi-link rear axle, an upgraded four-wheel drive system and a better furnished interior, all for £1600 less than the outgoing car cost.

And it also looks better than the lesser five-doors, its case helped by its blistered wheel arches, fatter wheels, an air intake big enough to ingest a modest swarm of locusts and a prominent tail spoiler.

The issue, then, is whether this latest hot Impreza has the hardware to outpoint the latest Mitsubishi Evo – and whether the sanitisation of its manners can tempt buyers from less extreme machinery.