Inside, the STi gets a new steering wheel and gearlever, even beefier seats and a fresh set of instruments that highlight the car’s motorsport heritage, as if you were ever in any doubt. Of more significance, arguably, is the fact that there are now side airbags and a Category One alarm with satellite tracking as standard.
Anyone familiar with the workmanlike but hardly sumptuous interior of previous Imprezas will feel at home in the new cabin. Although there are one or two nice touches such as the illuminated STi logo and a marginally more attractive instruments, it’s business as usual. Same goes for the rear seats and boot, which offer fine accommodation for adults and their luggage.
Living with an STi day-to-day has never been simple, and in this context the super-stiff ride does it no favours. Nor does a test combined fuel consumption of just 23.6mpg, although this is a small improvement over the previous model’s economy.
It also produces marginally less CO2 than the old car, but not enough to make it any less expensive to insure (it’s in group 20) or to run in terms of company car tax.
