The Subaru WRX STi may have dropped the Impreza name from its moniker, but it remains intrinsically linked to that particular icon.
That immediately presents it with a challenge: to live up to the standards set by its predecessors, it must deliver mind-blowing performance at a bargain price.
Still, available in hatchback and saloon form, it has many things in its favour, not least a powerful engine, a multi-link rear axle, a four-wheel drive system and an interior that at least looks like someone at Subaru kept back a few per cent of the development budget in order to make it look nice for once.
It also comes with the obligatory over the top looks for this type of car; highlights include blistered wheel arches, fatter wheels, an air intake big enough to ingest a modest swarm of locusts and a prominent tail spoiler.
The company marketeers will tell you that you're getting a fun, fast car from the old school - but can the crazy performance figures live up to asking price for a car that is, after all, based on one of the most unloved family hatchbacks of recent times?
