Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £12,730 to £30,350
Great handling, good ride quality, four-wheel drive, unique feel, smooth engines.
Anonymous styling, cheap-looking cabin, not particularly practical, noisy engines.
Still a bit of an oddball, and that's no bad thing.
Here's the reason you buy an Impreza: the way it drives. Many car companies talk a lot of guff about how their motorsport activities feed into their road-car development work, but Subaru is one of the few that actually delivers on this score. Though in recent years it has slipped from its WRC dominance, the relationship between its rally cars and road cars is clear. The turbo models are obviously the most closely related, but even the naturally aspirated models drive well.
The four-wheel drive system has a 50:50 front-rear torque split, or 60:40 with the automatic gearbox, under most conditions. When things get slippery a central differential and viscous coupling divert torque between the axles as necessary. The grip is superb. The well weighted steering has been revised for quicker, more linear responses, and the all-new rear suspension layout, longer wheelbase, relatively light weight and lowered centre of gravity all contribute to the sports-car feel.
For those scaling steep farm tracks and muddy country roads, there's a set of easily selectable low-ratio gears to help out. The Impreza doesn't have raised ground clearance or any other off-road extras, but this transmission system will be a useful aid for rural folk.
The twin-cam 1.5 develops 107bhp and 105lb-ft of torque, and is capable of 109mph and 0-60mph in 13.7 seconds (auto versions do 104mph and 0-60 in 14.8 seconds). It's not exactly super-quick, but it's lively enough, especially from a standstill and at low engine speeds. It lacks mid-range strength, particularly when accelerating up an incline or when overtaking at highway speeds, though it's worth noting that this generally improves with Subaru's engines as they loosen up with mileage - they're never at their best when factory fresh.
The 2.0 makes 150bhp and 145lb-ft, giving 0-60mph in 9.2 seconds (11.3 seconds auto), and doesn't actually feel that much faster under most circumstances, though it does have more power in reserve higher up the rev range. As with the 1.5, it does prove that you don't necessarily need massive amounts of horsepower to have fun - the pleasure with these cars is more in the handling than in out-and-out speed.
For that you'll have to go for the WRX, with 226bhp and 236lb-ft, good for 0-60mph in 6.1 seconds. With its 2.5-litre turbo engine, it feels a very different car: it's significantly quicker and the additional limited-slip rear differential (mechanical, rather than the previous viscous) gives a much more composed feel on the road, giving you the confidence to use that extra power, given the opportunity.
It also shows that a five-speed manual gearbox is adequate in this type of car too, if its ratios are well placed. The four-speed automatic option's not the best around, though. It blunts the performance, and the new sequential-shift facility barely adds to the experience and is unlikely to see much use.
