What's outside today 42 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI

This is a good car coveted by bad people, so I'd better be a bit circumspect about locations and dates - these were taken a few days ago outside a budget chain hotel in the South of England.


Of course the STI is faster than the 1.5R we tested a few weeks ago, but the family resemblance is unmistakable, despite the vast difference in power and the STI's body mods.


The STI is surprisingly docile when driven gently and it isn't noisy or harsh at all.


The interior isn't much fancier than that of the 1.5R, but that's because all of the money has been spent under the bonnet, as this shot shows.

What's outside today 39 - Subaru Impreza 1.5R

This is the new Subaru Impreza - not the nutty 300 horsepower WRX STI variant, although that will be turning up before too long as well - but the basic 1.5 litre version.


Now I may end up changing my mind about this once I get my hands on the WRX STI, but at the moment, I'm in what I'm sure is the minority in thinking that this is probably the more interesting car. The WRX STI is a performance bargain at £24,995 but what about the 1.5R, which comes in at only half of that, £12,495?


Of course, it doesn't have the outright power of the WRX STI, but it still has the same all-wheel drive system and boxer engine layout as well as lots of standard equipment.


Oh - and I've said it before - white is back. I know the new Impreza has had a bit of stick for its styling but I actually quite like it, especially in white.