It doesn't seem that long ago since Subaru's Impreza received a facelift, in response to the dismal welcome that the radical, bug-eyed car of 2001 received. The current Impreza doesn't split opinion quite as much, with distinctive styling thanks to its frameless windows and shapely light clusters, with full on in your face rally replica breeding reserved for the WRX models. I must admit that we were a little worried at what was to become of the Impreza, following on from the same school of design as the butt ugly B9 Tribeca SUV Subaru showed us at this year's Geneva Motor Show.

All was well on the Subaru stand in Frankfurt though. The new Impreza looks like a clean evolution of the current car. Its biggest change is to the nose, where Subaru's new corporate grille/moustache is grafted on. Thankfully the grille is in body colour on the Impreza so it doesn't offend like the chrome offering on its big SUV brother. Along with the snout come slick new headlights similar to the Legacy's, and restyled (but not reshaped) rear lights.

On display in Frankfurt were a number of models, including the Sports Wagon derivative. I noticed that the regular WRX model now does without any rear spoiler, though retains its characteristic wheelarch blisters. It is not yet clear if that specification has been finalised for the UK market. Looks like the European arm of Subaru is taking the high end of the performance market seriously now, and lining up to fight the Mitsubishi Evo IX was the new Impreza WRX STi, with 265bhp. No doubt there will be a UK-spec car with more than 300 horses, and a performance package by Prodrive. That company had more than a little input to the awesomely aggressive Impreza WRC 2006 Prototype at the show, all ready to tackle the special stages of the 2006 championship, and with a very good chance of dominance.

Keep an eye on the Subaru Road Tests page for our review of the new-look Impreza early in 2006.

Shane O' Donoghue - 26 Sep 2005