When Subaru unveiled the all-new Impreza and WRX last April, Scoobyphiles bared their teeth at the sight of the car's new, pedestrian looks. Until then, the WRX's appearance could have been described many ways, but milquetoast wasn't one of them. This matter is corrected with the STI, whose visual punch feels like it's delivered with brass knuckles. Where the base Impreza WRX barely warrants a second glance, the pugnacious STI causes its fair share of wrenched neck muscles as other drivers, particularly young guys in imports (big surprise there, right?) gawk at the bright red hatch. One afternoon, a Jetta GLI barreled into a turnoff where I had parked to squeeze off a few pictures. Out jumped a kid who was so consumed by the car that he wouldn't have noticed if Scarlett Johansen strolled by in her birthday suit. Another night at the supermarket checkout counter, I overheard the guy in the next lane excitedly tell his girlfriend, "Check this out... Outside? There's an '08 STI!" Not bad for a car whose general shape we were all bitching about several months ago.
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In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI - Autoblog
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