2004 Subaru Impreza, WRX and STi - Hold On To Your Britches
I've personally heard few people complaining about the 2002 through 2003 Impreza and WRX's styling, but nevertheless Subaru has decided to freshen up the model with a mild restyle. Headed our way for the 2004 model year, a redesigned hood flows more gracefully into a reworked front fascia that now incorporates new rounded headlight clusters. The grille appears more in line with its larger Legacy sibling while a new lower fascia will still differ from trim level to trim level.
The base Impreza, with its 165-hp 2.5-L horizontally opposed engine is one of the class performance leaders as it is. Keep in mind that even in base form its horsepower rating rivals Ford's top-line Focus SVT, Mazda's MazdaSpeed Protegé, Nissan's Sentra SE-R and others. Its standard all-wheel drive and taut suspension is also impressive, especially in optional RS trim. Word is that the '04 model will carry over much the same as it is offered now, but of course with the previously mentioned styling enhancements.
While the base Impreza is good, the WRX is simply amazing. Its 227-hp turbocharged 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine mated to Subaru's all-wheel drive makes for exciting acceleration - 5.7 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h to be exact. Its 5-speed manual transmission shifts effortlessly, with gear intervals that optimize its 217 lb-ft of torque.