Turbo Imprezas have always been remarkable value for money, and that shows no signs of coming to an end even if the classic four-door Impreza has almost run its course. While Subaru has sprung a surprise by announcing prices for next year’s the new STI models which are significantly lower than the outgoing ‘classic’ models, the last of the old-shape Imprezas looks like a bargain, too.

Last of the old Imprezas: GB270 looks like a bargain

It’s called the GB270, the name apparently combining a reference to Subaru’s most successful WRC event – Rally GB – with the power output of the Prodrive-tweaked 2.5-litre engine. Based on the WRX – not the STI, which we’ll come back to later – both saloon and Sports Wagon versions are available, both costing £22,995. That means the saloon is £2898 more than the standard car, the Sports Wagon £1898 more than normal – yet both carry special equipment which would normally set you back over £7000. Whether all that extra stuff is actually worth paying for is another matter…

Chief among these extras is Prodrive’s Performance Pack, normally a £1700 option. In standard form the WRX, with the 2457cc Active Valve Control System engine, develops 230ps at 5600rpm and 236lb ft of torque at 3600rpm. Prodrive’s upgrade improves engine breathing by fitting less restrictive intercooler pipework and higher-flow exhaust silencers, and the breathing improvement is complemented by a retuned engine management system. The result of these relatively minor mods is an increase in power to 270ps at 5700rpm and a leap in torque to 310lb ft at just 3000rpm. And it’s not just the high torque peak which is significant – the shape of the curve is also important. The PPP-equipped WRX can generate more torque anywhere between 2400rpm and 5500rpm than the standard car can at its peak. On the road, the effect is electrifying.

Of course it’s quicker than the standard WRX, as the headline figures suggest: the 0-60mph time drops from the standard WRX’s 5.9 seconds to 5.3, and the 0-100mph time is cut from 14.4 seconds to 13.9. But it’s the manner in which it performs which is really impressive. There’s an effortless superiority to the way it accelerates past slower traffic in almost any gear that the WRX, swift though it is, can’t match. Even a standard STI struggles to keep up unless you make the best use of its six-speed gearbox to keep the engine spinning at optimum speed. The more powerful car only really shows its advantage above about 3500rpm, and the rest of the time the PPP-equipped GB270 (or WRX) delivers similar performance in a more relaxed style.

The engine upgrade is complemented by a ‘quickshift’ gear linkage which cuts lever movement and delivers swift, crisp changes. But because the GB270 is based on the WRX rather than the full-house STI, you have to make do with a five-speed gearbox.

You also get a series of minor interior and exterior tweaks. Inside there are special floor mats and badges, and also a very nasty Momo gearknob which has clearly been designed for a left-hand drive car. It doesn’t work in a right-hand drive one because razor sharp edges across the top of the knob shave your palm as you change gear – sharp edges which the Italian designers have clearly arranged to be out of the way of a driver’s right hand. It would be the first thing to go if the car was mine.

Upgraded wheels, tyres and suspension make more sense, and they’ve been carefully judged to provide secure cornering without making the GB270 unusable as a day-to-day car. Lowering springs give it a purposeful stance, and the arches are packed with Prodrive GT1 7.5x18in alloys wearing Pirelli PZero tyres. On the saloon the wheels are silver, and the same theme is picked up with a polished stainless steel mesh grille. By contrast the Sports Wagon has gloss black wheels and black grilles, giving it a more aggressive mien. Rear privacy glass and a waist-level tailgate spoiler complete the picture. The saloon has a more flamboyant style, with a WRC-style Prodrive rear wing and an STI front lip spoiler.

If all that still isn’t enough there are a couple of option packages – an ‘ICE pack’ consisting of a Clarion SatNav and iPod adaptor and Bluetooth phone kit (£1750) and a stylish GB270-branded leather or Alcantara/leather interior (£1400 on the saloon, £1600 on the Sports Wagon). Privacy glass is also available as an option for the saloon, at £405.

The list of extra equipment is long and impressive, but it’s worthwhile considering what you don’t get. For a start, you make do with the WRX five-speed gearbox, which has longer intermediate ratios than the six-speeder in the STI – and that’s bound to hinder acceleration slightly. You also lack the six-speeder’s long-legged top gear for quiet motorway cruising. Also ‘missing’ is the Driver Controlled Centre Differential (DCCD) which is not fitted to the WRX, on which the GB270 is based. It’s standard fit on the STI, which of course also has more power to play with – 280ps in standard trim and the option of a 320ps Prodrive Performance Pack. Wouldn’t an STI-based special edition with more power, six speeds and the DCCD diff have been a better way to send off the old Impreza? [note 1]

Judge the GB270 on its own merits and it’s a likeable package. It has most of the performance of the STI but with a slightly more relaxed demeanour. It has some subtle styling enhancements which set it apart without being garish. It will also be a very rare car – just 300 saloons and 100 Sports Wagons are due to be made – and it will have some kudos in years to come as the final derivative of the ‘classic’ Impreza series. But what it doesn’t do is advance the Impreza’s reputation, it doesn’t in any way push the boundaries of Imprezadom to new heights. It’s just a shame that the Impreza which will go down in history as the last of a classic breed, isn’t likely to be remembered as one of the greatest.

Specifications

ENGINE
Type Horizontally opposed four-cylinder, mounted fore and aft; aluminium alloy cylinder block and heads. 4 valves per cylinder, dohc per bank. Turbocharger with air-cooled intercooler, Active Valve Control System (AVCS)
Capacity 2,457cc
Bore x stroke 99.5mm x 79.0mm
Compression ratio 8.4: 1
Fuel system Multi-point fuel injection, computer-controlled engine management system
Max power 270ps at 5700rpm
Max torque 310lb ft at 3000rpm

TRANSMISSION
Type Manual 5-speed synchromesh. Full-time AWD, centre differential with viscous coupling. Dry single plate diaphragm clutch. Limited slip rear differential with viscous coupling

SUSPENSION
Front inverted independent MacPherson strut, lowered coil springs, L-shaped transverse link strut, anti-roll bar, forged aluminium lower arms
Rear inverted independent strut-type with trailing arm, dual link, lowered coil springs, anti-roll bar

STEERING
Type Rack and pinion, speed sensitive variable capacity power assistance with anti kick-back damper
Turns lock to lock 2.75

BRAKES
Dual circuit diagonally split hydraulic system with pressure limiting valve and vacuum servo. Ventilated four-pot front and two-pot rear calipers. 4-sensor, 4-channel ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD)

WHEELS
7.5x18in Prodrive GT1
TYRES
Pirelli PZero

PERFORMANCE
Acceleration 0-60 mph 5.3 sec
0-100mph 13.9 sec

(1) As Subaru points out, just such a car has already been created - the well-received RB320 limited edition. Shame they didn't save that as the Impreza's last hurrah.