How does a kid racermature without growing up? in the caseof the subaru impreza WRX, it loses thefender flares and becomes a hot hatch, thateuroesque ideal of the small, fast, cheapcar. And it becomes more liveable, moresophisticated.

When the 2002 WRX morphed off thePlaystation screen and onto American streets,it didn't have a useful back seat. if you put afriend back there to torture him, engine androad noises would drown out his screams.You had to deal with limited trunk spaceand a cheap interior. the chassis was saidto be 185-percent stiffer than the previousimpreza's, but that tells more about how flexythe 1993 to 2001 models were.

You didn't drive it because it was apractical four-door sedan; you drove it forhow the Asymmetric All-wheel-drive andstiff suspension and boxer turbo four workedtogether to give you a real, tactile Granturismo ii drive on your otherwise boringcommute to work.

Unfortunately, this first look at the newmodel—now a five-door hatchback as wellas a four-door sedan—hitting showroomsin september doesn't include a drive. thenews is about everything but getting behindthe wheel and flogging it sideways in thedirt or snow. the 2.5-liter four and all-wheeldriveline are the only mechanical carryoverpieces, and in the WRX, the 224-horsepowerintercooled turbo engine's torque peaks at2800 rpm, down from 3600 rpm, for betterperformance.

The new WRX isn't softer, subaru says, but“the suspension is more compliant when itneeds to be,” and handling limits are muchgreater than on the outgoing model. the 2008 WRX also adapts the sti's steering gearand gets a 15.0:1 ratio, quicker than the oldmodel's 16.5:1 ratio. transmission choicesare a five-speed manual and a four-speedautomatic that adds 67 pounds.

The standard impreza 2.5i and the WRXare on an all-new platform with a 3.7-inchlongerwheelbase. the front subframe is gone,allowing subaru to mount the engine 10 mmlower than in the old model. An unequallengthcontrol arm suspension replacesthe multilink in back, in part to reduce thewheelwell intrusion and buy more trunkspace.

Or hatch space. the WRX hereby becomesa five-door hatchback worldwide. You'll beable to buy a 2008 WRX sedan, based on thenew impreza four-door, as long as you buy itin north America, a concession to lingeringdistaste here toward hatchbacks. the stiwill be available globally only as a five-doorhatchback when it goes on sale next year,just as a new Prodrive impreza hatchbackbattles the all-new ralliart Mitsubishi Lancer evolution X in the world rally championship arena.

Subaru is quickly backing off the threepartgrille, and the new WRX looks a bitlike a saturn ion with the new one. overall,the car's design compares most closelywith the Mazda3. the profile is wedgelike,accented with a more sharply creasedtribeca-style beltline. the side windowsare now framed for a tighter body and betternoise characteristics. A horizontal chromebar connects the taillamps, which have clearlenses on the five-door WRX only (imprezasand the WRX sedan get red lenses).

The 2008 impreza's interior space istwo inches wider than the 2007, thanks toscalloped interior door panels, so you won'thave to rub shoulders with your navigator.the WRX comes with an optional navigationsystem for the first time, with a seven-inchscreen that flips up to reveal a six-disccd changer and a separate nav dVd slot.there's a connector in the center armrestfor an external dVd player, or a Playstationor Xbox game console (it only works if thehandbrake is engaged) so you can racea virtual Playstation impreza wrc on thedash of your real WRX.

The back seat is raked more for bettercomfort and headroom. the WRX sedan isslightly longer than the car it replaces, andthe hatchback is a half foot shorter than thenew sedan. the sedan, only, has a fold-downcenter armrest in back.

The hatch has less rear overhang and arakish d-pillar compared with the wagon iteffectively replaces and has less cargo spacethan the new sedan. with its own tribeca-likecreased shoulder-line and red taillamps,the sedan looks like it's paying homage tothe BMw 3 series sedan without blatantlycopying it. no wonder subaru expects thetake rate to increase for the sedan from acurrent 60/40 to about 65/35.

Interior upgrades are a good step inthe right direction, but everything south ofthe dashboard is as dark as a david Lynchmovie. the bucket seats are the other majorcarryover item (after the drivetrain), andthat's a good thing. they're grippy and wellbolstered. the new dash has a prominentcenter section, making for a kind of quasicockpitinterior. dark nickel accents separatethe dash upper and lower and continuethrough the doors.

The glovebox is capacious, and theupper part of the dash is covered in largegrainedblack vinyl that could be called“pleather,” in this case a compliment. theWRX's gauges sweep to the max when youkey it up (subaru hasn't yet succumbedto the fashion of pushbutton starters) and then settle to an electroluminescent red. Butthe rest of the interior remains fraught withhard black plastic door panels and centerconsole. the standard impreza's interior willbe available with ivory seats and matchingivory dash and steering wheel.

In an effort to maintain multi-five-starinsurance institute for highway safetyratings, the full impreza line will featuresix airbags, including side curtains andseat-mounted thorax bags. this is a welcomeaddition; just can't wait to deploy them when we roll a WRX running the Monte carlorally on Gt3.

Aside from the interior chromatics, there'svery little outside to distinguish the standardimpreza 2.5i from the impreza WRX. this isthe car's maturation; the 2008 WRX, at leastin four-door sedan form, will be stealthierand more proper for the junior executivewho wants to impress the boss.

Outside, the WRX's intake scoop is nowintegrated into the hood in place of thetall add-on thing of the outgoing car. Fakefront brake cooling ducts are gone. the10-spoke wheels are still 17 inches indiameter (the impreza 2.5i's are 16-inch).the WRX's wheelwells cry out for 18-inchwheels and tires, but subaru has none inthe plans. there's a rather subtle rear deckspoiler on the sedan, and the hatchbackhas a lower rear diffuser and one chrometippedexhaust versus the dual exhaust onthe subaru WRX sedan.

So unless you plan a scion buyer-like raidon your dealer's accessory store, your newWRX will look much like your kid sister'snew impreza. First thing we recommendis a powerpack from subaru Performancetuning (a separate group from subarutecnica international, sti), which consistsof a cold-air intake and heat shield thatkicks in about 20 more horses. that won'tchange the looks, though. the conundrumis that the WRX has always appealed todrivers who like the global market style ofquirky, Japanese domestic market models.will these buyers take to an unadornedhot hatch?

While Mitsubishi doesn't market acomparable Lancer, the Mazdaspeed3offers more horsepower for a similar price,although with front drive. so you have to lookto the halo cars. And based on looks, theevo X has an edge over sti styling, extrapolatedfrom this car. Good thing for subaru, serious cars aren't all about styling. withthe right kind of handling and performance,it won't matter all that much that the newWRX sti has gone from kid racer sedanto hot hatch.