The angry young man of performance motoring has grown up. Whether that’s cause for a collective sigh of relief remains to be seen. After all, the Impreza STI’s defining characteristic was that brash in-your-face persona, unpretty countenance and bulldog-like charm.

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Do the radical changes in generation III signal a loss of focus for Subaru? And will it still appeal to entrepreneurs, self-made men, techno-geeks and mavericks in general?

We can report that the faithful should all be pleased. The lad’s personality hasn’t changed: he’s now just a little more adult, a little less highly strung. Easygoing would be too strong a word, for the STI still demands your attention 100 percent of the time. It’s just that a few polished edges have given the diamond more gloss.

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So how much has the seminal Scooby changed? For starters it’s a new shape, as is the norm with blokes who are getting on a bit. Instead of the four-door bodyshell, a hallmark since the first STI hit the streets in 1994 (apart from the odd sportswagon sold in Japan), it is now a pukka five-door hatchback.

The benefits are shorter overhangs and, since it’s based on gen III Impreza, a significantly longer wheelbase than before. Being a hatch there isn’t much bulk behind the back axle either, and sheetmetal ahead of the front wheels has been trimmed slightly too. The layout makes it more practical, and with a 60/40 split rear seat, a Scooby can now carry much more.

Practical or not, the current WRX launch did not evoke euphoria. Too soft in look and feel to offer a truly compelling reason to buy one ahead of the current crop of superhatches, said many. Understated styling and 169kW no longer stacked up against the Focus ST, the hottest Mégane and a host of others clamouring for the coveted ‘uberhatch’ title.

Even before the first spyshots circulated on obscure websites, speculation had started as to whether Subaru Tecnica International could turn the Impreza into a finely honed driving tool worthy of carrying the famous cerise badge.

As it turns out, there was little reason for concern.

In the looks department the STI hits the spot. It’s bristling with the spoilers, diffusers, undertrays and bulges that are its stock in trade. All it shares in terms of bodywork with a WRX are the doors, scooped bonnet, tailgate and roof.

The aero effect is dramatic: the front spoiler juts forward, curling upwards slightly in the centre to create a funnel effect under the car; the rear diffuser speeds airflow and creates a low-pressure area which sucks the car to the ground. The effect is downforce without the drag and Subaru claim zero lift front and rear.

Aggressive black mesh now defines the grille. Anoraks will notice the foglights in the spoiler, an STI first and a departure from the previous boldly branded covers.

More significant perhaps are the wider wheelarches, adding 55mm to the body’s width and allowing for a 35mm wider front and 40mm wider rear track.

Slots and cutouts abound, drawing hot air out of the engine bay, keeping it tucked above the side sills before it exits past the bulging rear arches. The visual flow tracks upwards to the outer edge of the tail light clusters – the same bling items found on other Imprezas – and then curves around and down to the rear bumper.

Serious rubber was possible with those wheel housings, and Subaru Southern Africa opted for the biggest wheel/tyre combination available: 245/40 tyres on 18 inch alloys. And they’re trick BBS forged alloys, 8.5 inches across and weighing 9kg, a 4kg advantage over a cast equivalent. Extroverts can still specify gold, but the default colour is a more subtle and attractive silver. Who are we to spoil the fun, though?

The rear bumper is noteworthy mainly for what’s underneath it: a quartet of 75mm tailpipes. The other key aspect of the rear view is the spoiler, now a subtle arch framing the top of the tailgate and extending further out than the WRX item. A masterpiece of understatement after the old STI. So too the exhaust note, which has lost its warbling, off-beat thrum. Yet precisely these two refinements are a likely source of gripe for STI die-hards.

But what’s under the skin of our more mature, more user-friendly superhero? While the sheetmetal is completely new, what it hides is not. It’s a mean, proven mix, and in STI guise it is a mix honed and sharpened in every way.

The heart is a development of the 2.5 litre boxer motor, now with variable valve timing on both the inlet and exhaust cams. Power is hiked to 221kW and torque maxes out at 407Nm with a largely seamless and fluid delivery – bar a little turbo lag. Under the bonnet is the familiar red crackle finish on the inlet manifold, partially hidden by the larger intercooler.

Internal changes to the faithful six-speed gearbox impart a lighter, more precise feel, though you still need firm control over your left leg to work the clutch. Overall gearing at 41km/h per 1000 revs is reasonably relaxed, but is still in GT territory.

Integral with the gearbox is a clutch-type limited-slip differential, or Driver Controlled Centre Differential (DCCD). Select one of three auto modes or one of six manual steps to adjust the front/rear torque split to suit a particular set of driving circumstances. In addition, there are limited-slip differentials front and rear, transferring available torque laterally to maximise traction.

Equal length driveshafts spread out to all four corners, suspended at the back by a double wishbone set-up and at the front by a strut-type arrangement. Inverted dampers and lightweight aluminium control arms reduce unsprung weight. There’s more suspension travel, though the wider track makes the car inherently more resistant to body roll, and the car is markedly more composed on pockmarked surfaces.

Sizeable ventilated Brembo stoppers help the STI scrub off speed with profound intent, now more consistently thanks to recalibrated electronic assistance for the hydraulics.

And the brain? Modern technology means an ultra-performance car like the STI can be so hardcore that Jenna Jameson would blush, yet at the same time it allows the driver to manipulate engine and chassis characteristics to make the car easier to drive both in traffic and on a sodden racetrack. So for 2008 you get your STI with two new systems: Si-Drive and VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control), of which more later. The first, Subaru Intelligent Drive, made its debut on the Legacy range in 2006 and provides the driver with a trio of engine torque curves, selected via a knurled knob aft of the gearlever. ‘Sport’ is the default selected at start-up, ‘Sport Sharp’ is maximum attack mode and ‘Intelligent’ serves up a muted throttle response, softened power delivery and quaint green up-shift warning light – only likely to be used in stop/go traffic or when coaxing a near-empty Scooby to the next fuel stop.

Twist to ‘SS’ and you feel the throttle sharpen and the horses under the bonnet flare their nostrils, ready to go from canter to gallop. And boy, can they gallop. Press that weighty clutch pedal to the floor, slot the lever into first, blip the revs and prepare for neck-snapping acceleration. Get the balance between throttle and clutch just right and it lunges forward from rest in demonic fashion, launching off the line with barely a trace of wheelspin.

Forget about mechanical sympathy: the STI is designed to cope with brutal throttle and clutch actions. Change on the buzzer or red shift light and it’ll cleave the 100km/h barrier on 5.2 seconds, a sub-five hampered only by red-lined gear ratios that limit forward progress to 93km/h in second. It bangs through that change, and the next, and the next, all with unrelenting urgency. Keep your right foot buried and a standing kilometre is demolished in just over 25 seconds. Continue the pressure and the STI only runs out of steam at 253km/h.

This was data gathered at Reef altitudes; the sea level figures will be even better. But the STI is not only about numbers, insists Subaru, keen to lift R474 000 from prospective buyers now less likely to fit all the criteria for Boy Racer. It’s far more a premium GT, built to compete with a talented array of fast and sophisticated rivals mainly from Germany. With that in mind, the goal was a more rounded personality with higher levels of comfort and better passive safety measures.

At the core of this refinement is the stiffer and stronger construction of the latest Impreza, beefed up further in key areas for the STI application. Cabin ambience is elevated with Recaros specially made for Subaru and upholstered in a mix of perforated grey Alcantara and charcoal leather. The seats envelop like a second skin. With suede gripping thighs, hips, ribs and shoulders they’re almost too intimate, but should prove their worth on the first track day.

Surprise and delight features have lacked in cooking Imprezas, which have to date relied on tidy layout and quality feel. No such problem here: there’s striking electro-luminescent instrumentation, with the 8000r/min tacho taking central pride of place in the cluster; the smaller 280km/h speedo and fuel/engine temperature combo almost incidental. Then there’s a perfectly proportioned multi-function steering wheel, 10 speaker/six CD sound system with full multimedia compatibility, a washer system for the Xenon headlamps, aluminium pedals with rubber knobs and that classy control module for centre diff and Si-Drive between the seats.

Careful use of different gauges of metal has resulted in little change in the new STI’s kerbweight. Still no bantamweight at 1500kg or so, it’s not a bad effort given the additional safety features (six airbags are fitted) and techy hardware.

Realistically though, is it all marketing guff or will the clever bits like DCCD get drivers any closer to being a Petter Solberg, Subaru’s WRC ace and 2003 World Champion? Yes and no. There’s a discernible difference in the way the Auto-minus, Auto, and Auto-plus settings make the car behave as they send progressively more torque to the front wheels by tightening the centre differential.

The car is definitely more tail-happy the higher the rearward bias. Loading the fronts can cause some understeer and accentuates the torque steer but you can clearly feel the front wheels clawing the tarmac exiting tight turns. Either way, the car bullets out of corners with a sensation of being so determinedly stuck to the road that a recalibration of one’s sense of normality is required. Once the brain is suitably adjusted, astonishing point to point ability is possible.

And for the first time too the STI has stability control, or VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control) in Subaru speak. All Subarus now carry the feature, but in the STI’s case a ‘Traction’ setting complements the normal ‘On’ and ‘Off’ positions. The system gleans data about the car’s cornering speed and trajectory, reducing engine torque and selectively applying the brakes to prevent a big off. Solberg might prefer the ‘Traction’ mode which delays the braking intervention point and does not mess with engine torque reduction to regain traction.

STI drivers still have to use a little steering input, in this case through a light yet precise rack and pinion, which contributes to a car which feels at once agile and purposeful.

Yep, grown up as it is, the STI still contrives to meld 21^st century GT with that brash and raw rally character. It’s still hardcore, but you have to scratch a little deeper, turn more dials, before the rawness bursts through.