The badge is back but Subaru fans needn't get too excited

It also delivers 147g/km CO2 and a mere 114PS, which doesn't sound quite so impressive – until you consider this is that rarest of things, a 4WD family hatchback.

And one priced at less than you'd have to find for an equivalently powered and specified Focus or Astra – you'll pay from around £17,500 and get plenty of kit too. Can this modern Impreza cut it?

If we were to play a vehicular word association game, I might say MINI and you would probably say Cooper. Porsche? 911. Morgan? Plus Eight. MGF? Head gasket failure. Subaru?

I'd be willing to bet good money that the word that comes screeching to a halt in your head would be Impreza. It's Subaru's iconic badge. Yes, the company has made a few bob selling Foresters, Legacies and Outbacks but those are cars. The Impreza is a legend, built off the back of special stage heroics from the likes of Colin McRae and Richard Burns.

You can't buy that sort of badge equity.

You can, however, bury it, which was what Subaru seemed intent on doing when, a couple of years ago, it decided it was a manufacturer of SUVs.

Admitting you're wrong is laudable and the company has gone back to what it does best. We've been thrilled to see the return of the fire-breathing WRX STI sports model but that beastie no longer carries the Impreza badge. With a minimum of fanfare, Subaru has quietly re-inserted the Impreza into the sensible section of its range.

Is that low-key entry disguising something?

Forget about all the Sonic Blue paint, gold wheels and big spoilers. This iteration of the Impreza is an altogether more modest thing. What does remain are two genuine Impreza reliables, namely all-wheel drive and a flat-four engine.

The engine in question is of 1.6 litres in capacity and does without a turbocharger, so power is rated at an unexciting 114PS, which brings into question whether you actually need all-wheel drive given that many GTI hatchbacks will quite happily punt over 250PS through their front wheels these days.

Choose the manual Impreza and 62mph arrives in 12.3 seconds on the way to 114mph, while the Lineartronic CVT dispatches the sprint in 12.6 seconds en route to 111mph. In both cases, torque is 150Nm at 4,000rpm.

The front suspension is a fairly standard strut setup, while double wishbone rear suspension offers more tuneability than the usual cheap torsion beam rear ends which many cars in this class opt for.

The symmetrical all-wheel drive system does offer improved traction, especially on low-grip surfaces such as wet roads or snow. To get the most out of the all-wheel drive system, you ought to invest winter tyres and get used to performing spring and autumn swaps for summer rubber.

There's nothing particularly exciting about the Impreza's silhouette, as this car has been on sale in Japan and the US for a good couple of years already.

Exchange rates have prevented it going on sale in Europe, as the strength of the yen would have pushed prices prohibitively high. It's here now, thanks to a softening of the Japanese currency but I doubt this Impreza is going to draw too much attention to itself.

The shape is a development of the rather dumpy Impreza hatch and while it is undoubtedly sleeker than before, it's still no head turner. In fact, it looks much like an XV that's been treated to a set of lowering springs. That's no surprise, as the XV was marketed in Japan as the Impreza XV, so if you've driven an XV, the interior isn't going to come as a great surprise.

You get the same 380-litre boot, which isn't quite on a par with the likes of a Golf but is better than a Focus. Fold the rear seats down though and things improve dramatically, with an excellent 1,270-litres on offer. Rear legroom is good and there's plenty of adjustability in the driving position, but the seats could use a little more support.

The dashboard is tidy and while there are some soft-touch materials on the dash roll top, look further down the fascia and the it reverts to Subaru traditional hard grey plastics.

Fuel economy is rated at 44.1mpg on the combined cycle, 53.3mpg on the extra urban test and 34.4mpg around town. That's not catastrophic but again, if you're interested in driving your fuel bills down, there are plenty of better options and it's these day-to-day running costs that are going to make the Impreza a tough sale for Subaru dealers.

But again, you have to take this car's standard 4WD system into account when making comparisons. If that's an important factor for you, then you'll put up with the running cost restrictions.

By David Banner