The Blobeye Subaru Impreza WRX STI Is The Best Way To Get Your Blue And Gold Fix On A (Relative) Budget

If the news about the Subaru WRX STI’s new Nurburgring record has reminded you how good that classic blue and gold colour scheme would look on your driveway, we’re here for you.

Wind the clock back 13 years and the flagship Subaru still bore the Impreza name. This was arguably the best-looking of all the Imprezas, nicknamed the Blobeye generation and built for just a couple of years between 2004 and 2005. It was essentially the same platform as the rest of the 2000-2007 models, but it was far prettier than the cars before and after it while blessed with a vastly stiffer bodyshell than the earlier car that allowed it to ride and handle with more finesse and composure.

It was also the last car to get the sweeter 2.0-litre boxer engine before it was swapped out for the torquier but less rev-happy 2.5. The smaller engine seemed more eager, but not only that: UK tax laws pin the Blobeye cars’ maximum road tax rates at a much lower outlay than all of its successors. It’s basically a win-win.

You’re looking at a WRX STI Type UK on a 2004 ‘54’-plate, for sale right now for £8,495. Details on the listing are fairly scant but it’s covered 80,000 miles, has been given an induction kit and a loud exhaust and has, slightly annoyingly, been partially de-badged at the back. The pink STi decals would have to go before we even drove it away. Someone has cared enough about it to buy premium tyres, though: Bridgestone Potenzas in this case, and that’s usually a good sign. They look a bit worn, so it’s worth checking whether this seller put them on or whether that was done by a previous owner.

It looks like it’s almost standard, otherwise. The wheels are correct, the ride height seems normal, the interior doesn’t seem to have been messed with aside from a JVC CD player and the general condition looks very tidy, including the seats and door cards.

The engine put out 299bhp according to the records, but that’s 300bhp in man-maths. The 0-60mph sprint takes a breathless 4.6 seconds and it will happily hit its 155mph speed limiter if you let it. There’s plenty of life left in this beast yet. What’s not to love?