Every car has its own unique smell. For the Ford it's a hint of interior polish, at Audi it's a pungent cleanser. For the Impreza WRX, it's that slight whiff of burning plastic. For this is one of a select group of cars designed to make your driving licence spontaneously combust at the touch of the accelerator.
Forget about your SUVs. This is the part-time rally enthusiasts' four-wheel drive of choice. There are few cars that look more like they've come straight from completing a stage of the National Tarmac Championship, yet supple enough to handle everyday traffic without complaint.
To petrolheads from Bangor to Bandon, it's better known as a Scooby, and like its World Rally Championship equivalent, Subaru has been constantly striving to make it better.
Two versions are on offer - the hardcore STi that will melt your licence in a matter of seconds, and the more pliant WRX, which will only singe it. The official differences between the two don't appear that great on paper: 222bhp plays 262bhp, 100km/h is dispatched in either 5.6 seconds or 5.2 seconds, and a 232km/h maximum trails 244km/h.
However, behind the wheel there's a world of difference in terms of ease of driving and gentler ride. The WRX copes admirably with urban speed limits, while the STi strains at the bit. The WRX is also the more discreet of the two. The low-set spoiler on the back, for example, is not as brash as the ironing board affixed to the boot of the Sti.
Even from the front, the large air scoop bursting out from the bonnet is not as severe as on the STi, though it clearly signals that this is no average family saloon.
What's the main reason for this aggressive air duct? Simple: Subaru wants to milk as much publicity from its World Rally Championship (WRC) achievements as it can. Of course, it could have simply made the Impreza an exact replica of its WRC entrant, but that may be percieved as a little over-the-top. Besides, they know that the truly passionate "Scooby" fan will add the paraphernalia later. Think of it as an optional extra.
What Subaru really needs to do, as a service to the young petrolheads devoted to the brand, is to bring out a version of its 1.6Xi Impreza with the Sti spoiler, the air scoop and a growling muffler on the exhaust.
It would save these young braves a fortune in retrofit bodywork and let them impress the girls outside the local takeaway on a Monday night in Gort without having to sell one of their lungs or attempt a repeat of the Northern Bank raid just to pay the insurance.
However, Subaru has somewhat scrimped on the design front and the end result for the WRX is an aggressive look, but one that could never be described as stylised or pretty.
The bodywork has a metallic echo when you close the door that may be aimed to connote lightweight and sporty, but could also suggest a tinny lack of solidity. The lack of interior lining for the boot, for example, is a step too far in a car that must serve the dual purpose of family motor as much as rally car replica. With the Sti we don't expect any concessions to everyday shopping runs, but the WRX should be a little more rounded at the edges.
The interior is a lot more admirable. The bucket seats wrap around you, making you feel in touch with the car itself, yet supple enough to provide comfort to any couch potato. The central console and controls are standard Subaru fare, which means they are immensely practical and ergonomically sound.
But then no one pays €42,000-plus for a WRX because the radio knobs are easy to use.
This car must come up with the mechanical muscle to match its bullish features. Turn the ignition and the gurgle from below let's you know you've got the desired bite under your right foot.
The well-gated gearbox and the spacious intermediate gear ratios means the driver can flit between engine notes and power flow, all to the sound track of a rally stage. Keep the revs above 3,000 rpm to avoid any turbo lag, and you've got plenty of power on tap at all times. The pick-up may not be as impressive as the STi, but then again it is over €14,000 cheaper.
Subaru has long espoused the virtues of the horizontally-opposed or "boxer" engine format. In layman's terms it means the pistons move in a horizontal direction, rather than the traditional vertical or V-type engines.
Does this really matter? Not particularly, if your life revolves around the office, the school-run and the weekly trip to granny's for Sunday tea in perfect sunny weather. But throw a little snow on the road, a spot of ice, or just your typical wet and dirty Irish road, and it may just start to make a difference in that tight bend you entered that little bit too quickly.
Among several other benefits to the boxer format, in a corner the horizontal engine offers one significant plus. The engine block, the heaviest thing in the front of the car, is more squat and further down in the chassis, thereby giving a lower centre of gravity to the car.
In a corner - where balance is all down to the centre of gravity - the lower the engine the less weight leaning to one side and in the end the less body roll. That's the theory.
On the road of course, it's just one of several factors at play, not least Subaru's impressive all-wheel-drive system, cutting out the lateral forces that tend towards either oversteer or understeer. Put these together with the well-balanced chassis and the Impreza seems to hug the corners.
The STi has also had something of a makeover. While the WRX inherits its suspension system, this road-going rally car gets a completely new system on a revised chassis and more rigid steering mountings, all of which attempts to keep the gap between the two versions worthy of the price difference.
In terms of competitors, there are several popular rivals vying for the attention of car fans looking for supercar performance but with a budget under €50,000.
Most pale in comparison to the Scooby. Yet, there's one that has proved to be its constant nemesis: the Mitsubishi Evo VIII. It's the car that makes the Scooby look like all bark but no bite.
Subaru has assigned the new STi to do battle with the Evo, but in Ireland at least it's handicapped by a significant price difference from the start.
Improvements aside, it will take a lot more work to knock the Evo off its throne.