If your initial reaction to the scoops, spoilers, wings, and flares of the 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS is anything other than, “Wow, it looks like a rally car!” then it’s not likely to be the car for you.  If the letters WRX don’t have any car-related meaning in your vocabulary, and if Colin McRae is an unfamiliar name, then the 2.5 RS isn’t going to make a great deal of sense.  You have to love the sporty Subaru for what it represents as well as for what it is.

The vents and spoilers look like the body kits currently in vogue with the sporty-import drag racer crowd, but this Subie is no drag racer.  Those body add-ons are derived from those on the Subaru Impreza WRX.  In America, Subaru’s success in the mostly European sport of rallying is known only to diehard Subaru fans and to the small but dedicated cadre of US rally fans.  Basically designed to race all-out on any surface–paved, gravel, sand–rally cars represent the toughest, fastest cars that manufacturers can come up with.  Subaru Imprezas won the World Rally Championship in 1995, 1996, and 1997.  Roadgoing versions of rally cars are popular in Japan and Europe, and the legendary Subaru Impreza WRX is one of these.  To the chagrin of performance and rally fans, Subaru decided that the 300-hp WRX is too hot for American roads and, starting in 1998, offered the next best thing:  the 2.5 RS.  The hyper-Impreza benefits from the addition of a limited-slip rear differential as standard equipment for 2000.

The car certainly looks like there’s a racer in its lineage.  The 2.5 RS look is that of a little coupe clad in automotive armor, ready to do high-performance battle.  A massive scoop grows out of the middle of the hood, flanked by a pair of smaller vents on either side.  The deep front spoiler houses two large, rally-style driving lights (depowered for on-road use, of course).  Big 16” five-spoke alloy wheels add to the impression of a tensed creature about to spring.  Perched atop the trunklid is a massive spoiler which leaves no doubt as to this car’s position among humbler Imprezas.  It’s not subtle in the least.

Inside, front-seat travelers are treated to snug, comfortable seats and a standard Impreza dash with white-faced gauges.  Rear-seat passengers have to duck under a stiff, poorly placed positioning arm for the front seatbelts.  Once back there there’s room for two adults to get comfortable in the back as well–a trick that most small sports coupes can’t manage.  While the seating and driving positions are comfortable for short hops or long trips, the 2.5 RS shares many of the Impreza’s minor ergonomic quibbles.  The radio is hard to operate without taking one’s eyes off of the road, even after becoming familiar with the buttons.  The center console feels cheaply made.  The sunvisors are hard to latch without looking away from the road yet again.  The two cupholders are afterthoughts; one is a fussy folding affair located inside the console whose use precludes any storage, and the other slides out of the dash, only to block the ventilation controls.

Unfortunately for WRX fans, the hood vents on the 2.5 RS are blocked off.  And it’s not turbocharged.  Under that television-sized hood bulge is the same 165-hp 2.4 horizontally opposed (“boxer”) four-cylinder found in the Outback.  Of course, the smaller Impreza reaps measurable performance benefits from the larger Outback’s engine; it’s just not the skull-cracking hammerblow of power suggested by the bodywork.  Subaru’s boxer fours are known for developing prodigious amounts of torque, and the 2.5 RS is no exception.  The car is great for in-town point and squirt traffic-carving antics because if its ability to make use of its power at low revs.  Just don’t expect to beat an Integra GS-R or a Mustang V8 in a drag race.  You can’t.

The Subaru has two flaws–the aforementioned raised expectations, and a lack of sports-car mood in the driving experience.  This can be traced to the car’s rally-car lineage.  Sports cars are toys.  They want to be your friend.  They’re ready and willing to play.  Rally cars are tools.  Their job isn’t to make friends; it’s to conquer whatever stretch of road is thrown at them.  As a result, the 2.5 RS is a little bit short on personality.  The handling and brakes are impeccable.  Between Subaru’s all-wheel-drive system and a limited-slip differential, it’s nearly impossible to put a wheel wrong.  The 2.5 RS just pulls strongly away, regardless of road conditions.  Unfortunately, the car does all of the mechanical things wonderfully, but doesn’t talk about itself much.  Part of the joy of driving a sporty car is the feeling of the car working in a way that it was meant for, in a way that pleases it.  This is missing in the 2.5 RS.  The car takes little pleasure in a turn or a shift well executed, which makes it hard for the enthusiastic driver to do the same.  It’s okay for a race or rally car to have this “as you wish” feeling about it, but roadgoing cars ought to have a greater role in the driving experience.  It’s supposed to be a dance partner, not a simple tool.  The 2.5 leaves a driver satisfied, but a little bit cold.

Personality aside, the 2.5 RS makes an excellent road-carving tool.  The all-wheel drive and limited-slip differential make it almost impossible to spin a tire, whether the Subie is diving into a corner, accelerating out of one, launching from a dead stop on a pea-gravel road or splashing through a deep puddle.  The 2.5 RS just finds grip and takes off, regardless of the terrain.  This stability directly affects the handling and braking, of course.  Sudden transitions are handled with perfect poise.  Slamming on the brakes mid-turn is an invitation to a spin in most cars; the Subaru merely takes a tighter line.  With all of the grip available and plenty of low-end torque, many sliding situations can be corrected with a counterintuitive stomp on the gas!  The ability to power out of uncertain situations is bred into rally cars, and the 2.5 RS has a good dose of it.  It’s exciting enough to make the complaints about the ergonomics seem meaningless.

The jack-of-all-trades stability is enhanced by fantastically quick steering response.  The 2.5 reacts with no hesitation, thanks in part to the low center of gravity provided by the low, wide boxer engine.  It’s a very easy car to drive, despite its hard-core hot rod appearance.  Around town it is a little bit more sensitive than lesser Imprezas because of those big, grippy tires, but the ride isn’t race-car rigid.

Of course, the 2.5 RS is the top of the line when it comes to Imprezas.  The larger wheels and tires, more powerful engine, and limited-slip differential are all standard equipment.  Our test vehicle featured the optional CD player.  Subaru offers 24-hour roadside assistance on all of the vehicles it sells.  For 2000, a 2.5 RS sedan is also available.  It’s equipped identically to the coupe, the only difference being a smaller spoiler on the trunklid.  Both versions start at $19,295.

The Fact Box:

All specs are for the Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS coupe, which we tested.

Length:    172.2 in.
Width:        67.1 in.
Height:        55.5 in.
Wheelbase:    99.2 in.
Curb weight:    2.820 lb.

Cargo space:    11.1 cu. ft.

Base price:    $19,295
Price as tested: $20,214

Horsepower:    165 hp
Fuel capacity:    15.9 gal.
Est. mileage:    21/28

6/2009 update: Well, not long after this review was written, the WRX came along and made the 2.5RS kind of redundant.  There are probably a few running around out there still, but everything it can do, the ‘Rex can do better.