THE Subaru Impreza WRX is one of the great bargains of performance motoring. Relatively cheap, extremely fast thanks to its turbocharged 2.0-litre "boxer" engine and offering tonnes of grip courtesy of its all-wheel drive chassis, there's no wonder it has sold in its thousands. And yet the second generation version launched in 2000 was heavier and slower than its predecessor, and the styling was heavily criticised. Since then there's even been a price cut to coincide with the 2002 model year versions. Which is what we are testing here, the less popular hatchback combined with the new four-speed automatic transmission.