There was a time when carmakers rejoiced at the thought of being able to offer performance sedans to the masses. The likes of Mitsubishi and Subaru spruce to mind almost instantly, although the former has been plagued by the SUV disease and dropped the Lancer Evo altogether.

Subaru, on the other hand, is still selling the Impreza in various declinations - not WRX STi, though, which is sad. None of them, however, will give you the nostalgia like the 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi with Prodrive goodies.

Is this the best Subaru Impreza ever made?

It's hard to tell. But it’s one of the most recognizable and loved Subarus, that’s for sure.

The car showcased by Mat Watson is the Blob Eye, the first facelifted variant of Subaru’s second-gen Impreza, which came to improve the Bug Eye, which was the nickname fans gave to the pre-facelift second-gen Impreza WRX STi. A second facelift was applied later on, which forced Subaru enthusiasts to call it the Hawk Eye.

But other than its innate attractiveness for boy racers, the WRX packed a 2.0-liter, flat-four (aka boxer) turbo engine good for 225 horsepower. Even better, the STi featured the same unit but heavily upgraded and tweaked, so it put out 265 horsepower.

On top of that, Subaru dealers could fit the Prodrive pack (for a hefty fee, of course) which came with even more add-ons and improvements leading to a power output of 305 horses. Torque was also nothing to play with, at north of 400 Newton-meters (295 pound-feet).

We’re talking about a car that’s bound to stay forever in car history books, so it’s fitting then that you go watch the full 19-minute video and maybe learn or reminisce a thing or two about the good old Subaru WRX STi days.