Impreza saloon booted out in UK!

Neither the four-door version of the new car nor the sporty WRX variant will make it to British showrooms.

We revealed details of the all-new line-up last week (Top Story, Issue 955), and the family car was displayed at the New York Motor Show in both hatchback and saloon guises. However, the booted model won't come to the UK as the brand seeks to rival the Honda Civic and VW Golf, which both sell in greater numbers with five doors rather than four.

A spokesman said: "We've sold more saloons in the UK as our rally car has always been a four-door, but the next WRC Impreza will be a hatch."

While normally aspirated 1.5 and 2.0-litre five-doors arrive towards the end of the year, performance fans will have to wait until 2008 for the hot STi model. This will deliver 300bhp from its turbocharged 2.5-litre boxer engine.

That means the 225bhp WRX available in the US will be axed here. "We're trying to sell more normally aspirated cars and lower the range's average CO2 output," added the spokesman.