I always imagine the Impreza chewing up the tarmac and spitting out great chunks of rubber, grit and wildlife as it hurtles across country. If the road's clear and you're in the mood it's a challenging and rewarding tussle. Brutal, slightly terrifying and wholly irresponsible but rewarding nonetheless. The Impreza doesn't like to waste any of its frenetic power in the dry and it's an eye-widening ride. You drive it with a firm hand and heavy right foot.

The Caterham requires a different approach. There's no ABS so you can't just stand on the middle pedal, and no lsd either, so clumsy jabs at the throttle induce messy wheelspin. And then there's the intuitive steering that reacts so quickly and positively that the Impreza's rack suddenly feels fit only for an old Roller. To get the best out of the Seven, your focus must be on smoothness and accuracy. It can't match the Impreza's storming turn of speed but despite only 115bhp it's massively entertaining. Where the Impreza seems determined to bite into every compression and steamroller any bump the Caterham glides along the surface. It slides more and requires just as much concentration, but you climb out smiling and exhilarated rather than grimacing and shell-shocked.

To be honest, either is great fun and it's fantastic to be able to choose between the two highs depending on your mood. And despite their diametrically opposed approaches, both cars share an endearing tolerance of idiotic driving. Dive into a corner too quickly in the Impreza and it scrubs off speed with just a murmur of disapproval from its Bridgestones; ignore the Caterham's deft responses to smooth inputs and you can slide it around like a complete hooligan without ever feeling like you're in the midst of an accident waiting to happen. Similarly, both can be something of a handful in the wet; the Impreza settling into scary big-momentum drifts and the Caterham having seemingly no grip at all.

Running them alongside each other is both a luxury and a reminder that evoness comes in all different shapes and sizes. But which is best? It depends on whether you crave purity of response or fierce grip and power, I suppose. Me? I'll keep them both, please.