ILIGANOkay; I have had enough of this stupid claims!
Imperial College is a great academic institution that focuses on technology, engineering, IT and physical sciences. As an academic institution, it is considered one of the very best in the UK. However, it's reputation is not as good outside of the UK as it is in the UK. It does not have a name in the US, in most parts of Asia, South America, Africa and even in many Commonwealth countries. It's a great college, but it does not have the cachet that Oxbridge has, not even that of LSE's.
Warwick is a multi-academic institution offering programs across many fields. True, it does not have the cachet or brand name recognition as Oxford's or Cambridge's but no university in the UK has Oxford's cachet. Warwick is barely 40 years old yet it's now almost as prestigious as Imperial in the UK and oustite of the UK. It's maths programs are now slightly better than Imperial's. Its business school is superior and more prestigious than Imperial's. Warwick has also a prestigious law program, as well as, economics, politics, international relations, English and practically is very, very good, if not excellent, in what it does. Given more time, it would improve more in league tables as it has been in the pass, and it would rival Imperial in all programs that it does.
Warwick engineering is NOT rubbish. It's your ignorance about Wariwck's engineering program that is. Warwick's engineering is pretty much like Oxford's - a generalist one, which means does not really concentrate on a per field basis, but it's far from being rubbish. Warwick's engineering is pretty much like Brown's or Dartmouth's or Princeton's... these are not really engineering heavy schools in the US, but they sure are excellent schools and their engineering programs aren't rubbish for sure. On top of that, they attract very high quality students, just like the Warwick engineering program is.
In the real world, there is now very little that separates Warwick to Imperial. And as Warwick is getting older, it's gaining more reputation and piling up alumni who would one day make their alma mater proud of them as they attract only but the best students.