Handling wise, well, what can I say? It's no BMW. Steering is a little vague, a little light, and not as communicative as a sport pk 3 series. Acceleration above 3,200 RPM is nice. Not much power below that. Interior qty and design is between a Honda Civic Si and a Honda Accord V6. Not bad, not great. Stereo is worse than HK, but includes a built-in, in dash 6 CD player. Rear leg room is cramped. Don't get me wrong though, the WRX is very good value. It will beat un-mod E46 323, 325, and 328's. I would rate it performance about the same as my mod'd 328Ci (ECIS and Dinan Stg II, Yoko AVS Sports), with the Bimmer having the edge. In other words, about the same as unmod'd 330. A mod'd 330, a more radically mod'd 328, and of course, a M3 will out perform the WRX. Of course, it would be relatively easy to chip the WRX to much more HP.

If I was in the market for a second car, the WRX wagon will be it.

Ed