Well, we went test driving and drove two Subaru WRX's and a Maxda 3 MPS.
We bought the MPS. Its a mint late 2011 model in pearl white with 14,600 km on the clock. Came with cargo mat, MPS floor mats, dark tints and that thin transparent film to protect against stone chips. Leather, sat nav, cruise control, dual zone climate control and Bose audio.
We went to the Subaru dealer at first to check out a 2010 and 2012 WRX hatch. They wouldn't let us test drive what we came to see with some idiotic excuse of not being allowed to put km's on the cars for sale, instead steering us towards a new demo sedan. The 2012 hatch had been towed to a shopping centre to be put on display. Ok we will test drive the sedan to get a sense of what it was like. I thought it was ok. Was a few rattles in the interior which I could have lived with. The missus hated it due to its larger proportions. She didn't like the clutch and gearbox either. I didn't mind it as its something you can get used to in 5 minutes.
Got back to the showroom and the wife told the salesman she hated the sedan and only wants to look at hatches, and what do you know, all of a sudden we can drive them now. They made us wait around for bloody ages and in the meantime one of the dealers came over to spruik the benefits of Subaru financing and paint protection. Sent him on his way. Got into the 2010 hatch (had around 60,000km on it) and it was a bit of a let down. Easy to drive and the performance great, but the creaks, rattles and groans wasn't really something I was expecting. Sort of felt like I was in my old Commonwhore. Not quite as bad but not far from it. Nasty cheap interior and really uncomfortable seats. This one had the premium pack too.
I know that when it comes to these cars, the focus is on the performance and drivetrain, but it was fairly poverty pack inside. They would not budge much on the price of the 2012 hatch (circa $40k) only coming down around $500 if we were prepared to buy that day. The trade in was only $1500. So I was looking at around $38,000 change over.
Went to the next dealer where we found the MPS. Test drove it for an hour. Was easy to drive, 6 speed gearbox felt better than the WRX's 5 speed, easy light clutch. Felt pretty solid with no rattles or noises. I provoked the infamous torque steer a few times, and to be honest, its only really an issue when you are really up it. Around town its very docile and drives probably just like any other Mazda 3. When its on boost that's a completely different story. Power delivery is pretty savage but that's what makes it fun I reckon. It felt slower than the WRX (which it is anyway) but is sufficient for a daily commuter. The wife had no issues with it. It did surprise her how the power delivery comes on strong when on boost but she said 'ah as long as I hang onto the steering wheel I should be right'.
Overall she liked it better than the WRX, she likes its split personality which surprised me. I like it too but wasn't fussed either way. The MPS is certainly a nicer place to sit in than the WRX and with both cars I won't be driving them to their limits.
We worked out a change over price of just under $30k with $3500 trade in.
Pick it up on Saturday. Already looking on line for matt black wheels haha.