But thats the thing, I don't think that the Forester will appeal to a different demographic as the WRX Sportwagon. Take for example, me- I'm not too young, not too old (26). Would like a fast car, not too bad on the mileage (they're close enough), would like to haul a decent amount of stuff but not take up too much space on the road for around 25k or less.

But the decision is not easy.......
Forester: apparently faster according to C&D, bigger with more space, but a smidge more expensive (perhaps insurance will be less than WRX to negate this).

WRX: better looking (subjective), lighter, handles better (who knows maybe the Forester handles like a porsche too), aftermarket support is there, and wagons are cool cuz they're different.

Its going to be tough........and I pray to God that RAV-4s, CR-Vs, and Elements don't become turbocharged and run the 1/4 in the 13's.

 

better looking? I agree with it being totally subjective. I like my XT better than the bug eyed look (I have the jdm headlamps) of my wrx. The 04 impreza is much sexier though.

lighter? Well, if you nit pick, it's only ~45lbs heavier, but that's pretty negligible in my book.

handling? Stock for stock, the wrx is obviously better, but keep in mind, the forester esentially uses the SAME platform as the impreza so improving handling isn't a hard thing to do, just need some mods! Not to mention those yoko geolanders (suv all season cr@p) SUCK! I put on my volks from my wrx onto my xt (bronze ce28n's w/225/40/18 toyo t-1s) and handling is GREAT! I just want some coilovers and rear sway.

aftermarket support? most of the performance parts from a wrx will fit on the xt. (ex: turboback, pulleys, intake, etc...). The turbo on the xt is a td04l-13 (exact same as the stock wrx) and only pushes out 11.6 max psi whereas the wrx is 13.5psi. Imagine the gains from simple ecu remaps! A moderator from the southeast forum on nasioc even took time to crossreference the part numbers b/w a sti and xt and according to him, the STi and XT share the SAME engine minus the tmic, turbo, and ecu... Magazines also state similar information. The xt also uses the same hood scoop as the 02-03 wrx...mmm...sti hoodscoop.... Cobb tuning has expressed great interest in modding the XT as well.

I have no doubt that the xt will produce more power than my wrx with less mods! (I'm running 369whp w/my wrx on a conservative 93 octane map...sr50, apsdr650 fmic, perrin fuel rails, pe650 cc injectors, utec, etc....etc...mrt gearset anytime now). I'm worried about the trans on the xt though. There have been rumors that they're using the tranny from the na foresters (x/xs), while others are thinking its a beefed up forester x/xs tranny. Let's hope its the latter

 

I guess I might have to test drive one of these bad boys. Damn Subaru for making me choose (its like trying to decide between Carmen Electra and Liz Hurley.....