Yes, this will be a daily driver. My commute to work is approximately 13 miles one-way, with 95% of that highway driving. I tend to do a lot of driving when I get a new car (like 200+ mile round trips just for a cheeseburger kind of thing). There is a lot of high-traffic highway driving, especially during the winter (hockey arena moved, so its like 50miles from me). Road noise and buffeting would probably be an issue.

I decided that saving a few thousand dollars wasn't that much when happiness is involved. I'm going to stop in for a test drive of the STi tomorrow, and check out the interior/exterior first hand.