Unless you live somewhere snowy

Right. Don't do that.

I'm a RWD bigot. If you have snow, you need AWD and/or skill. I don't live in the snow, but I do visit it from time to time, and I'm more comfortable in a RWD car in the snow than FWD. FWD is probably easier for a novice in the snow, but I'm rather happier having seperate friction circles for steering and drive, rather than trying to do it all at one end.

Similarly, I don't really equate AWD with handling or performance in the dry. It's really different, and perhaps more forgiving, but I don't actually think it's worth its weight. FWD is obviously wrong for dry performance. (before the Saab purists descend...my family has owned several Saabs, and they were great cars. Indeed, being FWD was the only thing wrong with them.)

As to the aesthetic issues, I'm in both camps. As evidenced by the empeg-carriers I own: A Miata (gorgeous) and an M Coupe (form follows function, and not that closely)

The aircraft analogy is apt...when Automobile gave the M Coupe their Design of the Year award, the article was titled "Don't think 911, think Bf.109"

So my recommendation, get the 350Z. You like the looks much better (I'm not sure I agree, but that design doesn't do it for everyone), and I think it's probably a better driver's car. And if you're concerned about capacity, look at the Infiniti version. It's heavier, but all the road tests keep coming up with the same 0-60 times as the 350Z.

I'm with furtive - but as pointed out in another thread, I probably haven't seen 'proper' snow...

I get the impression that this will be a daily driver, right? (Based on your practicality requirement.) You might want to read C&D's review of the STi. They really like the car (although they liked the Evo more), but they do have a good number of complaints about it, which I think become more significant for a daily driver (stuff like noise from the tires, noise from the interior panels, noise from the scoop and wing bouncing).

My thought is that it might be too rough for a daily driver. And, if you don't like the styling, the looks you get might not be to your liking, either.

Their review of the 350Z (compared to four other two-seaters) was quite positive. It came in second only to the Honda S2000, and the way it was written was more like the Honda's better for redlining, but the 350Z is the ultimate in practicailty within the powerful two-seater confines. It's almost as if they wanted to split the contest in two, and give two first places.

I'd say that unless you plan to haul around more than one passenger or a lot of cargo on a regular basis, or if you plan on going to the track regularly, that you'll be happier with the 350Z. If you need to haul stuff, rent a truck. (The storage space I used to rent allowed use of their truck for free, even.) You'll deal with the styling every day, but the extra 13 HP in the STi will only benefit you every once in a while, and maybe not at all if you don't take it on a track.

Plus, I'd bet that the 350Z is more fun to drive. Of course, this is all said without ever having been in either one. And you should probably check out the storage on the 350Z. There's supposed to be behind-seat storage and a trunk. I don't know if they're connected. You might want to see if you can fit your regular stuff in there without problems.

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.

Oh, yeah. I don't understand the thing with not being able to test drive it, but get a friend to test drive it and go along for the ride.

The thing that really scares me about the reviews you posted was the bowing and flexing of the scoop and wing. That just screams cheap...

Just to counter that... the guys on the NASIOC.com boards with STi's have made a few posts questioning why C&D said anything about scoop and wing flex... they haven't noticed it at all. And like i said earlier... if it's a problem, you'd have NO trouble finding a WRX owner to trade you their scoop and wingless trunk lid.

Yeah, but the scoop is definitely functional. IIRC, the intercooler(s?) are right below the scoop, and I don't know what would happen if they didn't get enough air.

The wing might also be required to provide enough downforce for the speeds the STi can get to.

Wasn't there something about a preignition problem, too?

The "detonation" problem continues to be an active topic on the varoius Subaru chat boards. Rumors have Subaru coming out with a fix "soon". I wouldn't touch an STi until the fix was out there and people were posting to say "my car works now".