I bought one of these for the wife when she needed to get out of the bucket of shit she was previously driving. I drive it from time to time and its nice to feel a bit of boost since selling my wrx 3 years ago. It's no race car but it more than does the job for her and is fairly decent when it comes to fuel consumption.

The sound of the 5cyl even through the stock exhaust sounds fantastic (improves even more so if you de-cat it. There are plenty of youtube vids showing so). The steering is ok but still a little light (even when it has been switched to sport mode from either comfort or standard). I will more than likely inherit this from the missus when the car is paid out and i am no longer in the car industry and need something to drive. Probably wont do anything full on, maybe a tune (there some very good ones out there), lower it a little and change the exhaust.

All in all i think they are a great car and do exactly what they intend to do ie: a fun sporty drive that has some poke without being overly "in your face" (obviously until you release your inner mod bug!!!!!!). The Recaro seats are especially comfortable and supportive and the european build quality and interior is much nicer than anything comparable from Asia.

The FWD is fine and it still holds itself around corners so dont worry about the fact that its not AWD. With a few suspension mods i guess it would improve even more so.

I'm very happy with the one i purchased and so is the wife. At the very minimum at least go out and drive some to see if its "your cup of tea". There is also plenty of help out there via the numerous ford forums (although they do lack the character of p-wrx).

Hope that helps.