You made a good call. I would have liked a WRX but they way I am, I would have not settled for anything other than the STi and it was too pricey for what I wanted at the time. At the time the WRX was the lower powered 225hp or whatever it was and was more of a dog than I would have wanted.
In the end the deal about FWD, etc. is a bit over blown. Depends on how you drive I guess. I'm not doing full red line runs in rain or snow nor do I flog the shit out of it off the line.