I just drove both last night and they are quite similar. Personally I thought the MS3 looked better, the suby as always is a bit homely. Also the mazda felt like it had more cargo and interior room.
Driving they were quite different... The new WRX was a bit of a letdown for me. Sure it's still quick but it felt more bland and subdued than the last wrx I drove. Seems to have lost some of the fun factor... The MS3 was really fun, although it was 18 degrees outside and it has summer performance tires, so any full throttle application was spinning the tires even on dry pavement...
I'd really like AWD but the MS3 seems like much more fun and cheaper too. We don't have the 08 STI's here yet but I did drive an 06. Extremely fun car but I don't think I could drive it, the blue interior and huge wing were too much for me. The car was also incredibly unrefined, very loud and a bit rough over the bumps, not very stable straight line tracking, out of date interior, etc. Amazing to drive though, the first time I hit the throttle it nearly scared the crap out of me. The 08 STI is probably a winner, keeping the refinement of the new wrx and adding in the excitement of the old STI. But pushing $40k OTD is a bit much...
I think the MS3 is a clear winner here, although if I didn't mind the payments the new STI would probably get my vote... I would kill for an AWD MS3 though, seems like a bit much power for FWD.
