Why bother to compare the WRX and SRT-4? The only things in common are the number of doors, overall size and a turbo. Different price, different intended market, different states of tune.

My opinion: a lot of performance cars are bought by people who drive them to work and the grocery store, and are never pushed any closer to the limit than a high school kid does to his automatic 4-cylinder Accord with a couple of subs in the trunk and altezzas on the back. It happens to any performance car with a reputation that is liveable as a daily driver. They drive around town and are satisfied with the chassis tuning because they lack the driving skill to push the car to its true limits. They still can tell themselves they drive a WRX, 350Z, S4, M3 or whatever, so everything is right with the world. The SRT-4 is not for these people. It's cheap, and it takes the platform to about the furthest state of tune possible from the factory short of including an LSD. It is rough riding, noisy, and uncomfortable. It is a Neon which doesn't exactly cause a crowd of people to form while pulling up to the local Starbucks. It's a refinement be damned, let's put as much go, stop and stick possible in this thing, limited production performance model.

Take a WRX, stick on a set of real performance tires, stiffen up the suspension, unbolt the muffler and see what happens to the sales numbers. All the people who aspire to have a performance car just to have one are no longer able to comute in the thing comfortably. Not to mention the price goes up from the spiffy rolling stock and suspension tuning.

Finally, a 300 hp front wheel drive car will work fine. With proper suspension tuning and a limited slip diff the thing will still handle fine. To the naysayers: just don't buy an SRT-4, nobody is making you. It's just a car and this is just the internet. If you don't like it fine, but damn...no need to get all worked up about what some guy you've never met (that being me) types into a web page at three in the morning.