yep i'd say its worth it, but thing is, the 09-10 wrx's were no slouches either.

i have my personal reasons, but i'd go with the STi

 

any maintenance/reliability issues i should worry about?

 

aren't they asking like 40 grand for the sti these days? Seems pretty steep to me. Especially since the car is ugly as fawk and handles worse than the old one.

 

dont do any clutch drops and you should be golden for many thousands of miles...especially if u keep it stock

 

Just order one...optioned out the way you want it and wait...

 

This

 

honestly for the premium they want for the STI, the new wrx is the better buy, car and driver actually did test that made the wrx beat the sti in some specs. The sti is a beast, but subaru kinda shot them selves in the foot by making the wrx so close in performance. I know there are a bunch of haters on here, but the EVO 10 would be a great choice to consider
C/D TEST RESULTS FOR WRX:
Zero to 60 mph: 4.7 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 12.9 sec
Zero to 120 mph: 19.7 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 6.3 sec
Standing 1/4-mile: 13.5 sec @ 102 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 142 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 160 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.87 g

C/D TEST RESULTS FOR WRX STI:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 13.0 sec
Zero to 140 mph: 36.1 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 6.6 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.6 sec @ 102 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 155 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.93 g
Top speed (governor limited): 151 mph
EPA fuel economy, city/highway driving: 17/23 mpg
C/D-observed fuel economy: 20 mpg
Unscheduled oil additions: 0 qt

 

The STi isn't a 0-60 car. I would pay the extra just for the DCCD and higher build quality of the STi. Having driven both, they are immense fun either way you go, but the STi def drives differently than the standard WRX.

 

I have owned a WRX, STi, and an Evo X. Evo is the better car. STi was nice, mine was up to stage two, but the evo is significantly more mod responsive. And, it's not ugly as hell.

 

I'm still waiting for my last gen forester STi :cry:

The STi is beefed up overall, the build quality is generally better but the WRX isn't to be underestimated as long as you treat the drive-train with some respect. IIRC the EJ255 in the WRX and the EJ257 in the STi are actually very much the same bottom end, though last time I checked people who paid the premium for an STi were still arguing otherwise.

Of course you do get all the other odds and ends for the price of the STi though, but in a DD situation I probably wouldn't concern myself with them, esp when a STi turbo and a tune will probably net near if not more power than a stock STi- which is probably why you can't find one h: