I came from an '02 WRX, and also cross shopped the '09 STI with the 370Z. I really dislike the new body style of the Subaru. I wanted to like it because they are great cars and I have owned 2 Subarus, but I just feel like they went the wrong direction with the styling to appeal to the car buying masses instead of catering to their fan base. I was hoping the new body style would be more aggressive, and retain some of the styling features that the previous generations had (large personal pizza size foglights, prominent hoodscoop, etc.). When I drove the STI, I swear my Stage 1 WRX felt much faster. It felt too refined and toned down, I have rode in the previous generation STi's and they felt much faster as well.
Anyway, I think Nissan did the opposite with the styling of the Z car. I already liked what they had going with the 350Z. They maintained the same basic shape, the gauge pods, etc. and evolved the design. As far as performance of the old versus new Z, I cannot really speak from experience, but I can tell you from my butt dyno that my 370Z is definately faster than my old WRX.
Like one of the previous posters, yeah, I might miss AWD (especially if we get some snow this winter), but I certainly do not regret buying the 370Z to replace the WRX. I was a little concerned about going from a 4-door sedan to a 2-door hatchback coupe, but that is almost a non-issue. I guess I could always buy a beater car if I really need one.
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