Do you really want to be talked out of buying a WRX? If so I can definitly try and convince you to buy something better… if you want an AWD car the Lancer Evolutions have a much better awd system… symmetrical all wheel drive is a fancy way to say a pretty basic awd system. If you want a project car I highly suggest a Lancer Evolution over a WRX as they make significantly more power per mod/$ put into it. Evos are much more reliable if you plan to race or drive the car hard. Evos are significantly easier to work on and are more similarly laid out to other modern cars providing a great building block or a space to learn. If you don’t want to look like the majority of teens I would stay away from the WRX. If you want a driver’s car the Lancer Evolutions are truly a step above all cars anywhere close to its price range. A lot of the evo parts are similar enough to older models that even junk yard parts off of an older model can be used and found cheaply.

Long story short don’t buy a WRX. Buy an Evo if you want an AWD 2.0L car that had a manual option.