I think I've compiled a list of cars I'm considering (20-30k, preferably a couple years used), with an emphasis on fun. Not sure yet how practical I want to go:
NC Miata
ND Miata
FR-S/86/BRZ
WRX
Fiesta ST
Honda Fit (because why not)
Mazda 3?
I daily a '17 WRX ('15-'17 are the exact same) and I would say it's a good purchase depending on what you want. If you want a sporty daily driver/commuter then the WRX isn't a bad choice. I'll run off a few pros and cons for you after daily driving it for almost a year now:
Pros:
-Soft suspension which results in a comfortable ride, but stiff enough to attack corners hard.
-Tires, cornering grip, etc. are fantastic.
-Decent MPG (you will average between 22-24)
Cons:
-
Absolutely garbage stock tune, which results in 1-5:
-1.) feels like shit when you are driving
-2.) the power sucks
-3.) there is a massive dead spot between 4-5k RPM, the car has basically zero pull in this RPM range. once it gets past 5k it starts to pull again.
-4.) the stock tune results in the throttle pedal being not linear at all. 80% of the throttle is in the first 20% of pedal. this results in an extremely touchy throttle, and makes it hard to drive for beginners.
-5.) absurd amount of rev hang, especially in gears 1 > 2 > 3. Basically when you push in the clutch to shift, the RPM doesn't drop for about 2 seconds. This was added for emissions and really feels like shit to drive with.
-the gearbox feels like shit. it is extremely crunchy, especially the 1 > 2 shift. it feels like you are kayaking on rocks.
-the transmission is extremely unforgiving for shifting. you have to almost "catch" the transmission/engine friction point when letting out the clutch, and slip it with some throttle. if you don't, be prepared to be thrown through the windshield.
-1st and 2nd gears are incredibly short, and extremely overly jerky. this makes low speed driving (parking lots, etc.) more difficult than it needs to be. you will learn to slip the clutch in this car a lot more than you normally would have to just to keep things smooth.
To sum up the cons, AWD manuals are harder to drive smoothly in general than RWD/FWD cars, but the WRX takes it to the next level. This is probably the most difficult new car sold today to learn a manual transmission on. A lot of the issues with the car can be fixed with a stage 1 tune that comes with a COBB Accessport. The crunchy, shit feeling, gearbox, can be smoothed a bit using aftermarket bolt on parts, like the Perrin shift stop. Lastly, the car just isn't very fast. It doesn't pull hard at all. It's actually kind of disappointing and you will get bored of it pretty quickly. The ~'14 WRXs with the EJ pull harder, but the 15-17 with the FA20DIT just has no soul. 100% stock, the WRX is just rough around the edges. I've been reading /r/WRX for the past year, and I have seen countless dozens of posts highlighting every single one of the issues I mentioned.