Personally... I like the Mazdaspeed 3. I know, I own a MINI but I own a supercharged 06... not the new turbo 07. My car is far easier to mod and faster than any 07 out there (though that may not be what you're looking for). I don't trust 1st year runs of completely redesigned cars. But... I haven't driven one yet. If you go drive one this weekend, let me know what you think. I'd like to hear the honest opinion of a non-MINI owner. The cars are fun as hell though. I like mine a lot. I've heard some good reviews so far.

The 3 is pretty freakin nice though. The one we saw at the dealership was stickered at $23K I think. Mazda makes a pretty study car.

The WRX isn't a bad car at all either... but I am just not a fan of VW's. Not saying anything bad about them really, they just don't do it for me. To me, a Jetta, even if it's turbo, is still a soccer mom, suburban yuppie girl car.