picked up a forester last december. solid, reliable, and a blast to drive.
in general they have a bit more horsepower and lot more torque than similarly priced cars. besides that you get all wheel drive to boot. i know you live back east (right?) so that may come in handy in the winter time. for me it means peace of mind on ski trips to tahoe.
be careful though because the specs you listed are not for the RS but for the WRX. the RS is a NA boxer 4 (non-turbo) which kicks out something like 160hp or so. for that size car it's fine but the WRX is a whole different beast. looking at the other cars on your list i suspect that it is the WRX on your list and not the RS. i warn you though, if you test drive the WRX your entire list will go out the window... the window of the WRX!
