I just rented an 86 GTS (auto) and took it for a road trip while on holiday in another state, then I cam home and drove my 02 WRX w/ ecu tune, sways & coil-overs.

GT86
The car was unfortunately an Auto (as pretty well all rentals are) so It wasn't really a fair comparison as my WRX is manual, but I still gave it a good road test. The auto box isn't great, although i was surprised at the speed of the upshifts, however downshifting from 6th gear to 3rd using the paddles for a sweeping bend really was slow and painful.

The steering was taught and direct, and this was probably the most noticeable improvement over my WRX, I especially liked the small steering wheel.

The car also sat flat in the corners and the suspension was quite firm for stock springs and shocks, I came away thinking I wouldnt have needed to spend all the cash I did on my WRX suspension if I had one of these.

The car was obviously under powered, however if you really plant your foot it will still pretty easily break all speed limits in the country. The lack of power was most noticeable on corner exit and up hills (particularly with the auto box), this is easily the biggest negative compared to the WRX.

My lasting impression was that this car would be a great daily drive, particularly because I covered 200kms on the day trip with spirited driving and only used 19 litres of petrol, It would have easily been 30 litres+ in the WRX.

The day rental cost was $95 from the local Hertz which I considered a bit of a bargain, and I'd recommend it.