I went with the 03 GT. Before I bought mine I tested a wrx, and a GTI vr6 then I drove the GT the decision was easy for me. As for the mileage I have 3 73 gears now and I average 21.5 to 23 mpg. As for the performance I've lined up with several wrx and srt-4s I smoked em all ! I know the wrx's...