iRage

I said the 406 is NOT the sportiest of cars. Its pretty much a comfy barge
If you can find a SPORTS variant of the Familia you might like it...its not that bland. But you have to accept the fact that cars from a each era look quite similar and has the same blandness. In each era there would be only one or two cars that actually go against the norm, especially in the segment of cars you are looking at. Are you sure the 1st gen basic/standard Imprezza is out of your budget ? Not any of the converted ones but a standard one. If it is out of your budget you probably can thank the conversion hungry kids for that  How about a Ceres or Marino (hopefully with the 4A-FE engine) ? 
Since you have driven only for 6 hours...are you sure you want to spend that much money and buy a car ? Perhaps you should look at something a bit smaller and older and get to know about cars and be a bit more experienced driving one ? Driving in SL is quite tricky and you are bound to get dings and scratches and perhaps a car that stretches your entire budget might not be the best of things to do ? You can find box lancers, P70 series Starlets, E80/90 Corollas (if not the sedan perhaps something like a Corolla II/Tercel coupe with the turbo charged engine and popup lights ?)  In fact ask J or C (who ever your friend might be) if Dinesh Hendsman's (a well known restorer and collector of classics) AE81 Corolla is still there.
Then there are B12 Sunnae/Sunnies (whatever the plural of Sunny is...there were a few coupe's one was a NISMO package and RZ-1s for sale) for a lot less. 
These cars are simple so if you are in to the whole motor mechanics thing you can do basic repairs and maintenance yourself and will be a good platform for you to learn some skills. Also, these cars are relatively smaller, lighter and has pretty decent visibility too unlike some of the later models with high bootlids and low driver positions, etc...also parts are relatively cheap if and when that ding or two does happen.

I suppose you are looking at the P90 series ?
The P90 Series RS came in both 1.3L and 1.5L variants. The 1.3L variant came with a 2SZ-FE engine putting out like 85hp and had drum brakes in the back. The 1.3L RS was pretty much like every other 1.3L Vitz with the only difference being it had a sporty body kit, lights and some interior trim. So it was just the normal 1.3L Vitz made to LOOK sporty.
The actual Sporty RS was the 1.5L variant with the 1NZ-FE engine. This particular RS came with all four disk brakes, slightly stiffer suspension and the sporty cosmetic stuff. The 1.5L variant also could be had with a manual transmission.
So..yes..the 1.3L RS is real and from the manufacturer. Its just that it was nothing more than just a smoke screen. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the normal 1.3L Vitz are quicker than the 1.3L RS because the 1.3L F grade Vitz is a good 20-30 kg lighter than the 1.3L RS.
The P130 series on the other hand is a different story. The RS comes only in 1.5L guise with the 1NZ engine.
The P10 series, like the P90, came in 1.3L and 1.5L variant RSs. Both had all the options like all four disk brakes, spports suspension, 14" wheels, etc...
Personally, I would not bother with the 1.3L RS becuase you pay a lot more for cosmetics and no real gain in performance. However, I believe 1.5L RS variants are quite hard to come by in SL. I beleive the most common would be the Swift Sports followed by the Demio sport grade. In away, the rarity of the 1.5L RS by itself is an attraction I suppose.
DISCLAIMER : Car salesmen in SL are notorious for dressing up cars in to something else, so there is a high chance that they would take a normal 1.3L Vitz and then dress it up to look like a 1.3L RS.
EDIT : According to the catalog the 1.5L came with HID headlamps and the 1.3L RS came with 15" wheels. Also the AUTO AC seems t have been standard in the 1.5L RS. However the funnest part is the 1.5L RS seems to have been offered with a LSD (since it is an option not all would have come with it)

How much of a "car nut"/"petrol head" are you ?
Leather seats can always be redone....however:
The car is going to require pampering and a lot of TLC like a new born baby (or a labrador...those things are very very needy as well). You can source parts locally through the agents; but it will cost you dearly, so you will have to buy/order it abroad and bring it down yourself and little niggles will have to be taken care of asap without letting them escalate (and these things will have little niggles as they have all these funky gadgets that can have small bouts of temper tantrums). 
So when it comes to maintenance..if you are expecting a car that you can just pump petrol and use and do an oil change now and then like the Aqua; then give it to a garage when something comes up and have them replace parts from Panchi...then DON'T BUY THIS.
If you are a complete and utter car nut and think that
- spending hours on ebay looking for parts is the best use of your online time
- spending time at garages/auto-spas gently massaging your car in to good health is joyful and therapeutic
- a car breaking down is away to emotionally connect with your ride...
then buy all means buy it .
In fact, the very fact that you are wondering about maintenance shows that you are probably not going to fully appreciate the car.
Sorry to be negative...but just putting it out there. 

Well..for starters....its not like the Allion/Premio CVT is the end of the world or anything. There were no serious defects and recalls on the CVT unit. Its a thing common to CVTs and any other component in a car. If not properly cared for it will break; let it be an Allion/Premio, Nissan or a Honda. Granted CVTs in general might not have the robustness of the old school AT or MT transmissions. Allions/Premios came by the ship load so you hear more stories of that breaking than anything else. Also, 80% of the Allion/Premio buyers bought it to show off and are too cheap to maintain them. You will hear similar CVT issues with the old Fit, Vitz etc...and then other issues with another car, and the list goes on. So if you are planning on buying a car that has no issues then you will be waiting for a long time. There is no such thing as a perfect car.
So if you find an honest, clean Allion/Premio; that has actually been taken care of with proper scheduled preemptive maintenance work and running services carried out; you should not run away from it just because of stories of a CVT box failing. IF that is what you want and desire.
But seriously..those things are seriously over priced. You can buy a Mark X of similar vintage which is a much more luxurious and funner car for the same price or less. Granted Mark Xs are really hard to come by.
You won't find many other options in the same category from Japan but you do get better options in higher categories like an Accord, Mark X (if you can find one) or Teana of the same era. There are also quite a few Euro options but I am not sure if you would be ready for the joy and discipline required to take care of one being a new car owner and all.
Are you sure you don't want something like a Lancer EX or a Civic ?
 

Oh...okay....well still...it doesn't change the fact that you still will be dropped behind the wheel of a high powered car which requires the driver to be sensible and mature when driving in public roads. It is just that there has been a huge influx of young drivers behind these types of vehicles (BMWs, Evo, STi conversions, etc...) driving like complete morons..racing...driving on the wrong side of the road,etc...
The STi is a nice car.,..better if you can get an original one or at the very least a proper conversion of high caliber. HOwever, please don't expect it to be maintained by maka-basses like most Toyota and Nissan owners do. You will need to be a bit more selective of how, when and where you take care of it.