I wanted a fairly inexpensive, but fun-to-drive car to learn stick on. The BRZ had just come out and got good reviews, and I liked the idea of RWD (my DD was a Mitsubishi Evo AWD, and I still have a Prius that the wife usually ended up driving, which is FWD).
I had considered the FR-S, but none were in the area at the time; given the similarity, I almost consider them the same "option".
I looked at the Focus ST (which was getting good reviews and competitive comparisons).
Also debated going used for my first stick, figuring if I killed it, it wouldn't be expensive. But then figured if the car wasn't nice/fun/working, I wouldn't drive it, either. At the top of the list there was an RX-8 Shinka edition in the area. I'd had an automatic RX-8 (one of the first years, I think), which I enjoyed a lot, as it was very fun to drive, RWD, and actually sat two passengers (nobody could sit behind me, but it was definitely possible for two adults to sit on the passenger side). Sometimes, when I'm not driving the BRZ, I think maybe I should've saved the money and gone with the RX-8. But c'est la vie.
Also considered a Mustang (but everyone around here has a Mustang -- I like being different), a Mini (also ubiquitous), and the Dodge Challenger (I really like the retro look on that) but decided I like turning corners.
Wife wanted to get a 128i but
Seems a lot of us were thinking around the same options...
...Paul