[Mr.ac]

By the length of your essay, the BRZ/86 is not for you.

Reddit questions:
Yes it's easy to learn, and forgiving.
Yes, I highly recommend other brands.
Not really its been trouble free if you don't fuck with it. Most common problems are clutch throw out bearing blowing up. Other is faulty coil packs. Most are covered under warranty, but simple cheap for diy-ers.
Don't retard the car with cheap all season tires. Either get a proper winter set of tires or a winter beater car.

The tranny is notchy, it's really just a coupe. So it's useless for anything else.

My recommendation: get that outback or legacy/wrx in a manual. That would fill the emptiness and meet your requirements.