Vw's also carry a 5 star crash rating from the IIHS, if safety is ur thang. As far as the tires go, yes and no....it all depends on the tire, the performance rating of the tire, and your driving style. OE tires, although bearing the same branding and appearance as the retail tires, are not created equal. They are made to appear as the retail tire but made to the OEM's specs...usually in a cost cutting effort. You can see this when you go somewhere like Tirerack and look at 2 seeming identical tires, but 1 will have (OE) after it, and usually costs a few bucks less. This, coupled with a higher performance rating can wreak havok on tire life....throw in a few doses of spirited driving, and you have yourself a recipe for an early trip to the tire store. I would ASSUME that the WRX has a V rated tire, very high performance, soft compound, which will wear faster. You could lower that to an H rated tire and gain more tread life, but you MAY notice a decrease in handling IF you drive the car hard alot, otherwise, you should be fine....keep in mind, the manufacturer will NEVER recommend that you do this because they designed the chassis and handling characteristics as a complete package, including the tires, and they don't like you messin with their infinite wisdom.
Happy test driving!