That's a big distinction I see.
And you don't see a distinction between a Legacy STi vs. and a Euro Focus?
One is a limited volume, high performance version of Subaru's highest priced car line, the other is an alternative version of a mainstream model.
I think much of the criticism of Ford regarding their refusal to bring the European Focus here results from the fact that they left the original Focus largely unchanged here for so long while investing in major improvements to the same model elsewhere. In the internet age a lot of people notice things like that and it creates the impression that the North American Focus is a second rate car. Ford themselves may not have benchmarked the NA Focus vs. the Euro Focus but that doesn't mean North American consumers didn't notice the difference.
Weren't the previous generation Legacy STi's powered by the same engines as the WRX STis? If so they'd probably have been slower than the WRX STi and most likely more expensive too and, of course, the Legacy STI wouldn't have any extra brand prestige to sell on either. All considered a Legacy STi would have been a very tough sell here in North America. Now a 450hp, 3.7L Legacy STI certainly does bring something more than the WRX STI and would be a much easier sell.