I saw the FRS around Top Gear circuit, and iirc was .2 faster than the UK EP3, but as you say requires a lot of driver skill to get the optimum performance from it. Clarkson went on to say the diff on the UK roads made the car too twitchy on anything other than a smooth circuit, making it more suited to the track.
The Megane Trophy came later down the line, towards the end of the EP3's dominance, but granted it was also a quicker car around the track. The EP3 won the awards for being the most versatile, ironic really that it was born on the track but was so good on the roads. In recent years the French have been producing some really good hatches, and of course Ford dip their toe in the water every 6 or 7 years with the RS. Hopefully Honda can deliver another fantastic hatch with their 9th gen CTR sporting a 2.0 turbo, which will certainly have a lot of tuning potential I'm sure.
Anyway, we're drifting off topic slightly
I don't think there's that many competitors for less than £100k which can compete with the last 2 or 3 Evo's £-4-£. RX7's are fast, but do they handle? I don't know, never been in one. I do know they are horribly unreliable though! Pulsar GTi-R? R34 GTR? They are all very old. What cars from '05 onwards, other than Autobahn blasters, can cover the A and B roads as quickly and effortlessly as an Evo 8 or 9? I'm not sure there's as many as you think. The natural rival is the Impreza and has been for nearly 20yrs, but it has forever lived in the shadows. The Evo's punch well above their weight.