I haven't seen any evidence that the pressure drop from the intercooler is lower on aftermarket designs than the OEM. Most people upgrade to larger cores because of improved intercooler efficiency which should be less of an issue with water injection.
The WRC subarus are front mount - but they also have a reversed intake manifold which shortens the return routing significantly. They use the scoop for the air intake box directly down into the turbo. I think the production subarus are more of a cost issue with the top mount.
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