I drove my friend Sergio out to Rick Case Mitsubishi today to pick up his new Lancer GTS. While I was waiting for him to finish signing his paperwork I started talking to the saleman about the new Evolution. They had a blue 5 speed manual one on the lot. He saw my WRX and offered to let me drive it. :naughty: It was absolutely amazing. I mean, I love my car. But this Evo was one of the most impressive cars I've ever driven. The power wasn't really the thing. I would even venture to say that my car in its current form felt quicker in a straight line. My car certainly has a more ferocious, "I'm gonna eat you" neck snapping acceleration effect, but the Evo was so smooth and very raw at the same time. The motor sounds awesome, and it pulls very strongly from about 2500 all the way to redline. And the handling. My God. I pitched it onto the I-85 on-ramp up the road from SOG at about 75mph and it didn't protest in the slightest. It just went. No tire squealing, no push, no tail out craziness like my WRX is sometimes capable of. It just turned in. Such little body roll. It felt so focused and sharp. I was amazed. It was so easy to drive fast. The interior was kinda cheapy but the seats were awesome. The brakes were absolutely amazing as well. Great pedal feel and unbelievable stopping power. I found myself thinking "All this from a LANCER?!" The transmission left a little to be desired. The throw was so long I felt like I was driving an F-150. It was notchy and the clutch takeup was just plain weird. It engaged really suddenly right at the top of the travel. But the stupid grin you get when you pitch it into a corner is totally worth it. Its like it defies all the laws of physics. You can even drive it like a total moron and it responds with "Eh, ok sure. Lets do that, then." I love it! Way to go Mitsu! I always thought of the Evo as being the less mature cousin of the STI. I've driven old and new STIs and this thing kinda blows them away, I think. Once again, I love my WRX. It has a soul and a muscle aspect that the Evo totally does not have. It really is like a big, heaving, monstrous rally-bred econo-box with a whistling turbo strapped to it. But the Evo was like an automotive scalpel. I totally want one now, though. I grew up learning to drive a stick in an Acura NSX (not to be a bragadocious douche...just saying for comparison) and this thing was more fun and felt more confident and grippy than that NSX did. I bet I could outrun one in the Evo. So, something to think about when I get out of school and pay off the WRX.
... did someone sleep with their best friends mom? I don't know, but something just doesn't feel right about this post. <<ps, this isn't really about you sleeping with anyone's mom>>
AYC is awesome, huh? The Active Yaw Control is what makes the Evo dance. The rear diff is electronically controlled and basically shifts power around based on about a dozen sensors. You can do stupid things in an Evo and it just won't over steer. Combine that system with the Active Center Diff and a LSD in the front and they are handling monsters. They are heavy though and have a trunk that is smaller than the RX8 I just got rid of. That's about the only negatives I can think of right now.
I know its wrong. And I'm sure I'd get bored of it after awhile. I do think that the old STI (like the 04-07) could be considered a more "manly" car than any Evo, but I was still really impressed.
Then drive a Evo 8/9. The Evo X is to the Evo 8/9 as the 08 STI is to the 04-07 STI. They used to call the 04-07 STI the "soft one" when compared to the Evo 8/9. Just like they do now with the 08 STI and Evo X.
I mean "manly" in the sense that with an STI, you have to use a little force to get it to do exactly what you want. If you don't drive it a certain way it pushes like a dog (hell, it'll do that anyway) and wallow like a pig. But if you get it right then its quick as hell. Its just like it fights you back...like an old 911 but not as deadly. The Evo was like turn the wheel, it scoots, get in the throttle and you're off. No drama. I didn't even have to think. It didn't over or understeer at all. It just...steered. It was precise and sharp, where as the Subaru is more like a muscle-car type of thing. It'll hang it out like a rally car and hauls ass in straight line but its not the best track car in stock form. I still like STIs more for the character...but the Evo is like a finely honed WMD. And yeah, Dana. I would too.
I would too. If I wasn't hooked on the boxer rumble. I thought about it before I chose the STI. The trunk is just too damn small.
Yeah. I was unimpressed. It was nice but I wouldn't have spent the extra twelve grand over the wrx. The Evo X is just plain fun. There's no way around that fact.
The Sti is more refined ergonomically and has a great sound and unique characteristics in the boxer setup particularly with the 6sp. It is from what I understand a more competent daily driver and well rounded vehicle. With that said it is more expensive to mod and if you are unlucky enough to have a wrx with a 5sp you are pretty much fucked if you want to put down any kind of power. The Evo is much less refined ergonomically accept for the seats, it has however been proven time and time again, from a pure performance perspective to dominate. They are cheaper to mod and respond monstrously to the right mods. The Evo X v.s. the 08+ Sti might be close. The Evo X is tuned down like the 08 STi. The 08 Sti with some simple mods seems to respond very well and based on the track times I’ve heard about with the new chassis is very promising. Ultimately if I had the choice and the $$$$ I would get an Evo9 for track and a 08 Sti to daily drive. Hopefully these two comapanies will continue to compete vigorously with these two platforms from a performance perpspective. It seems if one goes soft the other responds the same way..........
i know i may be wrong, but i dont think a fast 'track' car is necessarily a fast 'street' car because a track is flat, which allows you to set the car very low and stiff, however, on the road that we drive on most of the time, there are dips and bumps that upset the car balance, so frankly, (although i have NEVER driven an evo but i get the impression that it is set up much stiffer than the sti) i would think that, given the same driver, sti would be the one that gives you more confidence on daily drives, + the better ergonomics, quality, reliability, etc, and i think this is where you hear ferrari > porsche on track, but porsche > ferrari on the road. on a side note, this should be on a different thread but.. i actually think my car handles better on stock springs compared to my prodrives right now.. dreadful mistake for going too low. although i can feel what the car is doing better, it is extremely twitchy and scares me if i`ll hit a bump in mid-corner; those factors lowered my confidence. oh, and i`ll take the evo 9 over the 10 hehe.. but the shear torque on the 08 sti was definitely awesome when i went on a test drive; maybe it's the 2.5 motor, so i`ll pick up an 06 sometime after i graduate because i like the look on the 06 models.
Ehh, idk but i am off from Subarus now. My mom just got the fx35, my dad has the M class and my other car is an e93 m3. The feeling is off but i feel like i am getting a cheap cheap car when i get in my Subaru. Not worth the 25k.
agree and disagree...the only thing I feel is cheap is how none of the interior lights match. The rest I feel is part of the car...I like the rattles, the rough ride, even the lack of sound insulation - it's one of the reasons I bought the car. I do love the evo's, though...especially the fmic. I think their front end looks much better than the STi's. I haven't driven one yet, but I hear the active yaw control is pretty damn special, too.
http://www.subaru-global.com/special/impreza_20d/index.html I woudn't mind test driving one of these....................................
just found this.. i`m sure some of you guys have seen it already http://www.racingfilm.com/video/3160/JUN-EVO-10-vs-WRX-STI-part-22
ive driven teh 06-07 sti with similar mods than mine and it felt good. the soobaru haz more initial torque and its more comfortable when DDing. but on a track or mt runs id get on my evo. it has more of that... direct feeling than with the sti... have not driven the new x or the new sti though...
All I know is that our 08 STI stock for stock is better than my 05 STi was. And at stage 2 the 08 is better and with less mods. I still love my 05. 05 STI stage 2 (TBE catted, Injen CAI, Perrin EBCS, and Walbro FP) 297whp/349wtq on SOG's dynapack 08 STI stage 2 (Cobb catted DP, stock CBE, HM CAI, stock EBCS, and stock FP) 305whp/369wtq on TopSpeed's dynojet. Both Siegel tuned. About 10whp likely left on the table with the stock CBE. They tend to be quite restrictive on the 08's.
after driving my 08 for the week I feel that my 06 was a bit more aggressive even in Sport sharp mode. Also much more body roll...even though I haven't really gotten into her that much.
Good review. Never driven an Evo but have always heard they handled better. I didn't think it was possible but the Evo X is more funny looking (ugly) than the Evo 8/9 & all Sti's put together.