The answer is "YES" you'll be happy in the STI. Everytime I think about what my first car looked and drove like, I appreciate the car more and more.

 

Personally, power aside, I think the Evo is a lot more fun to drive. On a long highway drive the STi might have the edge. The Evo definitely feels lighter that the STi. The STi possesses that classic muscle car feel, whilst the Evo feels like a nimble little sports car; which doesn’t make any sense since they are both family sedan.
If I awoke in rally mode my weapon of choice would be the STi, it's suspension seems more up to that task than the Evo’s. Not to say the Evo couldn’t hang, but the STi seems more in it’s element on a dirt road.
At the moment I'm waiting to see how the production version of the Evo X sizes up. That will likely be the way I go. The only thing that will keep me from going that route is if Mitsu prices it within Audi S4 territory. If that is the case I'll just go with the S4. While I know the X will be a bit quicker, it would be hard to deny Audi's second to none build quality.
At one point I was going to get the STi, but the 06 redesign saw an end to that plan. It's not that it’s ugly, worst than that, it doesn’t look like the cartoon action hero it used to look like. It looks like it grew up and got a job in the accounting department It's hard to imagine what the designers at Subaru were thinking.

Below is one of the few pictures were the 06 actually looks better than the 05.

 

when you buy an sti, you get "another WRX" they look similar, sound the same.... you'll see 20+ every day you go out driving.

when you buy an evo, it's like you're owning something very limited and special. When you put a evo wing on a lancer people won't mistake your car for a evo.

... oh yeah, and the evo is a lot more fun to drive because it feels a lot more nimble on its feet and doesn't fall on its face at like 6000 rpms.

 

I'm sure you'd like it. The STi's are very nice. Take one for a test drive. Then you'll know for sure.

 

When I drove the 05 sti the power band was pretty linear and pulled really hard to the point where I couldnt move forward in my seat. It didnt fall on its face after 6000 rpms it just kinda tapered down like the evo VIII does around 6,500 rpms. It seems the boost power comes on earlier in the Sti then the Evo so it kinda makes up for the difference.

 

No, they are both unequal length headers and they will sound like any other inline engine after you swap them to equal length headers. Remember the sound of a car has a lot to do with mainly with the mufflers and resonators, and to a little extent with the cats and pipe lengths on the exhaust, NOT the engine. I was just trying to correct the misconception that the uneven pulsating rumble you get on the WRX and STi is NOT because of the "boxer" engine but unequal length headers.
The Boxer rumble aka uneven pulsating is a MISCONCEPTION and doesn not exist .... talk to Subaru guys who have swapped their stock headers with equal length headers they will confirm what I just told you.

And someone please explain to me how an STi with some black and silver, ugly navy blue on the seats and door and pink!!! emblems all over has a better interior than the color co-ordinated EVO interior.

 

so you're gonna tell me that a mustang sounds the way it does because of the exhaust system? no, it sounds the way it does because of the FIRING PATTERN of the motor... it's the same way about the ej25... the design of the motor gives each car it's own sound... exhaust design gives it the volume of that exhaust pattern...

 

If you've enjoyed driving evo's in the past why change now. The evo is the better looking car of the pair. It handles better and is way more nimble. The STi has more power yes but that is totally due to the 2.5 motor. Use a 2.4 block on an evo and then lets see which car is faster.

 

Damn, it's bad enough that the average Joe believes this due to published numbers, but when an Evo owner actually believes this, you know the Subie propaganda machine is working. Only the 03/04s had less power than the STi. The 05s were even, and now the 06s are significantly more powerful than the STi and are capable of FAR MORE POWER with the stock engine and stock turbo with only basic mods.

 

Great posts/points, bennine. A car is an investment. It just isn't a very good one because it does depreciate, very simple. I always chuckle when big shots come on here and brag about putting 10,15K+ down, or worse - paying cash. Not just because I think they are probably lying about having that much chedder laying around, but also if they actually do, how unwise it is to dump that much into a car. It'd be much smarter to put that money to work in something that actually appreciates/earns interest and get the lowest interest rate you can on the car and go from there.

I also wonder if the admins here and on other sites did a hyper mega merge of all these ghey *** Evo vs Sti threads (and add in the Evo Vs. X-car threads) too, would the grand summation suddenly bring the internet to a grinding halt, or if you could somehow physcially stack up all the posts, would we reach that 10th or 11th planet rumored to be hiding in Pluto's shadow? Maybe we could convert the posts into energy for a starving third world country. Hmm.

 

if putting a down payment on a car is SO bad, then why does 90% of the public put down half or a third of the total cost? i'm talking to own, not lease...

edit: and don't give me some bull**** 5 year term either, a smart person signs a 3 year plan...

i would like to know what you two do for a living, coming on here and giving financial advice....

 

Calm down there man. I think it IS a good investment because I think these cars will be worth a lot in the future, just like muscle cars and I know plenty of people that make a crap load of cash of that.

 

Okay let's stop right there, before you go on to to put words in my mouth or predict what I am going to say. Where did you get that stat from? I think you pulled it out of your ***.

 

If 90% of the public puts down that much on a car, then I must only interact with that other 10%. I have never put a downpayment on a car and never plan to.

 

I'm coming from a highly modified 04 sti and I don't regret getting a 06 IX one bit. As nice as the sti was it was just one problem after the other.