Okok, your evo looks like Ferreri ok?


-Bryan

 

That article says it better than what most people on the Suby, Mitsu sites have been trying to put into words over the past few weeks. As a Subaru fan, reading every article makes me more confident in purchasing my STi, especially this one. I don't think when I launch from a light, or drive up the mountain for dinner ripping through curves, or take that one day a month at my track that I'm gonna finish and say, "That felt pretty good, I bet it would have felt better in an Evo." (and Evo owners vice versa) The intangible element of "feel", especially when only important when at the limit, is not going to be a determing factor for me.
However, this article, I felt, really described the driving experience of either car very well, and hopefully will be beneficial in helping someone pick the right car for their needs, or driving style.
Good luck to Evo owners.

 

 

Expired.

 

A few weeks ago I had posted my driving impression of the EVO.

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...threadid=22720

This time, having driven the STi as well, I am able to compare the two cars to each other and give recommendations to those who are trying to decide between the two. Read on and you will find out which one I picked and why...

About the best advice I can give to a potential Evo/STi buyer is to consider your circumstances and driving needs before buying either car. By “circumstances”, I am referring to what you have in your existing garage. Do you have another car that is reasonably comfortable that you can tool around in when you are tired and grumpy, or will the Evo/STi be the only car you can ever be able to get your hands on. By “driving needs” I am referring to how often you will be taking the car to a Road-Racing Circuit, Autocross or even a twisty road within the public domain. For the sake of simplicity, let’s group all potential buyers into four categories. I will then make a recommendation for each group.

Group 1:
Tries to explore every opportunity to take the car to the track/autox/twisty road.
Has another reasonably comfortably car in his garage for less hard-core driving.
Recommended Car: Evo is the one for you, but the STi is a reasonable alternative.

Group 2:
Tries to explore every opportunity to take the car to the track/autox/twisty road.
Does NOT have a more comfortable car in his garage.
Recommended Car: Both cars are highly recommended, so it comes down to your tolerance for the Ride/Handling compromise. If you are in this group, I urge you to drive both cars before deciding.

Group 3:
Occasionally takes the car to the track/autox/twisty road.
Has another reasonably comfortably car in his garage for less hard-core driving.
Recommended Car: STi is the one to get, but the Evo is a reasonable alternative.

Group 4:
Occasionally takes the car to the track/autox/twisty road.
Does NOT have a more comfortable car in his garage.
Recommended Car: Neither car is particularly suited, but take the STi if you can’t see past these two. Those in this group really need to test drive other cars like the IS300, G35, A4, 3-series, etc.

I belong to “Group 1” so I have decided to go with the Evo. When I don’t feel like dealing with the Evo’s evil personality, I can always jump into my wife’s friendly WRX wagon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is how I would rate these two cars in various categories. Keep in mind that in the Evo I never went past 5.5k rpms and in the STi I limited myself to 4k except for two occasions when I went to about 5k exiting a couple of tight corners. Because both cars were new, I did not test the brakes other than gently trail-braking coming into turns. My main objective during both test drives was to compare the way the cars handled.

Engine (power, response, sound, etc.)
Evolution----: 7
STi-----------: 8

The STi engine is just a little bit better than the Evo’s engine in every aspect here. A little more power, a little less lag, a little less strained and a nice boxer rumble. Compared to the standard WRX, the STi has a spectacular engine. In fact, the STi engine feels more like a twin-turbo than a single turbo. With the Evo's high boost levels, gearchanges need to be super-quick in order to keep the power from lapsing.

Handling (turn-in accuracy, throttle-steer adjustability and cornering balance, weight transfer & chassis feedback, etc.)
Evolution----: 9
STi-----------: 8

Steering (weight & self-centering, on-center & off-center feedback, input/output accuracy, etc.)
Evolution----: 9
STi-----------: 7.5

The Sti's handling strength lies in it's ability to take on pretty much any type of mid-corner bump and hold it's line consistently from start to finish. In contrast, the Evo tends to get a little upset if it encounters irregularities mid-corner. Having said that, if you do end up making a change to the car's cornering attitude, the Evo responds more faithfully. Another area where the Sti is just slightly better than the Evo is in the way it relays information about weight transfer to the driver through the seat. This is likely due to the softer spring rates in the STi.

The Evo’s steering reminds me of the E30 M3, only sharper but with slightly less self-centering. There is a LOT more to this car's handling than a steering with 2 turns lock-to-lock. Turn-in is ultra-crisp and precise. The steering provides a very detailed impression of the available grip and weighs up consistently and progressively as the g-forces increase. Then, at the point of understeer, the steering sends all the right messages at the right time by quickly decreasing the load.

In the Evo, you can lift-off mid-corner or apply a little bit of trail braking and whatever little understeer there is, disappears...just like that. Apply a lot of trail braking around a 50-mph corner like I did, and the back end will come out quickly but predictably. Too much oversteer? No problem. Apply a moderate amount of gas and the car gets into a smooth 4-wheel drift. No need for ungodly amounts of opposite lock; a competent driver CAN make this car throttle steer. I only did one 4-wheel drift on a corner that had a lot of safe run-off room.

Although not as talkative as the Evo’s steering, compared to any ordinary performance car, the STi steering is still wonderful. It builds up nicely during cornering and gives you fair warning of the understeer as it inevitably sets in. As with the Ride/Handling compromise, the issue with steering feedback is whether you, as a driver, prefer to receive more information at the expense that some of that information may not be necessary (like the exact size of the pot-hole you just went over). Or would you rather know all there is to know because you DO care about that slight difference in grip from one pavement type to another. If you like more information, you will prefer the Evo’s steering. Not that the STi's steering doesn’t communicate, far from it. It’s just that in this elevated company, The Evo provides that extra sense of reassurance that the STi lacks. Are there any cars that provide even more feedback than the Evo’s? Sure. You need to drive a Lotus 7 (or Replica) and experience one for yourself.

If you were paying attention in the last paragraph, you noticed that I mentioned “STi” and “Understeer” in the same sentence. We are not talking about understeer in the same way that we talk about understeer for a standard WRX or another ordinary performance car. Paul Hansen’s 1-100 understeer scale is perfect for this type of comparison. Although, I get the feeling from reading about the JDM STi and Evo, that the USDM STi may have been tweaked by SOA to produce more understeer than it’s Japanese counterpart. Coming into a corner with trail braking, the STi will begin to push. If you step on the gas, initially it seems to push more. Then at some point, the understeer turns into oversteer. More so than the EVO, the STi requires really good throttle control. And unlike the Evo, the STi did not respond well to extensive trail braking, instead preferring a slow-in fast-out approach.

Ride
Evolution----: 3
STi-----------: 4.5

Neither car will comfort you like a BMW 5-series but the STi still wins this category convincingly. Both cars are about equally harsh on pavement joints, but it’s the low frequency undulations where the STi shows more composure than the Evo.

Transmission (ratios, directness, ease of downshifting, etc.)
Evolution----: 8
STi-----------: 7

The Evo’s gear ratios are close enough and the powerband is wide enough that I never felt like I was in the wrong gear coming out of corners (even ones with increasing radius). The shifting is very mechanical. Not as light as my Type-R but more decisive and solid. I would however, prefer a slightly shorter throw.

The STi feels a little notchier and imprecise compared to the Evo. Again, the STi’s tranny is better than a standard WRX but not by much. The STi’s strength lies in it’s close ratios, although with a powerband this wide, you really have to wonder about the usefulness of having 6 gears other than for extended highway cruising.

Driving environment (seats, pedals, ergonomics, visibility. etc.)
Evolution----: 9
STi-----------: 8

A great seat is one that you don't have to think about when you are cornering. The EVO is the only production car I have ever driven in which I did not once think about the seats while cornering. The pedals are almost perfect for heel&toe downshifts. I would probably move them a tad closer since my right foot does not like to point as far inward as most other people. The car is roomier that the WRX, especially in the rear. The visibility is very good in all directions.

The STi’s seats are a lot better than a standard WRX’s or 350Z’s, but again not quite up to the level of the Evo’s Recaros. It’s not the size of the side bolsters, it’s the shape that let’s down the STi slightly. However, the slight lack of support is something you won’t notice unless you’re driving at least 9/10 around a corner.

Other than the seats, both cars run a dead heat in all other areas relates to the Driving Environment.

 

nice write up

did you get to ride the STi hard?

 

wow, that was pretty intense... nice write up man...

 

Wow, very detailed and thoughtful review...

I plan on going to test drive both this coming weekend

 

i thought it was a great write up, i posted it yesterday

i read your post on nasioc.com

 

What's up with these people. The ride is not crappy. It feels like most other hi-performance sports car in it's class! If people decide not to get the evo due to it's ride, a street legal race car is not for them. The evo is for the pure driving enthusics and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants ultra high performance, 4 doors, trunk, and everyday driving. Personally I would like to keep the Evo for everyday and perhaps when the new ZO6 comes out i'll get that for the weekend car.

My conclusion is that if your into sports car get an Evo because this car does it all. STi is also capable with a more goodies and softer ride for the people who want's a little more luxuary, straight line performance and a slightly less in the handling.

 

Although my test drive of the STi was only 3 miles long, It was full of corners and no traffic. I tried to corner the car as hard as I could without endangering myself and the dealer. I brought the car to understeer, oversteer and even one four-wheel drift through a 40mph corner. I have bought another car from this dealer and he knows about my racing credentials so he seemed fine with all the hard cornering.

As for the engine and brakes, i took it easy on the car since it was new. On a couple of occasions I wound the engine up to 5k coming out of corners. There is so much low and midrange grunt in the engine that you can go fairly quickly without redlining the car.

The Evo dealer, on the other hand, actually encouraged me to redline a car with only 60 miles on the odometer. I do have a slight conscience so I kept the revs below 5.5k. But like with the STi, I cornered the car quite hard. The Evo test drive was about 15 miles long with a combination of twisty roads and straight highways.

 

I finally got to the Subaru dealer today and saw the STi. I cannot say that I was not impressed... It's a very neat car I had some cruise control envy right away The 6 speed tranny is also another item that I would like (I think...) Well, lets face it, the STi is definitely an alternative to the EVO. The biggest advantage it has is of course the extra .5 lt displacement and the extra 29 ponies. That's a hard advantage to overcome. I also liked the driver controlled center diff.
OTOH, the driving position or the feel of the seats, or whatever it is of the STi sucks. The EVO feels a lot nicer to seat in. I would love a chance to drive one and really compare the driving qualities of each one, but right away I like my EVO better in that respect. I also think that the styling of the EVO is way ahead of the STi, of course, that's only my opinion but it counts with me . The biggest turn off of the STi is the greedy dealer's $5K mark-up , Yes, you read it right, $5K over the $32K price puts that puppy at $37K There is absolutely now way that STi is worth $7K+ more than the EVO and it does not even come with a radio
Anyway, I was a little envious of the STi, I wish I could own both cars.... That would solve the problem in a big way Still, I'm very happy with the EVO and frankly, even if the STi has some advantages, it also has some serious shortcomings when compared with the EVO. Besides, if I go ahead and spend a couple of grand more, I'll have the EVO modified to go faster than the STi and still be under the MSRP, let alone the crazy mark ups. EVO rules

 

GO EVO!

 

I saw one today too at a dealer in Christiansburg VA, Black with silver. I was quite impressed as well, except for the seats which are like everyone has been saying, not a good as the EVO. I really want to get into one, but it was not in the color I wanted and the $7000 MARKUP!!! wasn't helping things either. I told the manager to call me if they wanted to work out a deal at MSRP. I have a feeling i'm going to begin exploring other options however. Who knows, maybe tomorrow i'll head over to the Mistubishi dealer and make an offer on one of the EVO's that have been sitting on the lot for a month now


rimmie

 

Well, the STi at MSRP vs. the EVO at MSRP would be a really tough choice, specially since you can't even get a test drive I'll say one thing, the EVO really rocks If the STi drives like it feels when you get behind the wheel, the EVO is the outright winner ......OTOH, those 300 ponies....