I believe that is in fact the new price without destination. Check the Mitsu site and it says without destination.

 

This is by far one of the better and more objective posts on this ever-going, never-ending debate btwn the STI and EVO.

Aspen white with gold BBS is exactly what I would have if I were to buy an STI. Again

great post.

 

Except one is fun and the other is impossible.

 

Sti.

 

The first few days the MR was listed on Mitsu's website it was listed as MSRP $34,199.......... Do the dealers have to change the window stickers? Isn't it illegal to change a window sticker? Also I just noticed the RS MSRP is up from $26,xxx(I'm not exactly sure) to $28,499. That's probably close to a 1.5-2k increase in RS price. WTF . The GSR is up a bit too. Pretty soon markup won't matter because nobody will be able to afford MSRP.

 

Whoa, didn't realize they changed MSRP. That sucks. I've been talking to a dealership about $500 under MSRP, now that's $500 more - basically the old MSRP. Why in the world did they change the MSRP on a car that's only been out a month or two? Anyone know or care to speculate?

 

Exchange rate, maybe?

 

I couldn't agree with you more!

 

If you do that Mitsubishi will pull their advertising from your magazine. J/K

 

Hondan-


How many times have you test driven either car? I have a 03 evo and 04 sti due to the fact that I test drove the evo after I bought the sti. I could not get the great handling and steering response off my head and just had to get the evo in my garage.

My advice to you is to buy the car that you feel the best driving hard because that's what these cars are built for. If you are interested in modifying the car definitely buy the evo because it is hands down the winner in terms of response to aftermarket improvements.

Don't let penny-pinching prevent you from achieving automotive bliss. Once you buy one it will cost you alot to switch or do what I did!

 

evo mr

 

I do not understand how the car mags compare the EVO to the STI and DO NOT mention the totally CRAPPY gear ratios on the STI. Are these testers on crack.

I drove a 2005 STI on the Streets of Willow Springs. This is a very technical track. It has a lot of turns and elevation changes and it has short front and back straights. After that I drove a 04 EVO RS at ButtonWillow raceway.

I am here to tell you that HANDS down the EVO is the WINNER. It was not even close in my mind. How can the car mags call them so close. I do not get it.

I have been racing/hotlapping since 2000 and I have a good feel for cars. Here are my impression of these two cars:

1. Steering. The EVO steering is way better than that of the 05 STI. Supposedly the 05 STI steering was improved upon. It is still lacking in feel and accuracy compared to the EVO. The EVO is almost telepathic

2. Gear ratios. The STI gear ratios are HORRIBLE for road racing. What was Subaru thinking making the gear ratios so short I was shifting into 5th on Streets and that was a track more technical and slower than Buttonwillow. The STI has so much low end torque that it can afford longer gear ratios. I kept hitting the rev limiter and that chime before shifting.

With the EVO RS I was in 4th gear on the front and back straights on the less technical (read faster) track. The fewer shifts you make, the less mistakes you make and the faster you go around the track. I do not know if the 6 speed MR will make you shift more. But I suspect it will since 4th maxes out at 105 mph vs 113 mph for the RS.

3. Even though both cars weigh about the same, the STI simply felt heavier than the EVO. It did not have that nimble feeling that the EVO had. It was not lithe and quick on its feet like the EVO. It was a brute and must be forced into the corner to get it to behave the way you wanted it to behave.

I do not know why car mags say that these cars are close to each other. They are NOT. All in all, I find the EVO RS the most satisfying among all the EVO's and far better than the STI.

 

We did mention the gear spread on the STi, October '04 issue of Motor Trend, you must have missed that. Set down the beer and look again.

Agreed, but we would never use two different tracks to evaluate vehicles in a comparison. Sorry, but that is a little to apples and oranges. And yes, the STi was improved for '05 and it is much better than the '04 version. Still not as good as an Evo but better.


I'd say that gear ratios are wrong for Streets, but that doesn't mean they don't work well or better on other tracks. We also don't rate cars solely on the track experience since they'll spend most of the time being driven on the street, maybe we should just go with your professional experience and forget the rest. Yeah, because these cars will never be driven on the streets.


The STi does feel heavier, but it also doesn't push as much in the corners as the Evo. Actually the STi is easier to rotate under track conditions. Give the STi it's due or maybe you missed those important handling characteristics I just listed.


Because we use more that one track drive to evaluate vehicles in a comparison.

 

I do no drink beer But it should have been mentioned AGAIN that the gear ratios on the STI are totally inadequate for road racing. If they are inadequate on at Streets, then it is going to be worse at a faster track. I imagine that you would have to shift into 6th gear at WSIR in an STI. Imagine going ***** out in an STI through turn 8 and then having to downshift TWO gears to 4th to set up for turn 9. It is going to be very AWKWARD to do and WILL slow you down. In my humble SE-R race car I drive the front and back straight of WSIR in 4th. I do not even shift into fifth.
The STI that I drove was an 05 and it totally ANNOYED me. It felt heavy and ponderous, the weight transfer was UGLY and the gear ratios made the drive worse. I kept saying to myself what the heck is all the rage about. The brakes felt mushy, but they did stop the car. It is softly sprung and the tunning is for rallying since it IS a rally car. The only thing that I liked about it was the torque and the fact that the suspension soaked up the bumps when I dropped tires in the dirt around the esses before the skid pad.
I am not a professional and there is no need for that comment. But I can drive the wheels off a car. The best in my SE-R race car is 1:30.93 at streets. I also pulled a 1:34 in a 92 SE-R with basic I/H/E and crappy AGXs with 300 front and 250 rear springs. These are as good times as the driver at MT could pull not only in the MR and the STI, but also in Gallardo and the V8 Focus.
The STI that I drove was a PIG. It understeered and squeeled its front tires every chance it got. I did not get to evaluate an EVO at streets to tell you if it was the same, but the STI was REALLY BAD. I did, however, drive an 04 EVO RS at ButtonWillow and I loved it.

 

I've driven plenty of Evo and STI's around Streets and I disagree completely with your assessment that weight transfer is ugly in the STi. It rotates much better than the Evo, which tends to just push and is hard to get out of once it sets in.

Same thing here after countless laps in both the STi has the better brakes. Even though they both use Brembo, somehow the Subi does not fade like the Evo does. I own an Evo, but at least I am willing to be fair and call out it's problem areas.

Oh, but you could comment, "Are these testers on crack" or "It was not even close in my mind. How can the car mags call them so close. I do not get it." At least we got the correct winner. Everyones a freakin' professional and could do a better job than the guys who do it for a living.


I still say, maybe you should've tested both on the same track to give a clear and fair evaluation. Congrats on the nice times. What you fail to realize is that we do five laps total. One warm up, three flying, and one cool down with the test gear on and before the tires get abused doing sliding sideways shots for photography. That's it, we don't have the time to spend there all day getting the best lap ever. We have other things to do when we go out there, like shoot the photography or video, which takes up a huge amount of time. Once in a while we do get to have some fun laps, but that tends to be for a short period of time while we are waiting for sunset or better light.

I'd put our tester up against anyone, Chris is an excellent driver, who doesn't have to beat the crap out of a vehicle to get the numbers and runs consistently fast and smooth. And the thing is he can get in any vehicle and be fast right away, like when we test a Kia Spectra and Chevrolet Corvette on the same day one right after the other. It's one thing to be fast in a vehicle you specialize in, it's another to be able to test anything and be fast. That's why when we go top speed testing, we have a specialized top speed test driver, like Bryan Herta for October issue. But when it comes to doing the rest of the testing, we do it ourselves because that's what we specialize in.