Well, the wife and I went out yesterday with the intent of finding a dealer that would let us test drive a STI. My wife was considering trading in her luxury SUV on a STI or another Evo. We are still not sure what we plan on doing at this point. Neither of us spent much time behind the wheel as the dealer was sensitive about mileage on the car and we were very respectful of the future owner (if it wasn't us).

For starters, it feels like a bigger car. It's definitely not. It just feels that way from the drivers seat. You see more hood and the hood scoop kind of makes that even more obvious. I don't like the seats. The material is slippery and the supports are weak. They are softer than the Recaros, but not sure of that's necessarily a plus or minus (depends on what you are doing at the time I guess). Interior fit and finish is nice. I am not sure how others have quanitified the "the evo interior feels cheap, but the STI doesn't" assessment, but to me they feel very similar. Relatively spartan and consisting mainly of man made materials. I liked the general feel and layout of the STI though (I like the Evo interior as well though, very functional). The seating position was comfortable. Steering wheel had a nice feel.

Fired it up. It sounds really nice. Clutch had a different feel, but required about the same force to operate it. Shifter looks tall and ungainly, but feels just the opposite. Rowing the gears felt crisp and accurate while sitting still.

I pull away and ease into the accelerator. The power is VERY smooth. No doubt that it feels VERY much like a V8. There is just no "turbo" feel. It doesn't lag at all but at the same time you don't really get that "engaging warp drive" feel of the turbo coming on either. Just smooth and beefy. Shifter/Tranny combo feels very natural and easy to be accurate with. I feel like I have to think about my shifts more in the Evo.

The most notable difference in ride was that the STI was very soft compared to the Evo. My wifes comment was "It feels like a normal passenger car.". The feel was not very tactile at all. The best way I can describe it for me is the difference between wearing wool gloves and latex gloves (Evo). You could still feel the road, but you had to really look for it whereas the Evo is communicates every piece of gravel you encounter. I have never driven a vehicle that communicates quite as good as the Evo, but let's face it, the Evo is a pretty nervous ride (that's my personal preference, but some may not like it). My wife; on the other hand; felt that the softer ride was probably a quality she would want in a daily driver as she gets tired driving the Evo for long periods.

Steering. Most cars being sold today will feel slow compared to the Evo and the STI definitely does. I am sure I could get used to the STI, but it felt very soft. My wife said the same thing. She also noticed that it contributed to the overall impression of the car being larger and heavier even though it's not. She also said; on the plus side; that the STI would probably make a better daily driver for her, again because of the less "nervous" feel.

When my wife got behind the wheel, I had a chance to observe a few things I hadn't noticed as much while I was driving. The main thing I really noticed was how much it drove like a FWD (despite what many have said about it being more "tail-happy" than the Evo). Small changes in the accelerator made for dramatic changes in the line while in a turn. As power is applied, understeer came on quickly. Ease up on the throttle and the front end came back in very quickly. My wife did this through a couple of turns, coming in easy then applying more power until it plowed, then easing it back into the sharper line with just the throttle. All I can say about the handling is that it's dramitically different from the Evo. Quite opposite personalities in many respects.

As a side note, I heard detonation 1 time. It was loud enough that it stopped the conversation in mid sentence and we both went "Whoa!".

I didn't even scratch the surface of the abilities of the car. The STI is very cool. I am sure that most anyone driving an Evo would be happy with a STI and vice-versa. Very different approaches to the same performance goal with very similar results. Anyway, it was fun. Sorry for the rambling post. I just kind of spit it out as I recalled it.

 

good review! I want to test drive one also, to see how much better it is over the stock WRX, let alone the EVO. Afterall I came from a WRX to the EVO!

 

I appreciate the post and enjoyed reading about your comparos.

 

thanks for the review. i would not mind testing one out

 

Unless I win the lotto and can spring for a 360 Modena Challenge Stradale, the only car that might get me out of my Evo is the forthcoming GT-R (no more Skyline name). If that car is anything like previous Skylines, I might have to move up a step.

Thanks for putting the time in to tell us about the STi. I was a long-time Subaru fan, but everything I'd read and heard was that the Evo was just a finer driver's tool.

 

I got a chance to drive a friends STI right after they came out. I basically had the same impression of the car. I hated the seats and that strange blue color pattern they chose to use which doesn't even match the rally blue color. For the money you would have at least expected some kind of stereo but nothing. I liked the front and rear LSD feeling however and the low end response. I thought they should have dropped the pink STI emblems and just offered that wing as an option cause it looks seriously out of place on the car. I think the best part about the car is the 6spd and brakes but maybe should have stuck with the EJ20 STI motor. However I'll still be buying an Evo no matter what.

 

Heya BoostedWRX, how are ya? How'd your tune go?

Man that thing had SO much torque compared to a stock WRX. Coming from a LS1 Camaro SS with 340ft lbs of torque, I can say it definitely feels like a V8. I drove a stock WRX back when I had my SS and the pull didn't make me go "Oooooooo". The STI made me go "Wow, nice." On that note, my Evo makes me <arnold>giggle like a little girl</arnold>.

 

sounds like the detonation is going to kill that car after some hard track abuse

 

I rode in both an STi and EVO over the weekend! I thought the STi had a much more rough ride feel than the EVO! The STi had somewhat of a stiff coilover setup feel, where as the EVO felt soft, but moved much sharper than the STi. That's how I felt about it! Another guy who was with me said the exact same thing too.

 

Probably due to the crappy gas dealers put in the car during PDI. They were gonna put that crap in mine too when I picked mine up but I said no thanks, I'll buy my own.

 

Dan,

It was nice meeting you on Saturday. Who took you for a ride? Red or Silver?

Flybyevo...

 

Have Brad take you for a death ride. After following him up there I'm sure he'd give you a good impression of the Evo.

I don't think he even laid into it much at all and he was tearing through moderate traffic like a madman. (I had to play catch up a lot)

 

I had fun in our two car caravan. I was pleased that you were willing to keep up so well. And we only stopped for gas once.

Flybyevo...

 

The silver WRX... I forget the guys name! I'm great with faces, but names take me time to remember! Although I do remember the names and faces of Neil, Nick, Dewey, Rick, and Brad!

As for madman driving, I'm fine on my own! First WRX meet I went to, we went to lunch, and on the way we were doing like... I don't know... INSANELY FAST SPEEDS on a busy highway, cutting in and out of traffic. Only 3 of us though. According to the rest of the group who didn't follow at our speed, we passed like 3 cops! All 3 of them probably saw the speedo and thought "No way! Nobody even drunk and in a coma would be going that fast in this traffic!"

Hoping to get a test drive with my hands on the wheel of an EVO sometime soon, and maybe an STi.

Eitherway, that ride in the EVO has put me back to where I was a year ago! "The Lan-Evo is the king of the road." Once again, I am pro Lan-Evo!!!

I used to say (and still often do!) the only car I fear on the road is the EVO... Now I understand my words!