Evo v STi

The US v the Soviet Union, Catholics v Protestants and Star Wars v Star Trek ... but all of these pale in comparison with the fearsome rivalry of the Subaru STI and Mitsubishi Evo. These two small cars have been waging war on rally tracks and in showrooms from the mid 1990s.

Mitsubishi has just unleashed its Lancer EVO X, which joins the new Subaru Impreza STI that arrived here in February. It was only a matter of time before the two lean fighters took each other on in a Carsguide battle royale.

The cars are remarkably similar. They both have turbo four-cylinder engines and complex all-wheel-drive systems, they are based on more modest small cars, and both will shake your bones and rattle your kidneys thanks to their overtly sporty suspension.

Both start about the $60,000 mark and have similar power and torque outputs (that is, lots).

The big differences relate to body shape and what's under the bonnet.

Subaru switched from sedan to hatchback because that shape was deemed better suited to its WRC campaign as it allowed for less overhang at the rear.

Mitsubishi, with no WRC campaign to worry about, stayed with the sedan.

Both cars have continued with their respective engine configurations, although both of these have been substantially improved.

That means a transverse mounted in-line four-cylinder with a front-mounted intercooler for the EVO and a horizontally opposed four-cylinder with an intercooler mounted on top of the engine. Subaru has managed to squeeze 221kW and 407Nm of torque out of its 2.5-litre engine.

Mitsubishi's EVO has 217kW, but falls well short when it comes to torque, with 366Nm.

The STI is only available with a six-speed manual gearbox. The Evo has a five-speed manual as standard, but is also available with a new dual-clutch automatic transmission that is similar to Volkswagen's DSG gearbox.

Shifting faster than a human can with the manual, the Mitsubishi auto is a great option, but it is also an expensive one at $5000. Ouch.

We opted for the standard manual EVO, which means $59,490, and resisted the temptation of the brake, suspension and wheel upgrades of the performance pack. The STI usually costs $59,990 but is fitted with the optional BBS alloy wheels and leather seats, which adds $5000. A satellite navigation adds another $2990. Both the EVO and the STI look menacing.

You can see a clear resemblance to the cars they are based on, but they are meaner and more muscular — as if they've spent the past three years doing nothing but pumping iron.

The EVO and the STI both have unique panels. Bulging wheel arches allow for wider wheel tracks which means a greater road footprint.

So, which one looks better?

Well, that is really up to personal preference. For me, it's the EVO — which looks as though it has just swallowed a bottle of angry pills.

But the interior of both cars look cheap and disappointing considering how much they cost.

The STI's fussy dashboard, with its sloping lines and metal-look plastic, looks ordinary and, unless you buy the $2990 satellite-navigation screen, the info display could have come from the base car. It has nice Recaro seats, but so it should given that they cost a bit extra.

The EVO's interior looks and feels cheaper still. The dashboard is plain jane and some of the plastic surfaces, especially on the doors, are of a Daewoo quality. Even so, the base Recaros look great and are extremely supportive.

Both cars take some effort to live with.

The STI's tyres are loud around town, and the gearbox makes the kinds of mechanical whirring and groaning you associate with a works rally car and not a prestige car.

However, the EVO's tyres are not so loud around town. But they hit the coarse chip surfaces of country roads and drown out everything with an infernal roar. Indeed, its tyre noise is so loud you can't hear the engine buzzing away at close to 3000 revs at 100km/h. That's quite high because the EVO has to make do with a five-speed manual.

The previous six-speeder just couldn't handle the extra grunt on the improved engine. But with its sixth cog, the STI can cruise along doing 2100 revs. Fuel consumption ranged from 8.5 litres per 100km to about 14 litres when pressed, with the EVO tending to use about a litre per 100km more than the STI in most conditions.

Both cars felt harsh during country driving, but the STI is more uncomfortable.

Despite having a softer suspension set-up with much more vertical movement, the STI still manages to pick up imperfections in the road. It wiggles, jolts and carries on a bit more. However, the upside of all this is that the STI has the stronger engine. Floor the throttle andit lunges forward with stunning force, while emitting a meaty boxer note. The suspension also exacerbates the acceleration as it squats at the rear — it's not a huge amount, but you can feel it.

Even so, the EVO is no slouch and can sling away from standstill in a way that will scare most V8s, but it just doesn't feel as fast as the STI.

It is a smoother engine than it has ever been, but it still needs a touch more torque.

The STI is faster in a straight line.

But the real test involves corners on the way to Victoria's Great Ocean Road. It's important to note both of these cars are at home in this environment of twisting roads, some of them wet and extremely slippery, and both will have no problems holding impressive corner speed.

They both pull up incredibly well thanks to their relatively low weight and hefty Brembo brakes with four-pot front calipers and two-pots at the rear, which are standard on both cars.

The STI's softer suspension sees it lean in to corners with a level body roll that really doesn't belong to such a performance car. Hit a bump mid turn and there will likely be some rattle through the steering wheel, accelerate and you can feel the diffs trying to work out where to send the power. Sometimes there is a tug at the steering wheel as it sends a bit more to the front axle.

The EVO is a race car in comparison. It sits super flat, with hardly any body roll, and changes direction much easier. You don't notice the switching of power from front to rear or across the rear axle using the cutting-edge yaw sensing system. Its AWD system is seamless and feels a generation ahead of the Subaru, and its body also feels rock-solid, with no steering rack rattle.

It might have less punch out of the corners, but you can carry more corner speed and get all the power down on the way out without any fuss.

CONCLUSION

I own a two-door '98 STI and love it, but loyalty doesn't count here. The EVO might be a bit slower in a straight line, have one less gear and look cheaper inside, but it's clearly the better car. It has a superior AWD system, better-sorted suspension, stiffer body and handles like a race car. No need to collate the points: the Mitsubishi wins by a knockout.

SNAPSHOT

SUBARU WRX STI

Price: $67,980 as tested

Engine: 2.5L/4-cylinder turbo 221kW/407Nm

Transmission: 6-speed manual0-100km/h: 5.2 seconds

Economy: 10.3L/100km claimed MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO

Price: $59,490 as tested

Engine: 2.0L/4-cylinder turbo 217kW/366Nmtransmission: 5-speed manual0-100km/h: 5.7 seconds

Economy: 10.2L/100km claimed