Had a try in a friends evo 8 today, not driven one before and was expecting a similar drive to my classic.
Its a car ive always fancied as a every day runner, but not so sure now.

Its faster, much more responsive to steering, much more grip and stops twice as quick, i was quite surprised how different they are, much more track focused.
But, it lacked the low down punch my scooby has, the steering didnt feel as 'safe' as the scoob, not twitchy but lighter and faster, felt like it needed both hands on the wheel all the time.

Power wise once it was on boost its very fast but in the scooby i can lazy short shift and let the engine do all the work.

Its the same with the engine noise, evo sounds great but only on full whack, mine sounds lovely at any revs.

Im not knocking the evo here its a superb thing, but after my drive im not that sure i would prefer one over the scooby, it as if the evo was lacking something, i was almost underwhelmed by it, even though the evo does everything better than the scooby does.
Im sure if i took an evo on a trackday id find the missing X factor.

Anyone else had the same thoughts, or am i about to get lynched by any evo lovers on here.

 

Your review was exactly how I found it too. Just not very exciting or rewarding to drive, with little feedback from the car. Probably a more sorted drive, but for enjoyability the impreza won hands down.

 

I find the power delivery on a Evo is a lot smoother then the subaru, you dont realize how fast your going until you look at the speedo. But have to admit the Evo handles a lot better then the subaru, but like you say they lack something, Ive been there 3 times and always come back to subaru!!!

 

IX is much better for engine response and suspension.

It makes sense when you pitch it hard into an empty roundabout.

 

Made that mistake before, then had to turn around as I was facing the wrong way towards traffic!! I blame the AYC!!!

 

That sounds about right, you dont feel like your driving an evo until your at 9/10ths, in a scooby you can drive it a 5/10ths and feel satisfying.

I may have to have another go one day and see what i think on a second drive, I was really expecting to like this car before i drove it.

 

The burble is what's missing.

How much power does it have and what's your scoob running?

 

I love my EVO 6 TME spool up is epic from the OEM turbo ! I agree that the responsiveness and handling is better than the Scoob ! My Type R was good but my EVO is great

 

I also thought this, my friend had the FQ400 which was a beast but I got that same Flat feeling I got in my mates VX220, both very fast cars, but didn't feel it lowdown.....

 

They both are amazing cars in their own rights. I think it was Top Gear who summed ut up great. They said "you want a scooby to drive to the track ( bit more comfort ) and then an Evo on the track".

 

I've just gone from a MY05 Sti UK to a Evo IX,I didn't think I'd ever say this,Apart from the noise...The Evo is far and away the better car.I got a friend who always told me her Evo IX was better than my STi...she was right,The different is huge!!!

P.S I just changed the exhaust and got it remapped and it now running 390/392,Try that with a STi ?

 

I've had my prodrive style bug over ten years now and my next car is definately a makinen evo 6.5 .,in poppy red iff I can find one .

 

I'm looking at evo 8/9s and hawk sti but it's a hard call

 

Fantastic cars... The Tommi Makinen is my favourite one hence why I bought one in white !

 

There is a stunning tommi mak for sale at the moment on the MLR!

 

A hawk Sti will be around that power, My hawk with exhaust and remap pretty much stage 1 mods runs 380bhp/412lb/ft

But some people go from a subaru to a Evo and dont look back, and you get some who cant get on with the Evo and come back to the Subaru!!!

 

I am on mlr and seen it stunning car in the best colour .
White are stunning also.

 

It was a MR FQ300, standard spec but rumoured to have been mildly mapped, my scoob i was comparing it to is a boggo turbo 2000 with prodrive ecu and a de cat, so nothing special.

Its not a power thing, i was just expecting more of an event driving it, just cant put my finger on what it is.

 

Evo RS is the one to have

 

Yeah,But my power is reliable,with no disrespect meant a 2.5 type uk isn't.

 

Only about a month to go untill I can start comparing.

 

Really?? noisy hydraulic tappets common problem on Evo engines , and the 6 speed gearbox and diffs are quite reliable on a newage STi, cant say that about the temperamental AYC

Bet you have to replace your AYC pump before my 2.5 engine explodes!!!

 

Agree, best version of the Evo I had, just a bit extreme for everyday use, No ABS, wide up windows, very short ratio gearbox, but quite fun on the track!!!

 

So comparing apples with oranges in reality, No disrespect to your car intended but it's on pretty much the bottom rung of the ladder in terms of Subarus. If he's had it mapped it's probably got 100bhp more than your car as well as much better suspension and running gear so bound to feel much better in terms of power and handling ect.
Needs to be compared to a classic STI running around 330bhp to be a fair comparison.

I'd say it's probably a bit more refined like new ages, they don't feel as fast as classics and are much more forgiving of ham fisted drivers but they still get a move on, with a few small mods they handle even better but there is no real seat of the pants driving experience like you get in a classic.

I've never had a go in an EVO as they just never appealed to me, but I do like the look and ethos of some of the models like the RS in grey and white they look quite tidy, red looks a bit too garish for me.

I'd still chose my STI Type R every time though.

 

This is very true, the evo 7 RS is the winner when used where it was designed for, i put both the 7 RS and a newage sti through their paces on a full on forest stage in Tong forest W Yorkshire and over the course the Evo was better hands down! More composed and precise in the bend and more responsive coming out. The newage felt wollowy and laggy in comparison.


But most people will only get to use them on the road and never get to find the limits of the car.

 

I made a mistake of driving a friends Evo 7 RS, I then thought that all Evo's must be this good and purchased a Evo 7 GSR back in (2005) Had pretty much stage 1 mods(exhaust, filter, remap) running 370bhp and to be honest I never got on with it.

Evo 7 GSR handled really well but It never really excited me, and never felt as fast as when I went in the 7 RS. So sold it on, and bought a couple more Evo's until I found out its the AYC that was killing my Evo experience and making the car boring, So I went out and bought a 6 RS and that ticked all the boxes(what a car), I did go and look at a Evo 9 GT (No AYC) just before I bought my hawk STi but it was in bad condition so walk away!!

 

Ok where's the punch line?

 

Had v3 , v4 v7 jdm cars , now EVO6 . As mentioned above , lancer is a more focused track car , better track layout , better stability in and out of the corners , better power delivery , better spec as a standart car for certain environment ...that would be track work... ( never owned new age twin scroll DCCD cars so my comparison is based only on my previous cars i had) Before choosing a model i tried couple of them... 8 MR 340 , 9GT , and TM 6 .... Later models were muted in a similar way as new age scoobs but still handled better, but that wasn't my aim , i wanted a lighter car , a car that gives you rush without going crazy speeds and Evo6 was that car , composed and made for only 1 thing . No extra weight , no "luxuries" ...

the only thing i'm finding is a step back words is gear box compared to a subaru 6 speeder , otherwise is a much dynamically superior car than any of my previous cars .... It's such a step forward in this particular department , that a standarish car almost without any handling mods , felt and reacted much better than my full of whiteline catalog goodies , AST suspension Type Ra quick rack equipped bug.....

If i was to compare these cars , i'd say scoob was more enjoyable if used more daily at lower speeds , evo is a superb hooning machine.....

I highly recomend trying one to people who are in the same position as me , using car for track work or weekend hoon ... I've done this after 8 years of owning scoobs and so far am happy with my decision as it feels better in my environment and for what i am using it...

 

Why not to compare evo5/6 to type r/ra? That would be a fair comparison in a "more feel given" case.... None of new age cars will ever give you same feeling as 90's era cars gave ...

 

the price of evos is greater to buy, scoob for the money is the best car to be had.

never driven an evo would love to try one.

dont the evos cost more to service/run etc..