I've driven a stock Evo IX and it didn't really blow me away. Granted, they respond better to mods than almost any car on the market, and I know they can be insane performance machines, but compared to a 2006 STi I drove, I'd pick the STi, stock vs stock.

I like the Evo X more than the IX, but I haven't driven one. Is its driving position a little lower than the IX? Is it a little more buttoned-down? There's a white one I see every day for sale that I lust over each time I pass it. They hadn't depreciated enough to be in my pricerange though when I was in the market, otherwise I might have bought a blue Evo X.

^ I haven't sat in an VIII or IX in a while, but the Evo X seating is really high. And there is no height adjustment.

Damn. I was hoping it was more like a DSM or 3KGT than an SUV. http://www.autotalkcrew.com/forums/i...ilies/okay.gif

Sorry was using the JDM spec hp. I just don't see the point when I say they're close why that makes people think I said exact and begin to argue seriously? It's like evos are on some pedestal and nothing comes close or else your lying!!

That's really dumb. My point for showing power to weight math is that people are saying the evo is SO MUCH faster when in reality it's not. Furthermore trap speeds are in no way indicative of actual power to weight. The fact that the trap speed quote had so much deviation how is it even possible to use that as anywhere close to being accurate.

That's weird. I've driven numerous examples of both, and the STI understeers a lot, in comparison. That's not to take away from it, it's a great car, but like I said you're not going to see it in any Best Handling Car competitions.

I'm not trying to be a fanboy, but what in your opinion would constitute a car being "so much faster" or not? I don't want to play the numbers game but the performance specs and lap times of the two cars are likely going to be very different... even though the satisfaction from behind the wheel will be above average for either car.

I'll definitely give you understeer in the STi, moreso than the Evo. The engine is mounted further forward in the STi, being longitudinal, so it's got that extra front overhang that causes pretty unappealing turn-in understeer.

But to me it felt a little more solid, a little less cheap, and you could feel the bigger engine at play there. I think for a race car, I'd take the Evo, but for a DD or racy street car, I'd have to go STi. Stuff like exhaust note and power curve and interior quality push me toward the STi, even knowing the Evo will outperform it when the mods start rolling in. The Evo's power was pretty far up top and the turbo lagged a little bit more than I'd want. Granted they both have some lag, and they have great power/torque, the Evo's was always a little harder to reach.

Stock vs stock these cars are basically identical in terms of end-of-the-day track figures imo. At least they're as close as it gets, depending on which has the better tires that day (Evo comes with some pretty nutso summer treads).

I agree with a lot of that, even though my personal preference was to get the opposite car (which I've owned two of). It's interesting how similar the cars are on paper in terms of their actual specs and performance specs, yet the driving experiences are very different. Some people love the stronger bottom-end torque of the STI, and some people love the better top-end power of the Evo. I actually have more close friends with STIs than Evos (not counting random people who I've met at meets and know them by their usernames), and we can go on all day long about it.

The interior of the STI definitely "looks" better, but a lot of the important stuff that you touch on a constant basis has a slight edge in the Evo, from the steering wheel (pretty similar though) to the seats (far superior) to the shifter (which felt a bit better, as the STI's shifter always felt "loose" to me). But again, the rest of the interior can be an eyesore at times. I remember when I got my first Evo in early 2006, I took a girl to the movies, and the first thing she asked was, "If this is a new car, how come this part [pointing at the head unit and HVAC] looks like that?" As much as I could justify it to myself, I knew that it wouldn't matter to her. But she did like the seats though!

Thank you, that's all I'm trying to say. "close" is a subjective measure of course, but to me, that means fractions of a second, or that either car could win in any given situation, all things being equal. That's not the case, the Evo is faster in any race situation or condition.

And trap speeds ARE the definitive measure of power to weight, short of an actual dyno. The fact that they vary has more to do with specific power available under various weather conditions, but the variance over a large sample will be consistent and give you the consistent view of what the power to weight ratio in fact is.

lol

She probably liked the boost too. ;)

wow this has spun way out of control. I am not even going to comment on ALL the things that have been discussed but there is a lot of false info on evo's being thrown out there. i would like to keep this thread to the simple start that i had it on or ask the monitors to just lock it before someone gets beat up over the internet lol

I totally agree with this...Last year we traded the wife's 03 Evo in on an 11 GTS model. The loss of power and handling was noticeable but MPG was more of a factor and side by side they look so similar it just made sense to save money. She says it's sporty enough for her...but I did recently discover a picture of the BRZ as the wall paper on her phone, need to start hiding my keys.:bellyroll:

I never owned or driven an evo,but when researching, the evo x interior still seems only slightly better than the frs, which made my decision easier. Now that i've had the frs for a month, the best description is the frs/brz is a poor mans lotus. It handles that good

Any particular reason behind trading in the 2003 Evo for a 2011 GTS? Or was it just time for a new car?

I will say that the interior of the BRZ Limited is more upscale than even the Evo X MR Touring's interior, which is pretty decent in itself with it being all-leather, but again, everything else looks nicer in the BRZ. But when talking about the BRZ Premium (and FR-S, since the interiors are nearly identical), then the Evo X has the edge.

However, the leather/alcantara material used in the Evo X MR (non-Touring) is mediocre and was a step down from the leather/alcantara used in the Evo IX. It's a trend between the two... from the wing no longer being carbon fiber to the interior being better looking than before but using cheaper materials all around, particularly on the steering wheel, seats and even the shift boot.