I am in the market for a new vehicle and was considering the two of these. I test drove both cars and they both seem pretty fun and quick. My last car was a 4 cylinder turbo, so there's no change on that front besides the additional power. The STi seemed to have less turbo lag as it runs lower boost and is a 2.5 liter with 300 hp while the Evo is a 2.0 liter with 286 horsepower, but also I didn't think about turbo lag until I drove the Evo, so it's possible that I didn't look for it.
The gearbox in the STi had an optional short shift throw kit, and the clutch travel was very small between the floor and its resting state, especially compared to my last car (Audi TT 1.8T 225). The clutch on the Evo had a little bit longer of a travel, but the big difference was the shifting. The throws on the Evo gearbox were a lot longer than in the STi as you can imagine. Also, the Evo didn't feel as smooth clicking in between gears as the STi, but this could just be it needing to be broken in.
The seats in the Evo are definitely better as they have more lateral support and fit my more slim body type better. I had forgotten that leather was available on the Evo, and the one I drove did have it. I could live with leather up where I'm living now as it doesn't get very hot up there, but down in Los Angeles back home the stuff gets really hot. I remember in a review of the STi them talking about how they made the seats wider for our market because us Americans can be pretty wide sometimes (especially comapared to the Japanese market). For besides the front seats, the Subaru has a nicer overall interior. The stereo system in the Evo is a better design for me personally when compared to the Subaru, but both are pretty good. I hate stereos that don't have a knob for tuning up and down on the radio. The Evo stereo was also more powerful since I suppose their sound package does more than the Subaru's.
The steering in the Evo is a bit lighter than the STi, but both are very tossable and quick to react to every input. The ride quality difference wasn't that noticeable, but the Subaru is sprung a little softer and has a little more body roll in the turns from what I've read on it.
I drove the regular 5 speed Evo IX and not the MR that has the different wheels, Bilstein shocks, vortex generator, and most importantly, the 6 speed transmission. Even if I were to get an Evo, I'm not sure which I would get yet although I'm leaning towards the MR.
As for styling, I like how the Mitsubishi looks much better. If I did get one, I'd replace the rear bumper with the Euro/Japanese spec one since it looks so much better. I'd also have to get rid of the awful front license plate mount which totally ruins the front end. When they first released the pictures of the third facelift of this model of Impreza, I thought it was hideous. But time has gotten me more used to the look and in person it made a pretty good impression on me considering what I had thought initially.
The dealership experience at Subaru was great (the place is a Dodge/Subaru dealer as the father runs the Dodge and his son runs the Subaru, go figure). They had 14+ STis and were very nice. At the Mitsubishi dealer, they only had 2 Evos, one on the lot and the other was the MR in the showroom. The salesman was sort of lame but a nice guy and the manager was a total prick, very controlling and barely even let us test drive the car. This doesn't really reflect on the brands too much for me because I'm sure there's good and bad dealerships all over for each brand.
I'm making a poll of this because I'm curious to know what you guys think of the cars and which you would rather buy and live with based on what you know about them or whatever. Both are around the same price and with very similar performance stats.
Mitsubish Lancer Evolution IX (MR shown):
Subaru Impreza WRX STi:
