My Time with the Legends: STI and EVO
Alright, let’s talk about these two. The STI and the EVO. Man, brings back memories. Wasn’t just reading about them in magazines for me; I actually got my hands dirty, spent real time behind the wheel of both.
It started with the STI, a buddy of mine got one, blobeye generation I think. He let me drive it quite a bit. First impression? Raw. You felt everything from the road. The steering was heavy, direct. The boxer rumble, you either love it or hate it, I kinda dug it. AWD system felt solid, especially when the weather turned nasty. Gave you confidence, maybe a bit too much sometimes. It felt like a bulldog, planted and grippy.
Then, I got the chance to spend a week with an EVO IX. Totally different beast. Where the STI felt kinda brutish, the EVO felt sharp, like a scalpel. The turn-in was incredible. Point the nose, and it just went. Felt lighter on its feet, more eager to change direction. The 4G63 engine, yeah, it didn’t have that boxer sound, but it pulled hard, felt really responsive once the turbo woke up. The active yaw control? You could feel it working, shuffling power around, helping pivot the car. It was pretty wild technology for its time, felt very clever.
Living With Them (Sort Of)
Driving them back-to-back, even for short periods, really highlighted the differences.
- The STI: Felt more like an all-rounder, maybe a bit more forgiving on a bumpy road. Interior felt a bit… well, Subaru. Functional, not fancy. But solid. Maintenance wasn’t too bad on the one I drove often, typical Subaru stuff.
- The EVO: Definitely felt more hardcore, track-focused maybe? The ride was harsher. Interior was pretty basic too, very Mitsubishi for that era. Heard stories about transfer cases and clutches, but the one I drove seemed okay, though it was relatively new back then. It just begged you to drive it harder.
My buddy with the STI, he loved that thing. Took it everywhere. Daily driving, track days, snow trips. It handled most things pretty well. It understeered a bit when pushed really hard, but you could manage it.
The EVO felt like it demanded more from the driver to get the best out of it. It rewarded precision. Mess up, and it felt less forgiving than the STI. But get it right? Man, the cornering speeds were something else. It felt more adjustable with the throttle mid-corner too.
So, Which One?
People always ask. If I had to pick one back then? Tough call. Really depended on the day.
For sheer driving excitement, pure sharpness, the EVO probably edged it out for me. It felt more focused, more intense. Like a weapon.
But for something I could imagine living with every single day, dealing with crap roads and long drives, the STI felt a bit more… civilized? Maybe ‘robust’ is a better word. It felt like you could beat on it and it would just shrug it off (though head gaskets are always in the back of your mind with Subarus, right?).
Never ended up owning either long-term myself, moved onto different projects. But the time I spent driving them, comparing them, figuring them out – that was a blast. They were proper performance cars built for real roads, not just numbers. Shame they don’t really make ’em quite like that anymore. Definitely left an impression.
