I drove this vehicle back to back with the Subaru WRX STI on the track at the AJAC TestFest this year, and I’d have to say that I’d possibly give it the edge over the Subie as a pure track vehicle. The car felt much tighter in the turns, the power and grip is simply amazing, and the steering, well go-kart-like is the only way I can describe it.

Of course, neither won the COTY category, as that honor went to BMW’s wonderful 135i.

This caused one or two raised eyebrows, but I can totally understand why BMW took the award. The 135i was very impressive on the track, yet it was also extremely comfortable and well-mannered during the road course testing. I believe that many voting journalists based their scoring on the best all-rounder, rather than simply placing the emphasis on pure performance.

Cars like the Subaru STI and the Mitsubishi EVO are designed for the true enthusiasts, guys and girls who want to own and drive real performance thoroughbreds, which is why the two companies invest so much in promoting their products through rallying and performance events. That is fine for those who can afford to purchase a vehicle like this specifically to race or rally on the weekends, but most owners don’t actually do that, do they?

No, most owners of these types of vehicles still need to commute to and from work, and even to run the odd trip to the grocery store, which is why I booked the EVO for a weeklong test drive. Basically, I wanted to see if I could actually live with one!

The drive!

Now I have to say that straight away I was pleasantly surprised, because up until that point, I had only driven the EVO on the back roads of Niagara-on-the-Lake for approximately 20 minutes or so. Actually, I had taken a short drive along the QEW, but as anyone who has been that way lately will agree, the highway road surfaces there could do with a little TLC!

Ok, fair enough, you do feel the odd pebble on the road in the EVO, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Obviously, with fat performance tires the ride’s not going to feel like the family minivan, but the EVO doesn’t feel like a bag of bolts either. Yes, you tend to feel and hear the road beneath you, but the steering is almost unaffected and the vehicle still feels comfortable. In fact, it could be said that you get all of the pleasure of driving a taut performance machine, but without the full-on drama all of the time. However, you are constantly aware of being in a potent machine, but isn’t that what owning a car like this is all about? This is maybe where the EVO differs slightly from the Subaru, as the later feels slightly more subdued in normal driving mode.

On a decent highway, the EVO rides and drives like most other vehicles, well, until you decide to play with the happy pedal, that is. Of course, then you meet up with my one pet peeve on the EVO, which is the huge whale-tail spoiler on the trunk lid. Oh yes, it might look simply drop dead gorgeous from afar, but unfortunately its positioning almost completely blocks your vision in the rearview mirror. That’s a major problem in a car like this because whilst you’re cruising along at the legal speed limit “of course”, you might not notice your Auntie Mabel coming up behind you flashing her lights for you to pull over and say hello :-)

Whilst I wouldn’t want to see the sharp looking spoiler disappear from the EVO, I do think that it’s a problem which needs to be addressed. Maybe a secondary, smaller-thinner mirror could be positioned above the existing, allowing for two angles of rearward vision.