Everybody who stopped to chat about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII I was driving asked the same question: "Have you driven the rival Subaru Impreza?"
"Yup," I said, and, anticipating their next question, I also told them how the two performed in a side-by-side dice. That has been a burning question among serious petrolheads since Mitsubishi launched its rally-bred, high-performance sedan in South Africa six weeks ago (at the same time as the next-generation Evo IX was being launched in Japan).
The Evo (originally launched in 1992) has gone through several incarnations, each giveing better power and handling, to arrive at the eighth-generation version you see today.
The Impreza and Evo have established long-standing cult followings in Japan and Europe and countless shoot-outs have been written about them in overseas tests. Like the Impreza STi, the Evo VIII has all-wheel drive handling and close-to-BMW M3 performance at a relatively affordable price, with the Mitsubishi retailing at R395 000 and the Subaru at R385 000.
However, for the past several years, only the Impreza's been available locally as Mitsubishi dithered about launching its road rocket in "deep, dark Africa". Now that it's come to its senses, the Japanese company is selling its glamour model in limited numbers alongside the more modest Lancer 1.6 GLX sedan.
About five Evo VIIIs are being imported each month to sell through a handful of Mitsubishi dealers and supported by a two-year or 100 000km warranty.
On paper the Impreza and Evo, ech of which was bred (and fared very successfully) in the gruelling proving ground of the World Rally championship, could be twins: each has a two-litre, turbocharged and intercooled engine with all-wheel drive, though the Evo has a slightly upper hand in output.
The Mitsubishi's in-line, four-cylinder engine produces 195kW and 355Nm, the Impreza's flat-four 195kW and 343Nm. Each car weighs 1470kg.
Like its Subaru rival, the Mitsubishi Evo is about as subtle as a WWE wrestler in looks and muscle power. Its multiple fins, air scoops and a plastic-and-carbon fibre boot-lid spoiler big enough to make a blue whale jealous, are utterly garish.
One lady refused to even get into the car when one of our testers rocked up in it to take her out on a first date. Hey, wimmen just don't understand. The looks are garish, yes, but entirely appropriate to the hardcore performance.
Also, each flamboyant spoiler and scoop has a cooling or aerodynamic function. The surfboard-sized tailfin, for instance, has been moved further back from the previous Evo to provide more rear downforce. Up front, the underside of the chassis is shaped to produce a venturi effect that sucks the car to the ground.
Inside, the standard Lancer's prosaic and plasticky cabin has been spruced up with Recaro bucket seats, a racy three-spoked steering wheel and some shiny dashboard trimmings. But, hey, where are the aluminium pedals?
Given its high-adrenalin focus, there's no shortage of practicality in this the raciest of Lancers. The cabin's very spacious and out-legrooms the Impreza, while standard luxuries include air-con and power windows - which means passengers can experience sheer terror in the lap of comfort when you take them for a ride.
So, on to the main business at hand: how fast is the Evo VIII?
Better at sea level
It's launch is as subtle as a right hook from Lennox Lewis. It's an angry, howling, hard-hitting pace that gets all medieval on your ass. Real power comes on song at just under 4000rpm when the turbo gets into its stride. up here on the Highveld there's plenty of turbo lag, causing the car to feel very pedestrian at lower rpm.
At sea level, where the Evo's South African launch was held in April, the power delivery felt a lot more progressive.
Thanks to all-wheel drive there's no wheelspin no matter how hard you hammer the car off the line - just the danger of clutch failure. A performance-boosting squirt of cooling water is automatically delivered to the turbo intercooler every 12 seconds or you can perform it manually by jabbing a button next to the handbrake.
Ultimately, how quick the Evo VIII is largely depends on your ability. It's a tricky car to launch just right: get the engine revs too low before dropping the clutch and it bogs down because there is no wheelspin; try to rev it high and a limiter cuts in at 5000rpm to protect the clutch. There's a fine line in between.
Mostly you can comfortably rattle off the 0-100km/h in 6.2sec and the quarter-mile (400m) sprint in 13.9sec - almost exactly the same as the Subaru STi. But hit that sweet spot just right (and man, does it feel good when you do) and the Evo manages the 100km/h in 5.8sec and the quarter in 13.5.
So, to settle the pub arguments, the Evo's slightly quicker than the Impreza, but in a real-life dice it'll be the driver with the better clutch/throttle technique that wins the day. In top speed, the Evo managed 258km/h on the speedo with its true speed given as 248km/h - much of a muchness compared with the Impreza STi's 244km/h.
Not a happy camper
The mighty Mitsubishi is a very visceral driving experience and never do you feel aloof or disconnected behind the wheel. It's a loud car and the big-bore tailpipe makes a raunchy roar. The clutch is stiff, the gearshift firm but precise, and the steering super-direct, while the car has the ride quality of an anvil on rollerskates.
These traits, along with the turbo lag, don't make the Evo a happy camper in stop-start driving around town. It prefers a long, open road - preferably one with as many twists as a bowl of spaghetti. This is a car that likes corners and it delivers sure-footed handling to rival supercars wearing Italian badges.
The all-wheel drive system has some trick hardware. There are three modes selectable by pressing a button on the fasc ia: tar, dirt or snow, with the torque split between the front and rear axles changed to best suit each condition.
Additionally, a front limited-slip differential and "super active yaw control" at the rear axle ensures there's always traction; if a wheel starts spinning, power is instantly transferred to another with more grip.
Traction is something the Evo has in no short supply, especially on the dirt where it feels stable and composed even when you're wringing its neck. On tarmac the wide tyres cling tenaciously and the bias on the handling limits it towards understeer. But, with some experimentation (like jerking the steering and lifting the throttle mid-corner) the tail can be teased sideways.
The Recaro seats are terrific, hugging you firmly in place as you're pounding around corners. Large Brembo anti-lock brakes arrest speed very briskly, taking less than three seconds to stop from 100km/h.
SUMMARY
The Impreza STi at last has a suitable beast from the East with which to compete. Mitsubishi's evocative Evo VIII is one intense joy ride, a hard-core performance machine for the committed enthusiast with all the pace and handling its rally breeding promises.
Whether or not it's better than the Subaru Impreza STi is too close to call and I'd be happy with either in my white-knuckled grasp.
Maybe it'll be the one sold with a free laser detector ...
In rands and sense the Impreza offers the better deal as, besides being 10 grand cheaper, it has a longer warranty (three years or 100 000km instead of the Evo's two years or100 000km) and comes with a maintenance plan, which the Evo doesn't.
The Evo also requires very frequent servicing at 7500km compared with the Impreza's 12 500km. - Star Motoring