I drive my Z all year round with a set of Pilot Alpins in the winter...I borrowed my sisters Lexus RX300 the other day in the snow to haul some stuff and my Z with the snow tires handles and brakes BETTER than the AWD RX...that thing was all over the place.

You're going to have to get winter tires either way...since the STi will be nearly USELESS in the snow with the road race tires that come on it.

 

He got a G35.

Good choice.

 

The STi comes with Bridgestone Ponezas. They are USELESS in the snow. The dealer will tell you that, the manual will tell you that, and I will tell you that. Reguardless of what these people say, I love crawling into the STi and punching that accelerator. In a word, wow.

Now, that being said... yes there is more aftermarket stuff for the EVO, but that's because the STi scares alot of tuners. Just like the old RX-7 vs. Supra, the new battle is STi vs. EVO. Rest assured that the STi will have it's fair share of aftermarked speed addons as soon as they crack the electronics.

However, I would not recommed the STi as a family car unless you want kids puking all over the seats from the harsh ride. The EVO does ride better, but that because Mitsubitchy designed it for the street (STi takes to dirt like a 4x4). And before you look at the EVO RS you must realize that it doesn't come with a ton of options... like AC.

My suggestion would be to get the STi, get snow tires, and wait for the mods. With an STi you will have a VERY UNIQUE car that has curb appeal (maybe not to Z owners) and will be tons of fun on frozen lakes!

 

Before you look at the RS, remember they are gonna try and jack you with a dealer market adjustment. They are only making 700. And in my opinion it's a little too much lancer and a little too little evolution with the way it looks.

Evo gains 25 whp with a downpipe. If I had it all over, I'd have gotten the Evo. I love my Z, but NJ is just punishing me with all the salt, potholes, and snow.

Dan

 

Well before putting down $1000 G's I would have test drove the car. I don't care what BS the dealer tells you, you should test drive the car, then go test drive the Evo. I test drove the Evo a couple weeks ago, only took me two weeks of BS to get the test drive. All I could say was for my short drive, the ride was a blast. I found the turbo lag to be awsome since being used the Z smooth engine. Plus radio and sunfroof can't go wrong with the evo. Just sit in both, drive both then be prepared to get screwed on trade in or private sale.

 

I have a friend that lives in Manitoba who has an STi. Believe it or not he says the STi is not good in the snow, even with Blizzaks, b/c the suspension is a little too firm and the ground clearance is too low for really bad snow. The end result is that his 95 ford ranger sees snow duty.

If snow driving means so much to you that you can't drive the Z w/snow tires, I'm not sure the evo is the way to go. It may be ok for light snow (less than 1 or 2 inches) here and there...but the mere presence of AWD doesn't mean the thing was designed for all weather use. 911turbo is AWD as well...I haven't seen one in the snow. ;-) The Evo is a purpose-built street performance car...not an all weather runabout.

NzZ

 

You can find POS beaters all day long for less than you put down for the STi. Just get a peice of crap FWD car to drive around in the snow and enjoy your Z the rest of the year?

 

Well, I guess if u already gave them $1000, then ur gonna get it no matter what right?

So why argue bout getting a different car. Maybe U shoulda asked us before putting down the money.

As for the Gold wheels ONLY coming with the WR Blue, that BS. The dealer here had White, Black, and Blue with Gold wheels.(white/gold was almost mine)

Don't waste ur money on the RS unless ur gonna be a hardcore racer. They said they took most of the equipment off in order to save weight. But why in the world would they take off the HID lights? No AC?No Radio?No Power Windows/Door Locks?No ABS? What's left? Just a 13 second car with a good suspension. MSRP is around 27K. Why oh Why? The normal Evo MSRP is only 30K.

Why would u wanna drive any car in the snow anyways?

 

Couldn't agree with you more...and Power nothing...including windows...

Dude, you're on crack. I can't speak for anywhere else, but at least where I live, girls puke at that car, whether it's regular WRX or STi, and the only thing the guys like is the power. And this has nothing to do with me owning a Z.

 

For the best information on the STi check out NASIOC .

These guys will tell you all about the good and bad of the STi. One thing I remember from the EVO forums is that a lot of the cars are experiencing rust problems, and the dealers are denying a lot of warranty work. I can't remember the address for the Evo site, but you'll easily find it on google.

-Mark
'04 WRX-Black

PS: All of the STi's are available with silver or gold rims.

 

Unfortunately they don't sell the Evo's in Canada.

 

get the sti. subaru reliability >> mitsu reliability.

 

sti definitely has curb appeal, just not sex appeal. have you ever seen a slightly lowered black sti with tinted windows. tell me that doesn't look awesome. not beautiful like the z, but very cool in a not-pretty way.

 

If you bought a rear wheel drive car as your only vechicle in a part of the country where it snows, then you don't have much in the brains department.

 

That's for sure. But at least he has brains to pick the STI or EVO.

 

I bought a RWD car as my only transportation (next to my motorcycle), and with snow tires it's BETTER in the snow than any of my FWD or even my Jeep was....am I lacking in the "brains" department also??

The people whom are lacking the in the brains dept. are those who have blindly come to believe (due to marketing) that RWD cars always suck in the snow..and FWD and AWD are always superior.

 

Haha... I can't speak for girls in general, but I pointed out an Evo to a girl I was with and she said "EWWWW!!!!" I think the park bench was part of what ruined it for her as she made a strong comment about it.

I will agree that the STi and Evo have incredible bang for the buck. It's just that the styling doesn't do it for me.

 

[deleted]

 

Must be a snow newbie.

I grew up in northern New England many years ago, before fwd and 4wd vehicles were available or affordable choices. As noted by a few others, a properly outfitted rwd could master the back roads of northern Vermont quite easily. Infact, my Grandpa's rwd 1/2 ton pickup with snow tires and a couple hundred # of weight in the back were all that was needed in most snow conditions. If it got real bad the snow chains were put on and then you could go anywhere. A few years later, my 3/4 ton Dodge van was my daily driver in northern CT. Again, when properly outfitted it would go anywhere, including to all the ski areas in the northeast.

With these type of vehicles and conditions, one learned to drive by feel. I'm not sure today's youth has needed to learn that - whoops I'm stereotyping

 

Yes, I agree that they look good that way (I've seen some sick ones myself), but we were talking about how they each look in stock form, right out of the box.

While I do realize we all have different tastes, most would agree that as far as looks are concerned between the Z and STi (or regular WRX-not much difference exterior wise), the Z wins hands down (and my "Dude, you're on crack" statement was not meant as an insult by the way-neither to the car(s) or its driver(s), just my sense of humor).

Personally, i like the Evo a little better than the STi looks wise, and I wouldn't mind having one. But while I've always been a sports car enthusiast, I've never bought a car for the numbers that it put out. I buy my sports cars based on looks (how attractive it is to me), interior design/features (from base to fully loaded), handling, braking and performance. And these factors of mine are about equal to each other. Reason being is that these are the factors that will ultimately determine how I feel being behind the wheel. The car that gives me the most pleasure and enjoyment (that sounded kinda dirty) that I can afford wins. That's it. Hell, the color's actually the hardest choice for me.

Bottom line, who gives a **** what other people say anyway? It's your a$$ that's going to be in the driver's seat for miles and miles of driving pleasure-whether it be getting pushed into the seat (sports car), riding on clouds type of ride (luxury), or four feet off the ground (Truck/SUV), etc. Just buy what you like and go with it...personalize it, modd it, keep it stock...just have fun. That's why we have clubs and forums.