Fastest ground coverer....

[Lotec_Sirius]

I'm a big Lotus fan so the Exige

[Rockefella]

Common sense shows that You rarely ever see STI's or WRX's on the side of the road/track broken. I see more toyota's and mitsubishi's than subaru's on the side of the road.

Mitsubishi's haven't had the best track record with reliability. I recall there being a lot of problems with the transmission..

[clutch-monkey]

the EVO 9 MR had a 10 year warranty iirc...

[LandQuail]

Lots of good advice. I'll add what I can:

It's sort of like being stranded on a desert island and having to chose whether you'd want to pack a scalpel or a Bowie knife.

I've covered 64,000 miles in my '04 STi and it's been bulletproof. The engine and gearbox still feel fresh as a daisies (I'm a big believer in oil changes every 3,000, or whenever it's a sunny day).

The drivetrain is showing a little more backlash than it left Japan with, and I suspect there's something going afoul with the rear differential, but given the countless thrashings I've given it, it's got to be as tough as leather.

In some ways the STi, and I think to a lesser extent the EVO, are the last of the Old Skool Japanese Turbocharged Sportscars.

Today, when so many manufacturers seem to be going to light-pressure, you'd-never-know-it-was-there turbocharging, that whopping great shove in the back is a rare treat. In the STi I've never felt hindered in any way by turbo lag. Above 3,500 or so the power is near-instantaneous. The ramp-up in torque as the turbo spools is so quick I'd reckon you wouldn't call it slower to react to the throttle as a N/A engine, but less crisp.

Next I'd say, as have quite a few here, that it's really a question of horses for courses. The STi is a prime example of a jack-of-all-trades car, and for an unmodified road car it's arguably a master of dirt.

I really, really like the any road, any weather capability of the STi, but when it's the perfect storm combination of great mountain road, fine weather and no traffic I do find myself wishing I were in something with more finesse.

And here's the rub: The STi doesn't have finesse on paved surfaces. It's basically a point-and-shoot car that only has one trick: mind-warping, balls on fire speed. Pin a STi's throttle out of a hairpin and I don't think any supercar would have much on it.

It takes few words to describe it on gravel. It's ****ing Brilliant. All the tendency to understeer and (or so it is for me) unwillingness to hold a drift with anything approaching safety or precision on a paved, public road vanishes. It becomes like a different car, rotating perfectly into a corner on the brakes, taking an unerringly poised opposite-lock posture, and powering out the other side in the most deliciously natural way — and it's both very easy and very rewarding for the driver.

For an Arkansas Hillbilly like me, being able to burn up gravel roads is the deciding factor. I don't get to do it often, but more often than most in more well-developed (read: everything's paved) parts of the world.

But with the Elise, you could enjoy much the same sideways thrill going around a roundabout, if you had your wits about you — I'm sure you do — and modest tires.

Subjectively, the Elise would feel more special. I think we'd all agree on that. I know that if I have my way, an Elise or (whisper it) Exige will be my next car, but I wouldn't trade my experiences at the wheel of old Subaru for one.

I'd say if you've already done the nimble little sportscar thing, go Subaru and enjoy the world of Big Power and Big Grip for a while, and vice-versa.

There's really not a bad choice between to be made between the two.

Isn't that Elise Type 72D a tasty bit of strumpet, by the way? 'Quail even likes the colors...
Cheers.

[2ndclasscitizen]

Triumph Street Triple.

[LandQuail]

Or you could just get a Truimph Street Triple.