Twin test: Mitsubishi Evo FQ-360 v Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type-UK review

Rallying, of all the motorsports on telly, is by far the most entertaining to watch.

One week the action can be on a forest stage in Wales, the next a snowy mountain pass in Sweden, the rally drivers edging closer and closer to an unplanned meeting with a tree, wild animal or even a spectator.

GALLERY: Mitsubishi Evo FQ-360 v Subaru Impreza WRX STI Type-UK

These guys are heroes in a world typically run by health and safety. From handbrake turns in hairpin bends, to tight mountain passes where a misplaced wheel is a 2,000ft drop, they are the most talented people on four wheels. The machinery taking them on such enviable expeditions is just as impressive, with four-wheel-drive, turbocharged engines and the styling panache of a Banksy mural. And boy can they cover ground quickly. But the best bit is that you can buy exact replicas of these cars in the showroom right now. Two manufacturers with rallying flowing vividly through their veins are Mitsubishi and Subaru.

And it doesn’t get any closer to the high-octane world of rallying than with the two extreme models we have here. On one side you have the Mitsubishi Evo FQ-360, a high-tech 366bhp Japanese saloon car that is, regrettably, something of a fading flower in the world of international rallying. The other a Subaru Impreza WRX STI, long established as the king of the rally stage and a formidable foe. Both will make a Lamborghini Murcielago look slow on a country road, and both will get you noticed, with their ironing board-sized spoilers, vivid paint schemes, huge alloy wheels and highly-tuned sports exhausts. The question is, which of these two highly-strung rally replicas is best?

"…for a brief moment I feel like Tommi Makinen on a British rally stage"

"…remove the Red Baron rear wing and you have the perfect Q-car"

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