I'm a former WRX owner, so I'm biased, but I really loved it. If you're going to put money and mods into the car, the stock performance stats don't matter, and you should go for construction and engineering quality. Can't say anything negative about the Evo because I never owned one, but I can say you won't be at all disappointed with the STI. It's fast and sticks to the road like glue. Just a side note that I always put in threads about car modifications: As I've discovered through many years of trial and error, unless you really just love working on cars as a hobby, and you're modding your car for the hobby of it, don't buy a cheaper car and mod it. If what you REALLY want is performance (not necessarily just the experience of working on a car yourself) -- buy a car that may be more expensive but performs better with all stock parts. The engineers that work for car manufacturers are exponentially better than the ones who make aftermarket parts, and being able to make warranty claims and work with more reliable parts will save you a ton of money in the long run.