The world is split up into two kinds of people. Dog people or catpeople. Either you go for the playful, faithful, cute canine chumps oryou favour those evil feline bastards. And the population getspolarised in other ways too. You either like
New York or Los Angeles,Picasso or Van Gogh, PCs or Macs, but never both. You can see where I'mgoing with this, can't you? When it comes to rally-bred sports saloons, you either lean towards theSubaru Impreza or the Mitsubishi Evo. And somehow, it seems that everymonth there's a new iteration of one or the other or both. You may ask,how is this Evo different from those that have gone before? The
standard Evo VIII has 276bhp. This FQ-300 has even more power andtorque. That same two-litre four-cylinder engine has been tuned toextract 301bhp and 300lb ft of torque, 11 more than the standard model.The claimed 0-62mph time is 4.9 seconds - four-tenths quicker thanstandard. Although the top
speed of 157mph remains the same. Figures, schmigures. You only need to know one thing: it's quick. Turbopower comes in at around 3,250rpm and then it's only a second or twobefore you reckon you've achieved enough velocity to escape the Earth'sgravity. The FQ-300 moves and reacts about as fast as you can think. It feelsbalanced and sharp. You can tune into what each
wheel is doing. Thesteering is quick and precise. Information on how much grip there is(usually loads and loads) goes directly to the parts of your brain thatare instinctive and reflexive. Suddenly, I'm tweaking the throttle andcorrecting the steering with ease and speed, or I'm dabbing the superbbrakes like I'm completely used to the car. The Momo wheel is a perfect size, the seats are firm and snug... hey,the gearchange is sticky and vague. In a sudden change of direction(easy in this car), I hit upon a down-side. The six-speed manual 'boxis not the slick changer that I'd like. If I don't concentrate enough,I'll miss a gear or select the wrong slot. Maybe it needs morerunning-in miles, but it really needs to feel like second nature to gowith the rest of the car. Other downsides? The dash design is a bit dull, but I'm getting enoughthrills from other areas. Yes, the cabin's noisy and the ride is extra,extra firm. That's the nature of the beast. And it's fine by me. The big question is: does the £:28,995 FQ-300 represent a better buythan the standard model that's only 25bhp shy, but £:2,000 cheaper? Isuppose it would be nice to have the top-of-the-range Evo, but I'mstill to be completely convinced. One last little thing. I parked it outside the house of a friend ofmine. Nearby, a group of teenagers were hanging around. When they sawthe car they started
doing the 'we are not worthy' actions. I guess Ishould have told them it wasn't my car, but it was easier and quickerto just smile and nod. I did feel, though, that I had encountered somekindred spirits who also preferred dogs, Picasso, New York and, ofcourse, the Mitsubishi.
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