I have said it time and time again, and that's that the WRX is superior to the Evo. It's not about specs in particular, or Subaru's aftermarket and competition-friendly suervice attitude, or about price. It's the whole package.
There is no doubt in my mind that the Evo is a well-bred racing vehicle, with excellent parts off the showroom floor, but much of the overhead spent on the car could be better spent towards aftermarket, and the rigid warrantee issues only further its impracticality for all but the most dedicated full-time race teams. The bottom line is that Mitsu brought it to North America only after bailing on the 2G DSM turbo 4G63 because they were eating their shirts on the warranty woes from crankwalk, facing a number of class actions (many which have settled with stipulations that they not be discussed in any way whatsoever, hence the lack of publicity of these outcomes), and a basicinternal mismanagement of fiancial resources. All the while, companies like Toyota and especially Nissan were enjoying a rejuvinated line-up that included newer sports/performance vehicles with reasonable to great abilities.... and Honda was churning out the same steady sales it always has.
So Mitsu was left with failing sales... the Galant they had so hoped would save them did not, as the Altima, Camry, and even newer domestics beat it up in the sales. So here they were, dwindling profits, suddenly NO performance offerings in North America (meaning no sports image, the same thing Dodge was suffering from until Daimler bought it and created DC and it's new agressive stance).
So what they (MMNA) did, after stalling us with hints of Evo's possible North American offerings, to try to buy time and find a less-risky solution (i.e. some lesser sporty platform with less warranty risks and less expensive production costs), was give in and realize all they actually had WAS the Evo. So they grudgingly offered it to the North American market, fully-aware of the trend in American sport-compact racing. While Bart's buddy may have it alright with HIS dealer, the fact is, nine times out of ten, people are reporting that even mild enjoyment of the Evo's hallmark properties is resulting in what they term as a "restricted" warranty (i.e. voided).
WRX, on the other hand, came into North American sales under entirely different circumstances, and that fact is a powerful motivator behind Subaru's tolerance -- and even promotion -- of their cars used in amateur and professional racing alike, as well as street modding.
Subaru had been seeing slow but steady improvements in their North American sales, mostly with the Outback Sport and the Legacy, and they had been gaining a reputation for building a good yet affordable AWD car with a reliable driveline and a hardy engine moving it. Around this time, their more potent versions not offered in North America were starting to win WRC championships, displacing the Evo and Mitsubishi as the reigning WRC dominators. Their champion status became so successful that Mitsu's famous racecar driver even jumped ship to sail on the Subaru seas.
Subaru perhaps might have seen Mitsu's teasing us with hopes of Evo as an opportunity, or perhaps they were just getting more ambitious for North America with the sustained success of their WRX. Whatever the reason, they beat Mitsu to the punch, offering a genuine rally-proven vehicle, in nearly the same trim (I refer to the powertrain), and for an eyepoppingly affordable price. The car, despite its controversial looks, took the market by storm, and even reached out to people who were not typically looking for a "racecar". The fact that WRX can be bought in a wagon only further implies to the North American market that Subies are just doing "their usual thing", and that none of this is all that "surprizing". This of course shows confidence, which, paired with the proof of rally championship, very modest pricing, and an already excellent maintenance reputation, plus their extensive use of AWD in all their vehicles (something Mitsu is NOT known for in the least), bolstered their image well above and beyond Mitsubishi, who, even after releasing the Lancer (in anticipation of....) and then the Lancer Evolution, in North America, still was suffering gripes from the previous Eclipse platform, dwindling sales due to poor marketing, and maintenance reputation issues due to rediculous lack of quality control over production facilities.
So what you have is this:
Two cars. One is a natural "next step" for North American sales, and has already been a best-seller and professionally proven race platform of championship level... it's modestly priced, and also is backed by a good warranty and a service precident that is tolerant of attention to the car's performance attributes.
The other is a desperate attempt to salvage failing sales, try to regain some lost sports enthusiasm, and maintain a participation in major world sports venues (although certainly not in a winning form)... it could NOT be considered priced modestly, nor does the factory seem the least bit willing to repair anything that goes wrong with it (in general), so much so that they nitpick anything and everything in such a way that non-race related warranty issues could very easilly be denied under this vauge set of limitations.
As far as modified potential goes, both are actually about the same, give or take one detail or another, and certainly nothing that 2-4 grand of mods couldn't equalize between the two of them. So that only leaves the above as determining factors. In which case,
The WRX is the better car, built by a better company, for a better price, with a better service record and warranty support.
No more really need be said of it.