The first Mitsubishi Evo arrived in 1992 and the Subaru Impreza quickly followed it one year later. From that moment on, these two cars became arch rivals who would frequently lock horns both on the tough stages of the World Rally Championship, and in the pub bragging stakes as the debate raged over which was better, the Impreza or the Evo.

On paper both these cars seemed identical; both had 2 litre turbo charged engines, both had permanent four wheel drive and through the many variations that followed both grew increasingly more conspicuous wings, spoilers and flared wheel arches.

No matter which one of these Japanese road rockets you eventually favoured, the general consensus of opinion was that for a single lap of the race track the edgy Mitsubishi Evo was considerably more fun. However for the drive to and from the track you would stick with the more comfortable, but just as capable Subaru Impreza.

Sadly whilst both the Impreza and Evo were born to compete on the demanding gravel, tarmac and mud strewn roads of the word rally stage, both manufacturers have now withdrawn from the competition, and the kudos and respect that it once drew has been lost. After all, where else could you see your favourite car win a round of the world rally championship at the weekend, and then use the very same version for your Monday morning commute.

As their rallying glory days start to slip in to the past, Mitsubishi and Subaru have now released new versions of their fabled road cars in the shape of the Evo X, and the Subaru Sti. However, is the era of the four door supercar eater starting to pass? Especially now as the front wheel drive hot hatch seems to be making such a resurgence.

Whilst Mitsubishi has continued with the four door saloon theme, Subaru has bravely branched out and made the new Impreza a hatchback. Time will tell whether this has been a wise move, however from their powerful xenon headlight bulbs at the front to their high winged spoiler at the back, both cars still look ready to take on a rally stage, and more importantly both cars have the performance and handling to humble more exotic machinery.

Sadly the motoring press has not been too kind to either of these new versions, with many believing that previous generations of both the Evo and Impreza offered more involvement and driver enjoyment. This problem has been compounded by the new range of hot hatches from Ford, Vauxhall and Renault, which offer similar levels of performance for a lot less fuss.

The latest Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo are still incredible cars, however they no longer have the field to themselves and as car manufactures seek to economise further on their production, we may start to see these niche models disappearing.