I imagine development woudl run quicker on the 7 compared to the 1/2. Also they didn;t get tommi until they were running the 3.
Both the test driver and Tommi said the E7 WRC felt good on tarmac, even as far back as the begining of the year when they first started testing. Even to the point that they stopped construction of the 6.5 parts (perhaps this is why they have had to use the 7 near the end of the season as well)
The E7 has a number of changes over the 6 WRC (well not a real WRC) for the better, principally greater wheel travel. However the Evo WRC is not an Evo 7. Its a Lancer Cedia with a WRC kit of parts. Some of which happen to be the same as the E7. IE rear suspension is not the same as the 6.5 or the E7. It features a weird quasi-strut that acts like the old double-wishbone style the Evo's use to have whilst at the same time providing the benefits of the macpherson strut that all the other WRC cars run.. IE they can have lots of wheel travel without the wheel altering camber badly. This new build will be the soruce of the setup errors on the last rally, I'm sure
Ok, usually a smaller, squater car is more nimble, but that is becuase it is inherently less stable. Making it harder to drive and more likly to suffer an accident. And you have to compormise some of the setup to get them to be stable in fast corners, etc. The long wheel base of the 7 makes the car more stable. The turn in and agility problems can be (mostly) addressed by weight distribution, decent suspension setup and the trick diffs (Mitsubishi use a differnt style of diff to everyone else that is more sophisticated).
Would a WRC Xsara be any good on gravel or on the safari ? How will the Lancer WRC fair on the Rally of GB ? That may be a better benchmark.
TonyC