Sorry John, this is how I read your comment, but thanks for clarifying.
I agree with the dealership network and service quality, in general. However, the dealers in Toronto area, and I visited all but one, have decent facilities as they are relatively new. The dealership I bought my Outlander from has the worst facility IMO; however the people I dealt with were decent folks. I keep taking my car back there for service due to the fact that the Service Manager is very nice and helpful. She goes the extra mile to make the customer happy and I certainly appreciate that. I don’t care much about how flashy the dealership is, but I certainly value very much the service I receive.
One other problem is that they don't have much experience and knowledge with the new Outlander and Lancer because they are such new models. However, they try and I appreciate that too.
One other thing, I have received very good service from Mitsubishi Canada Customer Service. I think the customer service has been set as a priority at the corporate level.
I know it's all about public perception, but if you are educated enough, you can see past that. One other thing I appreciated during my short experience with Mitsubishi is that they are very quick to address the issues. Again, I see a great deal of attention to the customer satisfaction. If they can keep up with this attitude and make good products, they will grow, especially in the Canadian market where their image hasn’t been directly affected by the bad from the past. Yes, the perception you are talking about is there and it will take time to change for the masses.
Back to the Evo, it seems like more magazines are jumping onto the Evo vs STi competition. Here it is another one:
http://www.cars.com/go/crp/buyingGuides/Story.jsp?section=Sports&story=cc_fastAwd&subject=stories&year=New