Keep in mind the EVO is only a 2.0L 4 cylinder. Were you on the stock turbo?I have never had a manual car with a blower, only a turbo, the lag never bothered me in a turbo, but the Evo was really slow on the highway up at speed, but was a rocket from 0-80. Small turbo, instant boost, power to be desired uptop. Much like an american V8
The GTI was the opposite. as it was really quick on the highway but kind of a dog around town under 40 mph.
EVOs are really quick to about 80 or 100. But due to their short gearing and AWD drivetrain loss they loose a lot of their steam at higher speeds (as you have stated).
Your GTI is also only 1.8 or 2.0L. What size turbo were you running on that?
The smaller your displacement, the longer it takes for the exhaust gasses to spool up a turbo. But for the NSX, even a 500whp capable turbo dosn't feel dead slow then hit hard like a small displacement 4-cylinder, because it has enough HP and displacement to spool the turbo quicker.
I agree with RON98 about "if you have too much lag, you're in the wrong gear",
-but 550AWD whp from a 2.0L, with a powerband between 6,000-8,500rpm isn't very usable, is useless on the street (for fun), and must be kept in that small window for performance around a track...