I don't like the car, period - at least not enough to drop $30K on. If it were priced like a Neon SRT, I might change my tune.

As is it looks kit-car like; sloppy and w/o good lines. It's heavy, too, has a lot of barely-useful go-fast crap on it that would probably break below 50,000 miles, has boy-racer attitude that's great if you want to impress someone's little sister, and to boot, is probably very easy to drive far too fast. Hence, another example of too much power for an average driving public, which is wrapped in a body typical of bad copycat Japanese styling.

In many ways, it reminds me of a Cadillac Cimmaron with flares. And speaking of Cadillacs (and four doors), the Catera with the Vette engine and Tremec 6-speed transmission is very nice. Plus it has American luxury no other car, Europeans included, can touch. Wait two years, and they'll be cheaper than EVOS, EROS or whatever they're called.

Now THAT is just MEAN.

LOL

I only say that 'cause I drove one for a year. What a pile of ****!

I think you need to watch the WRC coverage more. I look at an EVO or an STI and think of disgustingly high speeds through the mountains areound Monte Carlo. I do laugh my ass off when I see base model Lancers here in NZ with an EVO body kit though :D

As is it looks kit-car like; sloppy and w/o good lines. It's heavy, too, has a lot of barely-useful go-fast crap on it that would probably break below 50,000 miles, has boy-racer attitude that's great if you want to impress someone's little sister, and to boot, is probably very easy to drive far too fast.

You raise the biggest issue for me - the boy racer image. I think the "heavy" comment is unfair - it is relatively light compared to many new sports cars. In my experience, they are pretty well engineered. There are plenty of 100k mile prior models floating around NZ. Admittedly the Subaru has a reputation for a weak gearbox. The Evo is solid.

You know there is a thread a lot like this one going on on rennlist. One gentlemen who knew quite more than i care to was posting some interesting info on the evo. Appearantly (according to him that is) the evo we have in the states is very tuned down (not really the motor just everything else) and we don't see the quality evo that other countries do. He also said that the evo to look for is the evo IV, don't remember why though.

I do think the EVOs and STis we get our hands on are very different to yours.

This and the massive difference in the roads between there and here make a difference.

Over here the 300+bhp 'family car with 4x4' is pretty common.
Check out the numbers of Stis, EVOs, RS4s and RS6s to get a good idea and thats before you count the M5s and other S500s.

Too right though that the average driver will not need most of the kit and performance most of the time, bit like our 911s then, but to many they are used pretty frequently.

Agree that without the power the looks are too boy racer. Here with the power its pretty much untouchable. A recent Turbo will challenge but not the standard 911, let alone anything with 911 on its chassis plate.

Only yestersday I was gald to have the 4x4 gear underneath me as I drove home. A pretty dreadful day, very serious rain, nice road, no traffic. I would have struggled intensely with a 230hp RWD car, as witnessed by the 350Z stuck in the ditch on the way. Car muddy and waterlogged but otherwise OK. No I don't have an EVO or an STi, just an Audi S2 wagon.
I'm pretyy certain the P-car would have ended up next ot it........

We're up to tthe Evo VIII in the UK and regularly it is regularly compared to 911s (996) and its often a very close run thing on performance and driving experience.


Pretty much horses for courses tho'SmileWavy

One thing you can count on is the shrill whine of the 911 crowd whenever a car company comes out with something that is cheaper and has more HP than a 911.

I'm a 911 fanatic to the bone, but it's simply the result of technology and the desires of the market that have spawned cars that can kick most 911 a$$ and for a lot less money. Put $30k in somone's hot little hands, send them to the Auto Mall and tell them to get the best bang:buck, and they're not going to come back in anything with a little horse on the badge. And HP/Suspension/brake upgrades for these cars are cheep.

On a different note, seen this?

http://www.vintagebus.com/gallery/movie/lancer.wmv

I've driven and ridden in both. IMHO, the Sti is like a 4-door Camaro and the Evo feels much much more like a rally car. At $30K I think both are a tremendous value, although I'd rather spend my money on a new 350Z.

You might want to talk with Leland first.

Wow, that video was painful.

BTW: notice the other cars on the track that...um...didn't turn over?

Actually, I have more than 5 hours behind the wheel of a TRACK model (drove a heavily modified show car to Las Vegas and back last year) and was present at the unveiling at Nissan headquarters in Torrance a couple years back and have nothing but good to say about the car. Like every other car you shouldn't buy the first model-year (that's why I waited until now to get a 2004 Mini Cooper S) and wait 'til the bugs are all panned out. My experiences have been great with it and I think it's an extremely well-balanced machine. Just because Leland didn't enjoy his (and after reading his whole ordeal, it's about 85% dealerships fault and 15% the car itself) doesn't necessarily mean the car is a pile. At $27K what NEW CAR would you get Todd?