Drove a Lancer Evolution
 

Guy at the office let me drive his Lancer Evolution the other day.
I was blown away by how fast it was. And out of a 2.0 four-banger.
He's making some mods to add an extra 100hp to it.

I rode in one at an autocross. They are way fast, but I also thought they were way ugly, and couldn't help but thinking it was going to need some major service at about 20,000 miles... I would like to ride/drive in a Subaru WRX Sti...

There's a thread on Rennlist-Off topic forum about the Mitsubishi and Subaru WRX that's a good read. I am dying to drive one of these cars but am worried that I will fall in love with the power, 4 wheel drive, AC, and cup holders. They will never equal the style and poise of my Carrera but then on the other hand...

Drove an STi. Very fast. Wouldn't mind one as a daily driver.

At the salespersons goading I did a 6,000 rpm launch (read brought it up to 6K dropped my foot off the clutch)

Personally, having only looked at a evo in person, and driven a wrx. I say that the wrx looks like it's better made, but until i can drive an evo, i'll refrain from being too sure of myself.

I'm going to try to test drive an EVO this weekend. It's supposed to be fractionally slower off the line than the STI, but handle like a go-kart, with more direct steering and better balance.

Oh, and you can dealer-delete the rear wing, which just looks too over-the-top goofy to me.

Too many negative experiences with Mitsubishi for me. And too many positive ones with Subaru.

I was at a track day recently with a guy driving one. I'd never heard of the Evo, before that. He was at Willow Springs for the first time, and was running 1:36's, which is seriously fast. There were a couple WRX's, but they were nothing special, in terms of track times. I've never seen WRX's do well at the track (outside of one professionally driven and prepped one).

But the Evo was impressive. Ugly, but impressive.

Looks like a poor attempt at an '87-92 M3.

AWD/Turbo=marketing hype, IMHO.

Good marketing to have won a few World Rally titles.....


Very tempted by the WRX wagon, but quality wasn't there.

They are also big bucks insurance over here as tea-leaves love them.....

Oh, yeah - all I encounter on my way to work and the grocery store are dirt roads I need to trail brake on.

What don't you like about it?

Is it the 4x4 with turbo?
Is it that its a 4 door car 4x4 with turbo which goes like stink?


Sure its 'special' to allow a company to go racing with one of their most successful models, does that mean its wannabe?

Careful of the answers 'cos I reckon Porsche could have a yes answer to most of those.....

I'm lucky enough to be able to drive an early 911 regularly as well as a powerful 4x4 turbo wagon most days.

There is no comparison. The Audi is a faster car, but its not nearly as much fun to drive nor does it sound as good nor does it get the attention the 911 gets.

But I need the space regularly and over here 4x4 helps. No its not a necessity at all, I'm rarely on a gravel track but regularly in the s##t on site...

I'd love to be able to live somewhere where the 72 911 was a realistic daily driver but it ain't always so...

WRX to Evo isn't a fair comparison. STi to Evo is.

I have come very close to buying a WRX wagon on a couple of occasions. I think the wagon is OK looking...I just can't get into either the Evo or STi sedan. All that performance can't overcome all that "negative style" in my eyes.

Now, if Subie ends up making an STi wagon, or does a 2-door hatchback...

Although I'm hardly unbiased I greatly prefer the look of the much-maligned first-gen US WRX front end to the new front end. At least it has character. The new front end substitutes a pointier hood scoop for style.

STI vs Evo is the comparison - Todd is right.

Bear in mind that both companies actually offer (maybe not in the US) proper lightweight, short geared versions ---> basically everything we collectively complain about Porsche not offering any more.

Or to take another viewpoint. If the only negative is 4 door and 4WD, then something like the recently retired S15 (200SX or Sylvia) should be ok? I'd take one :D

Funny - I think both being four door cars is one of the good points.

Cam, S15s are junk. The half-dozen or so I've driven are coarse, flimsy cars. I was keen to drive one and then very disappointed...

WRX/STis are brilliant cars. Lots of fun, lots of power and with swiss-watch reliability. The steering is superb on both cars (although the STi does get twitchy at speed).

Not picking apart your quote but as far as the EVO goes it somehow reminds me in looks of the Reliant K (look at the base model Lancer---way ugly) with a pile of bling tacked on, jacking the retail price into the $27-$28k arena (yup- click through the options on the Mitsu website). Because it has a Momo wheel, harness cutouts in the seats, and a turbo, it doesn't justify the price in my book.

I always look back to the "base model" of these cars. When you strip away all the chach...what's left? As for the Lancer, well...suit yourself.

Well, I was down in Modesto for Thanksgiving with the inlaws, and on Friday we dropped by the Mits. dealer to have a look. They had NINE Evos sitting on the lot, and I got the feeling they were ready to deal. The car does not look as outlandish in person as it does in the pictures, IMO. But the rear wing is still completely out of control. No way I could live with a wing like that.

As for driving it...I loved it. It's the first recent car I have driven in five years that left me thinking "this is as fun to drive as my 15 year old Carrera."

Suspension is tight to the point of harshness. Grip is outrageous. Brakes are Brembos and are HUGE. Brake feel is right up there with a 911, and steering is just fantastic. Power was very good, even with four adults in the car, but I think I have to reserve judgement because I don't feel comfortable really opening up cars that are not mine. I did redline 1st and second gear, but did not go over 60 mph or so. LOTS of headroom, and I still had 2 clicks to go on the seat adjustment (I'm 6'3, 195lbs.).

So I've got a decision to make. :D I know it's not a Porsche, but the four doors mean that I could drive a fun car a whole lot more frequently. My 911 is pretty much a coffe-run and backroads driving car now. I can't put my infant in the back seat.

4 door and AWD (4x4 is something you have in a ford pickup).
If this car was RWD, with the same motor, 2 seater sports car then i'd buy one.

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?