So I was driving home from work on Tuesday evening and as I drove by the Mitsubishi dealership I think to myself, "Its only 5pm, why don't I stop by and check out some cars. Maybe test drive the Ralliart or the Eclipse." I have a 2004 MC with SS+, very happy with it, no plans to change cars, though I have alwasy wanted to own an Evo.

So I start walking around, jumping into different cars and eventually take the Ralliart for a drive. Unfortunately, it was an auto so i didn't get to really feel how that cool MIVEC engine feels with a manual. I get back, pleased with the car but not all that impressed. I slowly gravitate to a brand new 2005 Evo - 25 miles on it.

Dealer: "Nice car ha?"
Me: "Yeah, its awesome. I would LOVE to own it!"
Dealer: "You want to buy it?"
Me: "I wish! But my wife will kill me if I buy this thing. Too much money."
Dealer: "Tell you what. I'll give you the keys. Drive it home to her, take her for a ride, see if she likes it and lets you get it."
Me: "Umm.... OK"

5 minutes later I am driving the Evo home. I spent the whole evenining driving around with my wife. This car is AWESOME! So much power!!! It is disturbingly fast! Once the pressure builds, the power is scary, especially coming out of the MC. The transmission and brakes were equally impressive. My favorite part of the car was how easy it was to drive fast. I could run 5 second 0-50 times over and over again.

The handling was also very impressive. Though I think the Cooper is right up there with it. The evo can pull more Gs in a steady state turn and is able to launch out of the turn really well, something the Mini is very weak with. On the other hand, the evo's 3200lb weight can definitely be felt in transitions. I think a mini with tires as sticky as the evo would be a better handling car.

Overall, the Evo's power, tranny, brakes and handling work so well together that I fell in love with it and almost bought it. Even the wife was thoroughly impressed with it and she isn't into cars at all.

Anyone else have the pleasure of driving the Evo around? I would like to hear your impressions.

 

coming out of an MC I can totally understand why this car feels impressive...

I drove one with just over 310 WHP (at the wheels) which is some 400 or so...it was fun do drift and that is the only thing I miss having front wheel drive...however, I thought the gear box was more sloppy that the MC slush box...the handling was scary at speed...and when I raced a mini with 100 HP less at the wheels I.E. 205 WHP...we were dead even...

Turbo cars feel fast and scary casuse the power comes on all at once...it's the way they spool...if you took the SC off the MCS and replaced it with a turbo it would feel the same way...

They are fun cars no doubt...but for 32 k...the intierior is cheap plastic...etc etc...it's not a 32 k car...it's a 20k at best...

 

It felt really nice to me. I think it was the heavy duty clutch that could take the punishment better maybe. Either that or there is someting wrong with my MC tranny cause it feels looser and weaker. Maybe I will have it looked at.

I will agree that the weight can definitely be felt. Once the Evo settles into a turn its pretty good. I was tossing the car side to side, the same way i toss the mini around all the time - except with the Evo I almost went off the road.

At the end of the day. The Evo seemed like a very very fast point to point car. Interior is low budget plastic, but the seats are awesome and the back has a lot of room.

 

Tuls is right about the handling and the transmission... buuuut you could definitely do suspension work and make it hold the road a lot better... and the 2005 evo's have a lower center-of-gravity than the 2003 that he drove... and i think 200-sumthin pounds less weight...

aaaaaanyway, i may be biased but the Mini is far more fun... :smile: also, just so you know, the Evo people are not quite as friendly, or should i say, they act friendly until you get more HP than them ... it's more like a competition rather than a shared-love.

 

If the power delivery is anything like my wife's WRX, I wouldn't like the EVO. I'm continually disappointed by the no-power-at-all-then-you-get-shot-out-of-a-cannon power delivery of our WRX. On paper it sounds great, but it's like driving a turbo car circa 1980.

Is the EVO like that? Is the power MIA prior to ~3000RPM?

Edit: I'm not a VW acolyte, but I was impressed with the power delivery offered by their 1.8T engine. The low-pressure turbo was on full boost just above idle -- it drove like a much larger engine. Lotsa fun...

 

I know its a fun car to drive, but holey cheap interiors batman! Recently was at a dealership and poked around a bunch of Evos - was absolutely shocked at the lacking quality of the interior materials

 

that's EXCATLY how it is..LOL...

yeah....that is definetly annoying

Please no one get me wrong...it's fun...but any car is fun...

Heck Misifoota broght over a hun DIE on night and we had more fun in that thing with Coop than I have had in a long time...

and then there was another night with a sentra..LOL...can you say four feet of air!!! HEEELLLOOOOOO

sigh...so let's see...ummm fun to drive something is relative...but fun enough to buy...NO WAY

 

well yah, that's what sportcompacts are all about.
To intimidate the larger, more expensive cars by its performance.

Mitsu can put in an expensive interior if they want,
but why would they? it's suppose to be a pocket rocket.


Evo's are one serious driving machine if you asked me...yet
economically priced and a functional sedan just in case you
need to have trunk space and rear passenger space for
picking up your friends at the airport or something.

 

Well its not even close to the materials, fit and finish, in a Mini, I can't see how upgrading it a bit would hurt them or make it less of a pocket rocket. Actually, IMHO its not a pocket rocket or sub compact, it's simply too large to fall into that definition.

But I understand what you are saying and what the car is about, I know enough people with them and the STi etc. Thing is, it is a rally car, a fast car built upon the bones of an econo car - the Lancer - and that breeding shows through with the interior in particular (at least in the US, I think in Japan you can at least get nicer oem seats).

 

I have to admit (...much to my embarrassment) that I have no idea why people want to go so blasted fast all the time. If it's the adrelaline, we do have amusement parks for that. Seriously, with speed limits, police, curbs, ditches, pedestrians, and other cars out and about, how crazy is this whole thing getting?!?!?! Seems nothing but trouble.

Not an issue for you folks going to the track, though....go for it!!

 

At the lack track day i attended, there were two stock EVO's. I was very surprised at how well they were doing. They are definitely comfortable in a track environment

 

The EVO is one of the most electronically advanced cars you can get. With a Active Center Differential control...it is VERY hard to loose control (though I have seen wrecked evos).


I have a video of a "Top Gear" review of an evo and well. He makes a joke because be does a drift using 1 finger... like "Watch this 1 finger" and the car drifts perfectly. It basically corrects itself.

I was about to get the EVO MR but...I love small hatchbacks and the MCS was a car i loved too. EVO is very prone to theft in my area and I park outside in my driveway. So it was the MCS instead.

 

I agree with the car being too fast. My wife said that maybe in a year or so we could trade the Mini in and get the Evo and I told her I am not sure I will want one once the excitement wore off. I got out of the car TIRED and with a headache from all the adrenaline. It is so fast and builds speed so quickly that you have to concentrate quite a bit.

On the other hand anyone that claims that the car isn't that fast is either on crack, never drove one or has some ego issues. Yes, it is like the WRX, with not much power until the turbo comes online, but with the WRX the turbo coming online is a nice happy peppy feeling. With the Evo's turbo coming online is a charge of adrenaline and, in my case, fear!

As far as cheap plastics and all that, the Evo is not meant to be a luxury car, nor is it meant to make a stylistic statement, nor does it claim to be one. With the exception of a couple items like the stupid wing it is all about performance - it is a 12K econo box with 18K of performance mods. It does what it is meant for extremely well. Its performance per dollar ratio is probably almost as high as the elise and the Z06, but with the Evo you get 4 good seats a real trunk and good crash safety. Its not just about the power - the AWD and the rally suspension make it a very fast road car. I felt more comfortable driving it aggressively on bumpy/choppy roads than i do driving my super light super nimble zero options MC w/ SS+.

I am gonna try the STi next and see how that feels. I sat in one at a couple of autocross events as a passenger and was really impressed with its torque - the turbo lag is almost non-existent.

 

IMO, you should be glad you didn't buy it. As a daily driver, the mitsu would punish you on anything but the smoothest roads. The peaky turbo power is NOT good for racing as it hits all at once and you don't have the linear control needed for coming out of corners. The AWD is great and the car will pull almost anything out of the hole. BUT, the running gear is sub standard when it comes to reliability. Parts are expensive and those half shafts can't handle the abuse.
I owned two mitsubishis in the past, both AWD turbos and will NEVER own a mitsu product again. They don't stand by their warranties and their quality is lousy.
I can understand you enjoying the power, but long term, these cars don't hold up.
Just read the negative comments and problems on the mitsu forums....

 

I agree... thats why I sold my Z06. Loved the thrill of the acceleration and its cornering abilities, but way too much for the street.. I think the MCS will be a fun ride in everyday use.... Its better to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow..

 

i would definitely agree. Having a really fast car puts this odd pressure on you, its hard to describe. There are more ways to get into trouble too - people see you drive an easily recognizable fast car and want to race you right away. I love taking off slow at the light in my MC, being tail gated by a mustang - then the road starts to curve and snake and I step on it and leave them in the dust...

Also, my MC with good tires has not been much slower than most Evos at the autocrosses i have been to. Driver is still the key - i have beaten some Evo drivers and a select few who really know how to drive the car demonished me.

 

I like the MCS better for daily driving. If I lived in northern maine - I would own the WRX STi - better for full on foul weather driving. The EVO is nice - great handling - laggy boosty engine - the STi engine is much better - suspension almost as good - you can do more interesting things with the locking diffs. :-)

 

The Sube is a much better quality car. It still has turbo lag, but the engine setup is more streetable than the Evo. I owned a Forester XT with the turbo 2.5 A fun ride..
It's tough to beat the Sube AWD system.. They have that technology perfected...Much better at handling the power than the mitsu stuff....

 

Cost.

 

I drove an EVO and my impression was they are like a **** star......very fast, lots of great parts, plenty of attitude............ but alas, no real character.


I'll keep my MCS.

 

Hahahah.. what a great analogy! It does have very good highbeams! Although I don't think the rear of the car is a very good pornstar butt!

 

my take on the EVO is this...

there isnt a car in the market than can take a EVO MR on a light to light basis.

i dont care what u drive! you will lose to an EVO on a light to light street basis... for 2 reasons

first... the active differential 4WD is the top of the line!
sec... you dont have to know how to drive to keep running 0-60 in 5 secs


but the bottom line is... you will be driving a mitsubishi! and not only that u paid 32k for it... for 32 get a used M3.... and u driving a bimmer

 

...or A Mcs!

 

Or an R32 for a nice ride!

 

A friend of mine had an EVO and is very active in the EVO scene but he had so many problems with it that he had to return it via the lemon law. It was a scary quick car but plagued with quality problems.