Just get a SE.

 

+1 All the looks of the MR(minus headlights/tails) with the stronger 5-speed But of course I'm biased

 

i love my mr wouldnt trade it for anything

 

x2.

 

"Best Motoring" said it best..... "You will only notice the difference of an MR under racing conditions." I love my MR and it is easier to live with as DD with the upgraded struts and 6psd tranny. Just my .02 cents

 

Just picked up my MR and love it!

 

I don't think the JDM (VIII) MR was like our version. The MRs imported from Japan to the UK had different cams and other performance-enhancing parts. Our MR is really no different than any other Evo of the same vintage, aside from the 6-speed and the Bilsteins that most no longer have. USDM MRs were also equipped with every available dealer-installed option, items that could have been specified on any other Evo.

 

I don't get it. You have an SE so I don't mean to put this the wrong way, but the SE is an additional package within the MR. As far as I know you can't get an SE with out getting an MR.....at least I thought. I know my SE is an MR with a 6spd.

 

It's the other way around. Officially, there was no such thing as a MR SE. It's just what a MR with an appearance package is called on the forums. OTOH, the SE was a model onto itself based on the 5-speed IX. HTH

 

There was a IX MR SE. My neighbor had a Black IX MR SE. Now has a X MR. The IX MR SE might have been an ultra rare car but it did exist.

Also the USDM 05 MR has an alum roof, besides the six speed and Bilsteins. Gauges, trim, pdeal covers, etc. I have one of those.

 

It was an MR with the SE seats and SE wheels. And an SE badge. I didn't believe it either till I saw two others at the dealer when the last shipment of IXs came in, the late fall of 06.
And saw the window stickers.

 

Again, Mitsubishi never called the car a MR SE. It was called a MR with an appearance package. The package consisted of seats with red stitching, brightly finished BBS wheels, an an alternate lip. The option was called an APPEARANCE PACKAGE, where as Mitsubishi referred to a 5-speed with an aluminum roof, HIDs, etc as a SE. I hope that's clear. It's not a matter of not believing it. There were 2 black MRs on my dealer's lot with an appearance package when I ordered my SE, and I could have had either for about the same price. Both cars were only available in black, grey, and silver.

 

FJF is right. If you find any window sticker from any MR SE, it will ONLY say that it is an Evolution IX MR, though under the options, there is an "Appearance Package" which includes what sets it apart from the standard MR (Diamond Black BBS wheels, front lip extension, red stitching, SE badge). It was never officially called an MR SE, though we refer to it as such on the forums since it's easier, and everyone knows what we're talking about, much like how people call the standard Evo VIII and IX a "GSR" though the U.S. Evo was never officially labeled a GSR until the Xs came around.

 

The MR also never sported the SE badge from what I've seen.

 

Correct. The MR with appearance package came with the normal MR badging. No SE badge at all.

The only other things an MR gets that were not mentioned although very small items. MR specific tag on the shifter surround, MR floormats and I believe the knob was different as well from both the RS and the GSR.

I was sold on the Black MR when I saw it, knowing that this was the only year a black MR was produced. Looking back on it I should have gotten an SE and pocketed the 3K difference and bought some nice coilovers and a few other bits. SE's and RS's for whatever reason seem to make more power on the local dyno as well with the same mods as other evos. Go figure.