I'm looking to buy a new car for graduation (more so, my parents buying me a present), and I've really been looking into the evo.. I'm content with the performance (who wouldnt be?) and the looks are to die for, but the only thing that worries me is the reliability. I realize it is a sports car, and it is not known to be reliable, however, how is it's reliability? Mitsubishi does have a great warranty, so I mean, they wouldn't sell such a crappy car with such a good warranty where customers are going to be required to use it so much.



I plan on using it mostly as a daily driver, but however, with any car, who tends not to beat on it a bit. As far as mods go, I probably wouldn't go more extensive than an intake and BOV. So how exactly does this car stack up as a daily driver? I know some of you's drive it daily, hows it holding up? Are there any years in particular to stay away from? (03?) Thanks for your time, and hopefully I'll be around here alot more

 

i have an 03, and the car is basically stock. Reliability is good..no problems here. If you beat on the car though, you will burn up your clutch pretty quick.

if you modify it.. you'll sacrifice the "great warranty", driveability, and most likely reliability. Keep your mods to a minimum if you are going to drive it day in day out.

do yourself a favor .. take a few days and use the "search" feature on this board. If it's happened to an evo, it's spoken about here.

 

I have an 03 and it's a daily driver...no problems so far. Reliability is great so far, but the "great" warranty is a bit sketchy. Some people have had some really big issues getting service under warranty, so careful if you mod (even intake and BOV).
One of the reasons I got it was because it is practical. It's been great from the start, and continues to be great.

 

Here comes the "crappy Mitsu" posts....

Like anything valuable, if you take care of it, it will take care of you. My '03 is fine. Very practical. Even as a family car. It's pretty roomy for a small sedan. The only thing it's missing is a pass through door for the rear seat.

 

its a reliable car. It is only when you do high RPM launches (which the car isn't meant to do!) and adding alot of power without precautions is when you get into problems. Mine is a stock 03 and I love it, though it is not my daily driver as of now.

The ride is a bit harsh for most but okay for some. A test drive would help u decide if its for you.

I would get the 05 if I was buying now just b/c of the front LSD...I don't care much about the ACD myself

 

It's totally practical as a daily driver plus it it's a superb high performance car. The only drawback for a commuter car is the gas mileage and high test requirement (I get around 20 mpg in daily driving).
As for mods, I'd save the money and can the intake and BOV mods. Those are worthless, I'd get some kind of flash or better yet a custom tuned XEDE and be done with it.

 

Read Car and Drivers 50000 mile review of their test Evo. They had very high praise for it. As for the warranty, keep it stock and you'll be fine.

 

can you drive a manual? If not I would save up for a clutch too. Btw, do not get a BOV.

 

I have an 04 with very mild mods: TBE, BR intake, mbc, TT flash. I drive 51 miles one-way to work and have had 0 problems. Granted, I've had the car for just a few months but the first 11,000 miles have been flawless.

 

Mine is quickly turning into a track car...as a result I am shopping for a 1996-98 Subaru impreza outback as a daily driver...cheap, very relaible, can pay cash for it. The Evo will become a basically dedicated track tool and weekend canyon carver.


Percy

 

perfect daily driver as far as i am concerned. until your parents cancel lyour insurance for all the tickets you will get. if you get it have fun just be careful the car attracts a lot of attention and reaches high speeds before you realize how fast you are going.

 

The pass through doors are useless, IMO. The one in my GTP is too small. I'd rather have fold down seats. I can crawl through my pass through, though. Only cuz I'm a twig.

 

Will this be your 1st car?

 

I wouldn't buy an Evo as a reliable car. Based on the numbers the Evo has pruven to be un-reliable many more times than reliable. The Mitsubishi warranty support is also not there 70% of the time. I would go for a sporty Honda

bryan

 

It has 4 doors and a trunk, and it is built like a tank. I thrash mine at the racetrack and nothing ever breaks.