mazda speed 3 - great starter car . . .evo is a bit much. . .I had a modded contour svt as a first, 5spd, later with a t3/t4, but it was fwd. . .a lot easier to start with a turbocharged fwd car. . .

and I'm saying this because I was in a similar situation like you, only I didn't have evo's and sti's to pick from, I only had the choice between an acura integra or a ford contour svt. . .

 

So you're in your second year of college? That puts you at what, 19 maybe 20? If you crashed two cars in high school you're not ready for an evo. That doesn't mean you can't have a good car, it just means you have to be realistic. Start with something that won't cost an arm and a leg to insure, won't eat gas like it's going out of style, etc., when you're in college you need something reliable, cheap and capable of putting up with crap (basically like the ideal first girlfriend).

 

If you can get any car you want as a gift, then get the Evo as a gift, and keep it as your special "barely driven" car. Then get an old $5,000 stick shift Subaru Impreza on your own to beat the crap out of. That way you've got your beasty Evo, and your daily driver practice AWD.

 

ok, in my defense i definetly learned my lesson from those two wrecks. the first one i slid a POS cavalier into a tree in the rain. cracked my ribs, had a concussion, and had to pay for the car. the second crash wasn't my fault. some lady in a navigator came around a blind turn on the wrong side of the road and hit me head on. Oh, and i'm used to cars that eat gas. i drive a toytoa landcruiser right now.

 

fiat punto!

 

You don't need a specific car to bet better at stick shift in certain situations. I mastered rev-matching and heel-toeing in my brother's 127 hp Civic EX. Another thing I did to get better was to volunteer to be the designated driver for my friends when they'd go out drinking under the condition that they let me drive (if the would-be driver has a stick). That's another opportunity to master such techniques further since you'll learn how cars can differ from another, as I got a chance to be DD in one friend's 2000 Honda Prelude Type SH (much more power and torque, much better handling), 1995 Ford Mustang (crappy pedal positioning and transmission), 2004 Subaru WRX STi, etc. I'm not saying you should learn on other people's cars, as that could screw up their clutches, but once you get good on it on a car within your reach, you can at least have a basic idea of how to drive stick well then apply it to those cars. Doing this really made me ready for my Evo when I finally got it, and I was already heel-toeing it onto the onramp leaving the dealership without problems.

 

Fair enough but I still wouldn't suggest getting the car. Wait till you can buy one for yourself, you'll appreciate it more and ultimately enjoy it more knowing that you paid for it and that you're ready for it. I love my WRX not just because it's a great car but also because it is truly my car.

 

it does kind of matter when the clutch in the old toyota pickup i learned on was going out and the transmission was a little messed up from my brother takeing it through the woods and trying to speed shift and missing gears while sliding around on the dirt trail every other day to get his 4wheeler out of the mud

 

i thought the evo x weren't going to be manual?

anyway, i'm 18 and am a sophomore in college. even though i have been driving for 2 years now and have no accidents or tickets (in my lancer), they still wont let me buy my own 600cc motorcycle. now that's love lol.. if you get a 300hp car that is worth 40,000 i think most people will agree that you won't be keeping it for too long..

 

John0727

Experience is more than just learning the basics of driving with a manual transmission and mastering a clutch, or using your heel and toe while shifting, or controlling oversteer. It's also knowing you and your car's limits, and having the maturity to not push the envelope.

Pushing an EVO to its limits involves much more speed, and has a much greater consequence then when you hit that tree with your cavalier.

The Mazda MX-5 is a great sports car. NASA even has a spec-series program if you want to pursue racing with it later on. Learn your limits on the MX-5 and then go with a 2010-2011 EVO X after all the new bugs have been worked out.

Good luck

 

Well, if it's going to be a 'college' car, I hope you don't care about the exterior. I got a door ding one out of five times parking on campus; well, campuses rather, as I did undergrad and grad at two different schools.

I agree with everyone else in saying that getting an Evo is a bad idea. I've been doing auto-x and track days since I was 19. I've been to enough events where 'kids' have cars that are WAY over their abilities and they screw up in a big way. I can gaurentee you that you can't even drive the Evo 50% of what it's capable of. And the problem with the Evo is that it's limits are so high, that once you exceed them, you're royally screwed.

Instead of dumping all the money into the Evo, get something cheaper and do a lot track days. You'll become a much better driver because of it.

Being 18 and getting a 600cc bike is a bad idea too. I got a CBR F3 when I was in grad school. I got complacent and now I have a metal plate in my left arm to show for it. Start off on something smaller or slower, like a SV650. Even that is a lot of bike for a beginner. One of my buddies had one and had done a couple track days on it. He got big-headed too and ended up wrecking on an off ramp. Was in a coma for 2 months, broken everything, and his ability to speak is permanently altered. Oh, and he still walks with a cane after 5 years. He was doing his PhD in engineering too.

In short, don't be stupid!

 

I think you have no idea what ur asking for. When you open the thread with the '08 320 hp version then start talking about stick shifts, that tells ppl here you are trying to jump on the band wagon. Make sure you know about the vehicle and what ur asking for. You know the saying, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it. listen to the ppl here. If you can take it easy and drive responsible as you gain experience; join the Evo brotherhood. If its going to be for flashing, cruising for races and chicks and frat stuff, hope you enjoyed the time you had.

 

I'm 18, just entered college. I got my evo middle of senior year, I was just careful. I've been driving stick since I was 14, so it wasn't too bad. The other cars I drove are stick as well, and kind of sporty (1990 Porsche 944 and 06 Acura TSX). I don't drive the evo right now, mostly because its several hundred miles away. I miss it dearly.

I think you could do an evo, just take it easy. Mayybe get something a tad cheaper/slower if you feel like it.

 

get a life instead.
punk spoiled kid

 

your first car coming right outta high school shouldnt be an EVO at all.

i went from

new beetle
sentra spec-v
mkv gti
to possible new evo x

its good to start at the bottom.