I think we tend to forget how expensive the IX MR's still were, sticker on my 9 was $36,893. That is certainly not cheap for a vehicle with a sparce interior, no alarm, no cruise control, low par head unit..... I can continue. Don't get me wrong I love my 9, the styling and performance are still impressive out of a stock vehicle.

But IMO the target market for the X is aimed more towards the sporty 30-40yr old young family male (I hate to be sexist here but when you work for an OEM you learn target markets for certain vehicles are aimed towards a specific sex, age, etc), who wants the more lush interior amenities with the sporty performance one desires every now and again.

Its no surprise the 9 would out perform the 10, but the 10 has a lot that the 9 lacks, even though I have not been able to over look the new 10, I would believe it is probably a better vehicle all around. Performance is not everything, even when you are purchasing this type of vehicle, its not a racecar.

 

The announcer dude has a super annoying *** voice.

 

well they find me, I'm 37

 

I wouldn't say that the Evo IX's interior is "sparse"... it's just that it has boring-*** HVAC controls that look cheap combined with the sub-par head unit (as you mentioned), which really ruin an otherwise decent interior, especially when you consider the seats, steering wheel and alcantara inserts. When you look at our cars with something like the Orbital kit, it looks leagues better than the factory U.S. interiors.

Yes, a $36,893 price tag seems like a number that would warrant a better interior... which is why I hated the fact that nearly all magazines tested the MR over the standard VIII/IX in the majority of cases. While the performance will generally be very similar, one of the arguments that would always come up is how the interior is not worthy of a $37k car, which is true. While the interior is virtually just as mediocre in the non-MR VIII/IX, there is a $5k, difference between those cars and their MR counterparts. Not that it is more suitable in a $32k car, but in the eyes of the public, it's in a lower price bracket. When the average person thinks of cars below $35k, they usually think of some of the nicer Japanese cars or higher-end Mustangs (excluding models like the GT500 of course), which don't have amazing interiors either (though they clearly aren't nearly as plain as the Evo's). When they think of cars above $35k, they usually think of some of the reasonably equipped BMW 3-Series cars, which have interiors that blow the Evo out of the water. Also, let's not forget that while it doesn't change the car or its performance, throughout the years I recall whichever test vehicle that was more expensive between the Evo and STi generally being in second place, with its higher price (though generally not by a huge margin) often being outlined as one of the named negatives.

While I agree, the funny thing is, I have seen many more people in that age bracket or above in VIIIs and IXs, whereas almost every X owner being someone who appears to be my age (mid-20s) or younger.

 

+1, they all need to work on their communication skills.

 

What a load.. Firstly, as someone already pointed out, the fuggin "X" MR as we all know, costs a heck of a lot more than $32k. Secondly, it weighs a lot more than what they listed, thirdly, beyond the fuggin idiot's annoying voice, he also screwed up on another (albeit minor) fact. Willow's T8 isn't the "fastest in the nation". Brainard's T1 would have something to say about that. T8 is the "fastest in the west", and might be the most hair-raising, but not the fastest in the nation.
Lastly(and this one made me throw out the entire "test"), the fuggin guy driving the cars, at least screwed up the line climbing outta 3, and into 4. There's a painted curb there for a reason, and he added a half second or so to his time in that place alone, by ignoring it. I also saw him braking into T2 in one of the shots, but it could've been a meaningless lap for a camera car. His times were reflective of a decent track-day guy, not of a professional driver. A buddy of mine did .37's screwing around in his stock everything '05 MR, and I believe Mueller did .32's in a street-tire'd '03 GSR. Maybe the RS is faster than the "X", and maybe it isn't. The only thing I know is those ***-clowns didn't prove a damn thing.

 

Wow. Your X weighs about 200lbs~ less than the average GSR.

What did you do?

 

And the video was dumb. I knew that the IX was going to win even before i watched it. Evolutions doesn't necessarily mean an evolution in performance. The VII was slower than the VI remember? Mitsu. wanted to make a car for the masses and thats what the X is. Sure it makes gobs of power with mods, but so does the IX.

For any serious car enthusiasts, the IX is the superior car. For anybody else, the X is the superior car.

 

That's just sad isnt it... this statement.. b/c it's true for most of sports cars came
over to Ameriaca...

Look at the history of M3.. from focused high-rev 4 banger lightweight race car
on street into today fat-a$$ V8 your grandma's I-can-shift-with-no-legs grand
tourer.

 

From what I remember, the VII was virtually as quick as the VI (unless you can dig up something that says otherwise or at least recall exact numbers), plus I believe the VII was lapping Tsukuba faster than the VI.

 

Yeah actually i think you're right.

According to this

http://www.fastestlaps.com/track3.html

The order from fastest to slowest goes like this... VII, VI, VIII, IX, X.

 

MR vs MR would have been better. The IX would likely have still raped the X, but thats not really the point. For strictly motorsports I would agree the IX is better. X is definitely geared towards a little older or for those that need a little better daily driver. Getting ready to have my second kid, the Evo X makes more sense for me these days.

 

Nice post! Thx.

 

So I guess it comes down to this: Performance or Getup with Luxury?


Performance: IX

Getup with Luxury: X




We each have our own tastes. I prefer strictly performance. See my sig.

 

For pricing and weights of the EVO9 SE (a cross between the GSR/MR) see below:




Weight of car with 1/2 tank of fuel.