I'm considering buying and Evo. I've driven my friends car and I thought it was so great that you couldn't slap the smile off my face for about three days. I currently own a 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder and spent the morning in an arbitration hearing with Toyota trying to convince an arbitrator to get Toyota to buy back my vehicle which has 35,000 miles and is about to loose it's second engine.

I came up here to do a little research and was seriously disheartened to hear news of recalls and problems on the Evo so soon. This seems like my Toyota all over again. And I am wondering with the nightmare that I have been living the last 8 months if this is really where I want to go. If I buy this car it would likely be an autocross vehicle although I can see now that ProSolo would not be a good idea.

I was also considering the Honda S2000 but I was leaning towards the Evo for its practicality for transporting tires and traveling to events here in California at 80 on the hwy instead of the 55 that is required while towing a trailer.

Please feel free to PM me if you don't want to post publicly.
thanks.

 

Im sorry about your toyota. But their are a lot of people of this site who like to whine, if you listen to everyone of them you will think the evo is going to blow up the minute you drive off the lot. They are a small majority, 90% of our cars are fine. I take the evo through the canyons a couple times a week and to willow springs and it has yet to let me down.

 

I know I probably don't bring much insight into your decision, but I drive a Lancer OZ and, well, it's great but if I could afford an EVO I would definantly hop all over that. No matter what anybody says about the car, good or bad.

But then again I don't know about the problems with your Toyota and can't really sympathize for the extra caution you're taking in buying a new vehicle.

If your going to get it, get it because YOU want the car. You drove one and you know what it's like. If you like the way it feels and you can see yourself in it, then maybe it is ok for you. Cars are machines and will wear and tear until they break down. is respectable, and I trust my to get me where I need to go. I guess that's all that matters...

...sorry for rambling.

 

EVO > MR2...

 

I'm with bevo1. I f we let all the whiners make the decisions around here we wouldn't have much of a site and the Mitsu lots would be overflowing with Evo's. That recall you made referance to isn't even an issue anymore. Only the first Evo's were recalled to check fore water leakage into the car. They worked it out. The Evo 8 body might be new but the Evo drivetrain is no stranger to the road. Trust your instincts. In the right hands the Evo is an amazing car............In case your wondoring, No I don't work for Mitsubishi......I just love my car.

 

Couldn't slap the smile of your face for 3 days, huh........well I say get the Evo and all the damn time! I do! It's a sweet car! It's also got a lot more room than the S2000 (which is also another great car), but the torque is weak on the S2000. Honda needs to step is up a notch and put some torque behind that horse power!

 

Get the EVO. Maintain it properly. SMILE everyday! Its a total drivers car. I love my car!

 

You'll find the vast majority have had little to no problems with their Evos.

I have had NO problems... I'll report back later when I'm done doing donuts in the snow.

 

get some great footage or pics!!! my day is soon to come when i can do that

 

Buy the EVO. You will not regret it. Don't let the negative people that mistreat their cars make up your mind. Even if the EVO cost $10000 peolpe would find something to complain about. The EVO is a great car and I have had no problems, so do what your heart and wallet desires.

 

I love my EVO. It is much more fun to drive and easier to live with than the S2000 I bought new in 2000. BUT...and I am not whining... the EVO is of lesser quality than the Honda or my wifes 2002 BMW 330ci.

The clutch IS weak. I have had problems on uphill starts as well as with aggresive driving. In the 24 years I have legally been driving (I am 40) I have NEVER smelled clutch on a street car, no matter what I did (been using clutches since I was 9, with my first Yamaha mini-bike). Now my brakes are shuddering with 60+ mph braking (I think I have found the fix in other threads though). There are numerous squeaks/rattles that now sing in harmony with the clicking of my XEDE piggyback ECU (which added @26 bhp by the way).

The car (EVO) IS fantastic to drive, but there are quality issues that are surprising in a modern asian auto. I should have known better that to buy a "first" year release. I made the same mistake with the S2000 though. They now are more powerful and they fixed, added or upgraded a bunch of stuff since that first year (no clock in the radio, duh!)

I probably would have bought another S2000 if I didn't live near Chicago. But the ability to drive my car all year (with my new Pirelli P-zero Nero M+S, which I am trying on snow for the first time today) was just too much of a factor to ignore. The other ergonomics vs. the S2000 are important too.

Thanks.

And thanks to this forum, without it, hardly any of this info, good and bad, would be available to most of us EVO owners, all you guys are great, even the whiners.

 

I just took it out for a bit. The stock Advans DO NOT like the snow.

I could get going but stopping was a problem. I slid into a small snowdrift and flung myself through it with the rear tires spinning, the front tires hooking, and the steering wheel at opposite lock. Fun stuff. It's definitely nothing like throwing an SUV through some snow.

I also don't recommend my stupidity because I almost hit an embankment.

 

I've got almost 9000 miles & 12 autocross days on my Evo, with no complaints at all. I've even done some 6000 RPM launches while autocrossing and I didn't even smell the clutch burning.

I think you'll find the complaints which some people have are magnified and discussed endlessly here, but most of the Evo owners I've met in person seem very pleased with the car. There have been several autoXers I've competed against most of this past season, and as far as I know, every one of them is still on the stock clutch. I would have no qualms about doing ProSolo on the stock clutch.

And driving to work this morning in the first winter conditions of the year, I really appreciate the Evo's neutral handling and AWD.

Good luck, whatever your decision, but don't let a few complaints about the Evo deter you, because those owners seem to be in the minority.

 

Toyota no more,

I until recently had and MR2spyder and loved every day of it. I needed to get a four door and the Evo stood out as the best.

I have really enjoyed it so far < 1 month. You can feel the difference in where the car rotates. It feels like it is a little forward of the MR2spyder, but it still really handles great. I don't feel the extra weight like I thought I would. (wrx did feel heavier). The extra power really is a blast and the turbo is very well behaved and doesn't unexpectedly surge. The power band comes in at almost the same time >3k.

I never had any issues with the oil consumption on my old spyder, but I have to admit I feel a good deal better about the engine in the evo. The spyder had a good weight and balance and the engine was a good choice power and weight in consideration, but it still is the FE mass produced version. ( I orginally thought that was a good thing, inexpensive parts, well tested design, but you haven't experience that.)

I also like that all the aftermarket I was going to put on the spyder is already on the evo.

Send me a message if you want to talk off line.

 

mine drives as good as day 1 not one problem at all 5800 miles so far