Without including cars costing $40k and up,
It seems that before the evo and sti came out this year, a lot of people claimed that their car or future car was a true sports car and bragged about the amazing performance/ heritage/ power, and overall refined driving experience of their pride and joy.
Now after the evo and sti has been established in the states for several months, has anyone else noticed a change in attitude in the majority of other "sports car" owners?

Instead of being proud of their purchase, other owners I've talked to now usually say, "I bought my car because it was a good compromise between performance and function or between performance and styling."

I just find it amazing how these two boxy 4 door rally inspired machines has abruptly and suddenly busted egos and shifted the way of how 350z, rx8, s2000, etc owners percieve their own cars from a true sports car to simply a..... "compromise" of what they really wanted.

I'm not trying to brag ...I just wanted to share my observation and also to make a new years wish:

{{It used to be fun 10 years ago with all the cool japanese supercars and nearly all the Japanese automakers participating in "one upmanship" by releasing the likes of: nsx, mr2t, 300zxtt, mazda rx7tt, vr4tt, supra tt.. (I've owned and played with every single one of these except for the rx7)}}

nowadays, it is just evo and sti in the same class with the srt4 biting at their kneecaps yelling "look at me too! look at me too!". Is that it? These are the only options we have for an affordable sports car? None of these are even true traditional 2 door sports coupes?!?! What gives?

I wish that nissan, honda, mazda, etc wake up/smell the sanka and take note to realize on how OBSOLETE and underperforming their "Performance" offerings are at this stage in the game so that they can get their asses to work and come to the table with some under $35k turbocharged offerings that at least tries to compete.

I love my evo but let's be honest here, I'm not gonna be driving an evo forever. This is my 19th car and I like to drive something new every now and then like most everyone else here. And in a year or two, I will be ready for yet another new under $35k sports toy. But I'm afraid with current trends, anything else I get would be a step down and a "compromise" in performance at this price range.

So consider this a cry for help automakers:

Give us more options fellas! You guys are slacking!!



If i'm off base here, educate me.

 

I think you simply love you car a lot and are loking at things with a bias... Go to any other car forum on the net and search for evos and you'll get a lot of "its an ok car, but I'll take my m3/s2k/civic/yugo over it any day". Kinda that same way we treat other cars on this forum. Honestly, I'm sure that a lot of s2k, 350z, rx8 buyers don't even know what an evo or sti are, or if they do, they have no idea what it can do. They just see an econocar with a big wing and hole in the hood. Sure, some egos have been busted, but ours have too by other modded cars (srt4 comes to mind). And I honestly don't see too many people making excuses fo their cars. You found the right ca for you, it may not be the same as the right car for someone else.

As for other manufacturers following in suit, I think they already are, and the future of sports cars looks good. Lets keep buying them, and they will build them.

 

You like you car...great!
I like my evo also.

But I think the RX8 and 350Z have the Evo (or any other car under 75K) in styling and interior amenities. The Evo nor the STI are comfortable...and the interiors and exteriors are average. The STI is horrible looking, which is the reason I chose the Evo. But I will be most likely trade up for an 06 Z06 unless I decide to go crazy with my evo. RWD, AWD or FWD...who cares if it's fast! Not to mention a beautiful exterior doesen't hurt either.

 

The Evo & STI have a certain look, not as easy to like such as the 350Z, RX8, etc.

I have a hard time agreeing with the SRT-4 thing! It's quick, but....

 

Evo & STI are only for the true enthusiasts here in the US... most ppl won't understand these cars ..... they are in a class of their own ... whether interior/exterior sucks ... I dont think it really matters especially since everyone thinks different...

I do agree ... driving anything else at this point seems like a compromise in the "driving experience" area... I really don't see any other cars out there that can currently compete with the Evo n Sti in this category in the 30-35k price range... or even up to 50k

 

The Evo is a rally car for christ sake! The Z06, RX8, 350Z aren't even its competitors. If you're looking for "better" styling or a "better" interior you are probably driving the wrong car. Personally, I love all aspects of the Evo and the fact that it's capable of running with (or displacing) some of the sports cars you mentioned is just icing on the cake!

 

Thwack:

Nope, I don't believe I'm biased. Instead of being influenced by what you read on this board or other forums, I encourage you to actually spend some time behind the wheel of all these different so called performance cars. Seriously, you will never know how lucky you are driving an evo 8 just by sitting in front of the computer and searching for key word "evo" on other boards.

Heed my words and go out there and drive some of your friend's sports cars and you'll have a deeper appreciation of what you have.

Wait until these other internet drivers actually take a drive in your car as well. Even if their car is modded and has more power than a stock evo, immediately after the drive, they'll abruptly stop saying things like, "its an ok car, but I'll take my m3/s2k/civic/yugo over it any day"

I don't love my car a lot man. I don't get sentimentally attached to objects. It makes things difficult when selling it for the "next best thing" or when negotiating a purchase price when your heart is set on a specific model.

I've owned and modded bpu+vr4tt, bpu++ supra tt, 11 sec race mr2 turbo,13 sec show mr2's, eg6's, 300zx tt's, eclipse gst's, rx7tt, etc, etc.

And I've got plenty of driving time behind the wheel of modded 350z's, rx8's, srt4's, s2000's, m3's, wrx's....Trust me when I say this in my most unbiased tone........regardless of power level and mods, nothing I've driven had the same exactness and driving feel as a stock evo 8.

And it's not just me.
I've also let these same owners drive my evo.

After the drive, most of them can only muster up something along the lines of , "damn.....it drives so tight and responsive.....i had no idea bro. How much is one of these things again?"

This is coming from even my 450+whp supra buddies. (who incidentally is now seeing how much he can get for his supra to get into an evo)

Let me stress that these experiences have been my actual observations and not my opinion or fairy tale.


I'm not an evo worshipper, as a matter of fact,
I sure hope that something comes out at the $30k price range that can beat the evo's performance along with it's x-factor "feel" behind the wheel. If nothing comes out in a few years, then when the evo starts feeling old and saggy, us spoiled evo owners will be stuck with no options other than to buy something at $45k+ or "compromise" and buy something that is noticeably slower, noticeably more vague in driving feel, but with a much nicer dashboard. Which really would suck.

p.s.
one more thing to add. I sure hope that the "feel" of the evo is not in large part due to our sticky advan tires. Because that would suck if once we change rims and tires, we lose some of that tightness. I'll see if it is tomorrow. I'm slapping on some forged volk le28n's with toyos tomorrow and I'm hoping it doesn't bring the car back down too much to "clark kent" levels.

 

i loved my type R, would have never gone with any other FF car, it is the best FF car ever made, and it can almost hang with evos on the track, yes i know i work at mitsu, turbo awd blah blah, the driver wins not the car, if u want to see something comparable, its not fair to say why dont these "hondas" step up and make something better, some comparable would be the REALTIME(not even forced induction) integra type R, champion in the scca FF from 97-01(what year was the t ype R produced and ended???97 and 01...exactly)
dont get me wrong evo is an insane performer but so are all these other cars u named, when my type R was stolen for the second time, i looked to buy the 04 s2000 and rx8, i checked up sti's and evo's but not really my cup of tea, rx8 is 1.3 liters only and puts out 238 HP thats impressive, 9k redline 13B renesis engine, engine of the year,its basically the same size as the alternator which allows the entire engine to be pushed back behind the front axles creating 51-49 weighting making the handling unbelieveable plus its quiet and rides with sedan quality(if they wanted it to be a pure race car, they wouldnt have an 8 speaker BOSE audio and it wouldnt weigh 3000+ lbs) ive driven both the old and 04 s2000(11.1:1 compression ratio), the s2k was2.0 liters making 240 hp which is the most HP per liter ever in an NA 9k redline, these cars dont focus on massive power they are made for handling just like the evo and now the new s2000 has i-VTEC with a much better powerband and .2 more displacement making the power more user frendly because the older models peak power was all past 7k which was hard to use on the track by non professional drivers the car also has near perfect 50/50 weighting, plus new 04's have even better handling than the last due to progressive set suspension, im sure if i had the new s2k i would be able to beat a fair amount of evos on the 1/4mi (13.9 s2k) and more on the track, i beat s2k's with my type R, i know i shouldnt have but the drivers were only mediocre, the s2k's 13.9 vs the type R's 14.6 but theyre driving skills were crappy making them run probably 14.8's

u cant say that all these other companies arent keeping up because you're comparing apples to oranges and even still its not an extremely big difference, i know type R owners that run 13.8 with 2grand worth of mods, if u wanna compare something thats comparable, compare try the GTR vs the evo not the 350z, just like mikec said, compare whats comparable

and btw if u wanna compare cars that arent comparable(just like the cars that ur comparing) y dont we compare motorcycles u the evo wont feel half as fast or tight as a yamaha r1, we have the new m3 at home and that will beat the evo in almost everything and its also a LUXURY/SPORT car that rides smooth and quiet like a sedan,weighs 3300lb and has never had a crazy record like the EVO with its 25+worldwide WRC wins (i know u said under 35grand) the evo is made for the sole purpose of racing, doesnt even have cruise control, or a 6th gear, but it still loses to a "CAR THAT COMPROMISES PERFORMANCE WITH LUXURY" ///M3

im not trying to be a jerk, just giving my opinion, evos are impressive machines (2004 autoworld car of the year) or i wouldnt be selling them

 

Blame the government, companies cant push TT cars or i6 Turbo cars like they used to because of new emissions laws. Ever wonder why the Skyline hit the States? Not to mention, everyone is hyped hoping for a TT Skyline, aint gonna happen, count on a V8. Another sense at looking at it is, the sports car market is a somewhat risky one, with trends changing and a small margin of consumers. The way the current companies are looking at it is "Well, if no one else is really pushing a sports car, we better stay out of it ourselves", whose gonna jump in the ice water first, and find out its not so cold?

 

Type R's are fast at the track, but I don't know if they are up to the Evo, just my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I watched on, which just had the basic bolt-ons and slicks, run down and pass a Turbo Miata, but I don't think, all things equal, the Type R could hang in a one to one comparison. Maybe a mag should run a test, I would buy it to read.

 

pegueot's? did u guys forget about them.
(i hope my spelling is rite)

i would love for them to come state side.

oh yea the most i hear from people wit other sport cars( ahem )
i mean used's ones respond to teh evo as

"i luv the evo i got this "their car here" instead cause i couldnt afford teh evo..." same goes for teh sti...

dont get me wrong, im work my **** off to pay for mines.

 

type R's own all FF cars at the track.
i've owned a GS-R modded to type R performance. and that thing was quick 14.6. and handled nice, but still understeered at the limits. Thats is with springs/shocks, strutbars and rear swaybar.

when i drive the evo and push it, it hasn't let me down yet. i feel that i have total control when its close to the limits. the responsiveness is unparallel. I can't wait to make the evo faster. i can't imagine how much faster (turning & handling) it can be.

 

Benjamin knows his ****..

 

Benjamin,

hey, I agree with you, i have driven a few of the other contenders (though not as many as you) and i prefer my evo to any of them...

But....

...you are still biased... as am i... as is just about every other evo owener, as is just about everybody in the world. Simply b/c you own the evo you are biased towards it, especially after the purchase. But you miss my point. My point is that what's best for you and maybe me is not whats best for others. I was referencing other cars and their owners b/c they feel that those are the ebst cars for them. look at all the posts above about the ITR's or the m3's. their owners feel they are best for them.

you say that what you had said above was factual observations and not opinion or fairy tale... but just about everything mentioned was opinion.. you PREFER an evo or your friends do...

and remember, a compromise to you is different than a compromise to someone else. many people believ an EVO is compromising comfort, features, luxury, brand name, etc.

you're arguing with me (and inferring inexperience and ignorance) when i agree with you about preferring an evo over everything, im just trying not to sound like a fanboy, which you adamantly deny being, but did come across as one.

as for the feel, I swapped into ultr high performance all seasons and didnt lose much grip, and that tight scalpel feel is still there, dont worry.

 

Good. I was about to PM Benjamin and ask him to PM me concerning the feel of the car but this does reassure me that we can change to different tires if need be.