Hi all,

New to the forums. Currently I drive a 04 WRX. I know, I know "What are you doing on a evo forums?" Here's my situation. My WRX is my first manual and first performance car. I wanted something within my price range and the WRX was perfect. Now, I am no mechanic, I know some basics and think I could maintain a car. That being said, I was still a little intimidated by the Subaru turbo boxer engine and the horror stories I had been told. It seemed that I had also been told equal amount of good things about them as well, so this summer I pulled the trigger and bought my blob eye.

So why am I making this post? Well I knew I didn't want to have my Subie forever. In fact im thinking about getting a new car this spring. Now, one of my dream cars is an Evo 9. However, I respect their reputation and power and don't think im quite ready. Given the info above, does an Evo 8 or 9 seem too much for me? I'd love to own one but I know they can be a bit unreliable. Or maybe that is just speculation.

Now for my plans "if" I got the car. I wouldn't push it hard or anything at all, I have yet to track my subie -if at all- and never do anything too harsh. I plan on doing a few bolt on's but nothing too extreme. So, if I got an Evo it'd probably be the same situation. Im not a "if it aint fast it aint a car" kinda guy, I just like to drive fun cars!

Thanks for reading and any help would be much appreciated!

 

I went from a 2002 WRX to an EVO IX back in 2006

Still have the EVO, barely drive it anymore though... but I also bought a Subaru Impreza (NA this time) as a DD

There is no "being ready" for an evo, you'll be fine if that's what you want, go for it.

I'm with you on, liking to drive fun things

I've gone through 3 motorcycles this year alone (I think I finally found the one)

and I currently have the Evo, an s2000 and the Impreza

might be selling the Evo (it hasn't been driven in like 2 years, just random starts, back out of driveway and back in lol) so if you ever decide to pull the tigger, lmk, I'm not actively selling it or anything yet.

 

I'm not sure who told you that Evo VIIIs/IXs are unreliable, but that's pretty untrue, unless the car had been neglected, thrashed on or modded to hell and back, or some combination of the three.

Back in 2005/2006 when I was wrapping up with college, I was in a position to get a new car and was initially looking at finding a brand-new, base 2005 WRX in Crystal Grey Metallic. The problem was, at that time of the year, the 2006s were filling up dealer lots, though I didn't like the headlights or taillights of the new model. All I was finding within 250 miles of me were WRXs in colors I didn't want or with the Premium Package or whatever it was called, which had the crappy WRX trunklid wing that I always hated. I never thought the Evo was something in my price range, but I made it work, and it fit my needs nicely.

Around ten years later, I still have my bone stock Evo IX SE. I just hit 100k miles earlier this month, and it's been very reliable. I had to replace the radiator a couple of months ago, but it's not that surprising of a part to swap out at this point.

When you're asking about the Evo being "too much" for you, are you talking about too much car? Money? Time?

 

I don't think an Evo is really a car to overcome in stock form. It's easy enough to drive, safe power band. I work on a lot of Subaru's and the big reliability issues stem from poor maintenance and owners who think cranking up the boost without a tune/proper supporting mods is okay. Those things will blow up an Evo too.

Honestly, go drive one. They are a very different car from an STI in terms of handling, feel, and power/torque curve. You may very well not like it and find the STI more fun. If you plan on modifying in the future do try to remember it is much cheaper to make reliable power out of an Evo.

 

Thanks for the replies so far, let me elaborate on something. I live in central Iowa and seeing an evo 8 or 9 is just about as rare as a Lamborghini. I'm dead serious. Subarus rule here, which is why I sorta felt inclined to get one. I guess I just feel a little worried about getting an evo because they're kinda mythic here haha, literally no one owns one. I'd love to change that though I'll probably test drive one here after winter is over. Not sure I want to buy a car in the middle of winter.

 

I get it, it's harder for a Mitsubishi dealership to set up shop and turn profits in those areas, while Subaru dealerships have a broader range of good offerings that appeal to a lot of four-season markets that will keep them in business. So you're going to see more Subarus, especially when, sad to say, most of Mitsubishi's lineup kind of sucks.

With that being said, not that you have to be unique, but I'm sure it would be nice to have something that isn't a dime a dozen. WRXs are cool and get the job done for most people. But I was always impressed at how good the Evo is right off the showroom floor, and for those who need more, it's REALLY easy to get more power reliably. And that was what I wanted, something that I didn't need to mod, since I came from the Honda camp once upon a time and was tired of all the hassle of dealing with police, smog checks, haters, etc. that came with modding.

 

If you can afford it go buy one of the last new X's. Keep it and drive it forever.

I own a 2004 WRX. Its a nice little car. The engine is kinda hard to work on but then I'm a self taught mechanic, so, that's no excuse. I also own a 2003 Evo 8. Quality wise the 8 is in a whole different universe. You can tell the engineers at Mitsubishi loved the Evo and nothing else. But, I imagine most of the Evo's of the age of mine are by now pretty much beaten to death. But a new one - oh yeah.

 

Same here, I have do not go to a trade school or anything. Im learning through trial and error and through my friends and my car club. Its been such a fun journey already and its only been like three months with my subie. There's so many more cars I want to own and the Evo has gotta be my next!