RedAustinIX

iTrader: (2)

Greetings! I haven't been on this forum in a while (sold my Evo a few years ago), but have been getting the itch to have a fast car again. I bought my Evo 9 new back in '06, and enjoyed the 10+ years of ownership, mods/upgrades and driving. When parts supplies started drying up and more major issues were on the horizon, I decided to sell (at a great price, I should add...). I'm not super mechanical, not a track racer, and don't hit the drag strip every weekend. But... I enjoyed having a fast car that I could daily drive, and very infrequently go to autocross events or the drag strip. I really enjoyed doing simple bolt-on upgrades, the research process, and working on stuff like A-pillar gauges, audio (I had a Orbital designs 2-DIN!), etc.

Knowing that nothing can really replace the Evo 9, I'm wondering if any of you have ideas about what new cars might be a decent replacement? For example, it would seem that the WRX STI might be the closest -- is it going to provide a similar fun, performance, upgrade experience that I had with the Evo? I was considering the BMW M2 also, but parts (and the car) are a lot pricier -- I'm not sure the bang-for-the-buck is there. Important to me is something that has a dealer network (to back up my mechanical mistakes), and also something that I can customize a bit to make it special. Also, it's nice if it's fast. I bought a Miata for a year or two after selling my Evo, and I realized that in addition to the slowness, the lack of usability and space were things I didn't care for.

Or... will there never be another Evo, and I should just consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to enjoy such a fine automobile as long as I did?

Thanks!
RedAustinIX

osetsky

Fat Euro rigs that cost piles. Or wait and see what the Koreans get up to in the proper weight class, they have all the right bits just not together on a chassis. Put a deposit on GR Corolla as soon as it's possible then squirm like 6 year old on xmas eve?
STI has grown fat and meh like everything else. That Corolla might be good though, if it becomes real.

huzzle101

iTrader: (5)

If i ever got rid of my evo 9 i told myself it would be for an M2 or M3. Or if i had porsche money the 911 turbo S. If i went old school it would be another Evo, the 5/6 or an R32. Not many cars out there like the Evo imo, bang for buck.

RazorLab

iTrader: (8)

The only car out of those three that are close to the feel of an Evo would be the M2 but in Comp or CS trim. M3 is vague and squishy compared. 911 Turbo is a touring car. Porsche GT4 or GT3 is more like an Evo.

A LOT of cars are faster than Evos now but VERY few have the feel(ing).

RedAustinIX

iTrader: (2)

This is some great feedback - please keep it coming! I wasn't at all aware of the GR Corolla -- that could be pretty cool if it's stick shift and AWD. I'll have to start watching to see what develops there. The M2 is pretty heavy, and only 2 door. I really liked the flexibility of Evo's 4 door. The GT4 is pretty compelling, but $$$$ and small (2 door, 2 seat, again not practical like the Evo).

What about the Civic Type R? I know it's not AWD, but it looks like it could be fun too. The next redesign of it is supposed to be a bit more toned down too.

RedAustinIX

osetsky

I'd get a Veloster N before a Type R due to looks...but then if you wait to see what next R gonna actually be who can say if Korea finally slaps the AWD where it really needs to go.

Dallas J

iTrader: (1)

Really depends on the budget, but there are some pretty great cars out there.

718 gts with the 2.5t has huge potential cause weight and turbo. The 4.0 will crush it for resale and sound but the 2.5 has the greater potential. And if you ask me, a stock evo is ok, but its all about the potential.

If we're talking about potential, the new Supra also has massive potential. Even the model 3 performance in handling terms has big potential though currently nothing to do for power gains.

If you have funds, GT4 is epic. But if I wanted Evo style build potential I would probably do something different.

asayamalaka

iTrader: (3)

personally, of all the cars mentioned here, i vote for the BMW M2. expensive, heavy, but it'll be a blast, and you get major unique-factor points. stay away from Subaru

Jonno99

Mine would be a M2 Comp however that would be a 120k on the road over here in Au, then I'd want a tune, maybe a pipe, track tires and rims, so I'm looking at 130 to 140 just for a weekender and occasional track day so I'd feel guilty driving it. The evo is more of an angry experimental platform, a novelty to take people out in, can't really replace it now.

RedAustinIX

iTrader: (2)

Hmmm... sounds like the M2 may be the way to go. That GR Corolla looks pretty interesting too, though, and wouldn't have the "stigma" of driving a BMW (not to mention JDM reliability -- I noticed it's built in Japan).

EveOh8

Test drove a few 5.0s and C6 Corvettes before I got my IX.

I've had an STI. The Evo is a better car in every way possible. The Subaru might be a little more comfortable for daily driving and you can actually do a u-turn.

My bugeye WRX felt way more comparable to an Evo than my STI did. Not really sure why, maybe because it had the 2.0 EJ20 but it was also a "factory freak" if you believe those exist. Easily 300-400+ launches on stock trans and hard pulls every day I owned it for 2.5 years before it was stolen.

Before I was set on another Evo, I was also dead set on building a K swap MR2. I passed on a beautiful 1992 Teal T-Top N/A 5-speed for $4500 that would have been perfect for a swap. Still regret not buying that to this day. It would be worth double now.

I might be biased but I think the 4g63 and K-series motors are some the best 4 cylinder engines around.

frsh92laser

Might also want to check out Audi RS3, its 5 cylinder turbo , dct, and awd. I haven’t driven one but they look like a ton of fun. They are some superfast ones outtthere. The drivetrain is supposed to be super stout. Not sure of its autox and track capabilities but worth taken look at.

RazorLab

iTrader: (8)

Great engine but FAR FAR FAR from the feel of an Evo. It's numb compared. TT-RS is closer feeling wise even though it's the same chassis but $15-20k more.

Construct

iTrader: (4)

The TT-RS and RS 3 are great options if your only goal is to apply mods and make the car go faster in a straight line.

They don't compare on feel or handling, as @razorlab said. The DCT and turbo motor and the launch control and the traction aids will smoothly carry you to high speeds in a straight line. You don't really have to think, just press the gas pedal and watch the speedometer go up. The DCT does a good job of blending between shifts so that you barely notice them. Feels vaguely similar the way a Tesla accelerates in a smooth but boring manner.

They also have weird handling characteristics. The AWD system doesn't behave near as well as the Evo's. The car understeers a lot, but that can be reduced somewhat with suspension mods. Still, I haven't seen many TT-RS perform well on track for as much power as they have.

RazorLab

iTrader: (8)

Yea, they need a lot of work to handle better. The awd is all open diffs and it's FWD until it senses slip, not 50/50 like the Evo. Only the A4 and above platforms have "real" awd. I have higher hopes for the next gen coming out soon. It has a new fancy torque vectoring rear diff.

The earlier years of the RS3 and TTRS had much more aggressive shifting than the newer years. Although the DSG in the "sportier" models are programmed more aggressive than others. For example, the DSG in my Golf Wagon felt more like your description of smooth and linear compared to the DSG in the GTI, R, and S3 even though they are the same box.

DSG tune made a world of difference in my wagon.

I still think it's a muuuuuuuuch better DCT than the Mitsu SST.