Since I've owned my Evo since April '03, I have had a good amount of time to provide some opinions/insights to owners and prospective owners alike:

1) The Evo is a fantastic vehicle. I've driven a lot of fast cars, but the Evo really is the "complete package". If you're buying one for the ambience, don't. It's not an Audi or VW inside, but everything is tailored for the driving experience.

2) It attracts a lot of attention - the good and bad kind. I traded in an '01 S2000 for this car, and I expected it to be a step back in the head-turning category. Man, was I wrong!! While it's great to hear so many Porsche, Ferrari, etc. owners give props, it also sucks to be looking over my shoulder all the time for the police. A lot of this is because of mods, but I know a lot of stock Evos get pulled over for a variety of reasons.

3) This car is VERY fast. If you have an Evo, especially a modded one, go rent a decently quick car (ie Mustang GT, etc.) and then go back and drive your Evo a day or two later. You'll be shocked. The S2000 is considered a fairly hardcore ride by the motoring press, but the Evo kills it, skins it and eats it alive. (I missed my S2K though, so I bought another one for cruising in peace... )

4) Be prepared to cover costs. I don't mean repair costs, but everything else - maintenance, insurance, gas, tires, etc. This car has been extremely reliable, even with a significant number of mods. It does go through tires, clutches, etc. - so budget for wear items.

Overall, I really love the Evo. All the other cars I've considered trading it for (Audi S4, Infiniti G35 coupe, etc.) have extremely high replacement costs for parts down the road (Audi tranny $10K+, etc.). The Evo is primarily mechanical, so repair is down-to-earth. Plus parts are really cheap compared with most other performance cars. For all of the complaints, whining, etc. you read on this board, you really have to look at the big picture: Lots of satisfied owners, tons of performance parts, big grins all around.

Thanks for reading!
Chris

 

great write up Chris, couldn't have said it better myself !!!!

p.s

great choice on the second car, it is truly a great car.

 

Perhaps you are getting looks in San Diego, but I have noticed that only riceboys look at my Evo. Everyone looked at my M3.

Do I care? No. Have I noticed? Yes.

 

I have been pulled over MANY times, never ever a Moving violation, I average once a week from the local ****'s...

 

nice write up, i agree with you about the Evo just being an overall great car and that most people on this site are extremely happy with their Evo's. Sometimes it gets depressing to get on here and see thread after thread with people expressing their hatred for mitsubishi/clutch/warranty etc., so it's nice to read something positive every once in a while.

Anyways, if you get a chance Chris, take a picture of your Evo next to your S2000!

 

I agree with the write up. But I notice the Evo, at least in my area, does not get that much respect from other motorists. I get taunted by cars with half the HP sometimes and Beemer drivers, no matter what model, try to run ahead and cut in front of you, then look through the mirror and smile. I hate that. The big wing says mess with me and ride my ***. When I drive my other car, I don't even get noticed and left alone.

I guess it's my area which is affluent and has many very high priced cars. People feel if they paid more for their car, it MUST be faster. Who cares. I know the Evo will tear *** on most of them. I have to show restraint sometimes. It's not worth it for some shallow POS yuppie.

 

Thanks for the kind words.

Crappy pics, but here you go (I'll take a couple outside this weekend):

 

nice cars, and nice colors on both nice write up as well... it's kinda nice to see someone telling the good for the Evo... usually it's only when ppl have negatives that they speak up...

 

Chris, what part of SD do you live? That underground parking looks familiar. I used to live in University Town Center near UCSD.

 

Come to Long Island, NY.. My car rarely gets noticed.. People who are into the cars give me props, and an occasional taunt.. But nobody really pays any attention to it. When the car first became available, I got pulled over a few times but it hasn't happened in awhile.

Funny thing is although I don't see alot of them on the road on a daily basis.. You can sometimes see as many as 10 or so on a cruise night, which means there's tons of them out there in hiding around here.

I'll be relocating to Texas some time in the next year, Probably the Dallas/Ft.Worth area, I wonder how different an experience it'll be..

Anyway, what I was going to say... I have to agree with you 100%, I actually have been saying the same thing for some time.. The car has gotten a bad rap by whiners and babies who want to hop-in and neglect it vehicle.. Although the car is reliable, it will get upset with you if you don't maintain it or abuse it, no question about it.. The biggest problem many people have is inexperience. I have 20k on my brakes, stock tires (I replaced the rims/tires recently, but have easily a few thousand miles left on the stock tires), and stock clutch, and the car puts down easily well over 320whp. I certainly don't baby the car, but its maintained and not abused.

I'm very happy with my car, drive it every day, and your right, the car is all about function, but who needs things like cruise control, or automatic climate controls.. Heck, I have never used cruise control on any car I've driven, and I rarely use A/C except on the hottest of days. And to be honest, people talk about the interior as if its a terriblly bad econobox trash interior, and thats just not true. The interior is functional, sturdy, decent quality.. Its just not a plush luxury interior, its more like the "Muscle car" interior, very basic just like the base lancer but purposeful.

 

It will be a big difference. You will see a ton of mustangs, f bodies and vipers.

 

A lot of you are saying you get pulled over a lot. By how your saying it, it doesn't seem like you were pulled over for speeding or any other moving violation. What do the cops cite for a reason why they pulled you over?

 

I rarely get too many looks either. I do have the smaller wing though (why I bought it!). Never a second look from cops either. Maybe I'm jus lucky.

Good write up though. I love the car too. Makes me wanna jump around and giggle everytime I get to my destination. Gawd I love this car!!

 

MalibuJack...typically your posts are good, but this time I have to take issue with a statement you made, about "whiners and babies"

I know how to drive, been driving for over 30 years, 80% or more of that time was on vehicles with a manual tranny (includes some early dirt bike time too) and I absoulutely didn't/don't abuse the EVO. Do I drive aggressively, hell ya, that's why I didn't buy a Camry or Accord.

With that being said, my clutch started slipping at 2k miles (babied it then replaced it at 9k), my brakes shudder (rotors/pads soon at 20K), I had the front end clunk but it went away (go figure), I have the PO300 problem (how was that my fault???) and my driver seat squeaks, I could go on about other general quality issues too, but I think/hope you get the point.

Granted most people post on EVOM because at a minimum they have a question, and at max they have a true problem they need help with. This makes it look like they are whining, when in fact they just need an answer or help. IMO the EVO has more problems than it should for a modern asian-built car. As far as covering costs because it's high performance car, that's crap. Trucks are built to tow, and they can without replacing a clutch every 10k miles.

The EVO is underbuilt and underdesigned for it's advertised purpose. They did this to cut costs, to even have a chance at selling the car to the younger market.

Don't get me wrong, the car performs like no other for the price, but some of us have not been as lucky as this thread starter and some others in this thread.

I wish you continued luck with all of your EVO's, because in mine and many others experiences and opinions you are gonna need it.

 

Definitely a good post by Chris and I think it pretty much sums up how most owners feel about this car. The car is such a total package, and yes, much faster and tighter then anything else in the class. I waver day by day about moving on to a different car simply because costs can get to you while in college, but in the end I never actually make the move. The car simply grabs you, it has such a special feel to it which most other cars simply don't have, driving it is an experience which few other reasonably attainable cars provide. I've had my car a little over a year and it has been essentially trouble free with 18k on the clutch, and 13.5k on the front brake pads before their demise with my Advans essentially worn out so the car is actually driven, just not abused in any sense. The car is essentially bullet proof where it counts and the componentry in this car simply outclasses that of other cars in the price range up. The potential of this car is incredible as well, even in stock form internally which is an even greater credit. With the market as it stands you simply can't have it all for 30k. i.e. incredible paint, upscale interior build, and nav, but on the same note, some cars of the 50-60k+ level are hard pressed to compete with the EVO where it counts, reliable potential and precision.