The X is, as you may know, a car with a superb engine and superb handling. Everything else may be a bit sub-par, however. The paint chips fairly easily, the interior is a sea of plastic and leaves much to be desired, and the overall quality of work on the car is disappointing, especially for you, coming from a history of having BMW's and Porsches.

It's a fun project car, and it's a fun little diversion from many other cars that you might have had in the past, but I honestly do not think it's a long term keeper.

 

I would at least get a tune before making comments like that. A car that is tuned the way it should be is a night and day difference from the factory one and also yields more gas mileage.

 

Well fellas, just got back from the dealership and put one of their hail damaged cars through the paces. I drove it back to back with the 135i from BMW, on the same twisty roads. This is my third drive in the Evo X.

Pros:
Everything related to the chassis. I don't recall every having driven a car with this vicious of a turn-in. Maybe the Ferrari was close, but it's uncanny how aggressive it is.

The midcorner balance is fantastic.

I dig the looks.

Very good steering feel, though I'm used to a bit more of a weighted wheel. It's a little light.

I have no problems whatsoever with the interior quality: it is fine

Cons:

Engine a bit buzzy
Some droning in the cabin around 4000rpm
Turbo lag noticable, but about what you'd expect
Engine rpms 'hang' when you shift or let off the throttle
Seat bolsters a little tight

Questions:

Can aftermarket tuning tighten up that turbo lag, and, more importantly, can it remove/attenuate the rpm 'hanging'?

As to the seats, I'm about 5'9" 185lbs (damn I need to go runnin). The butt portion of the seats is fine as is the bolstering on the seatbacks. But the bolsters along the seat portion, at their most forward ends, seem to 'pinch' my midthighs. I guess its the way I'm built. I would look into pulling the covering and trimming just the inside portion of the seat bolsters along about 1/3 their length.

 

I was in the same boat as you. I come from High HP domestics as you can see from my sig. I test drove an 08 X 3 weeks ago. I was amazed out how fun the car is to drive even down on power. After a week of debating I pulled the trigger. I have had 2 weeks and 1500 miles of fun so far. The more I drive the car the more I like it. I got my 08 brand new with the HID options and the ground effects for 27,000 after rebate. So not to bad for a brand new car. I dont think you will be disapointed. I already have a intake, CBE in the mail. And I have a tune set up with GST to run the E85 to take care of the lack of power from the factory. HE he. Good luck.
Robert

 

Enjoy the Evo. The only regeret you will have is waiting for aftermarket parts not in stock...lol

 

Ha, I know who you are... we've had garages next to each other at TWS before.

I track an E36 M3, and I bought an Evo X last year. I bought it mainly because I needed a car with 4 doors/4 seats for my newborn son, but I still wanted a fun sports car that eventually could become a track car later on. I was all set to buy an E90 M3 sedan, but then I drove an Evo X MR, and it was just more fun to drive than the new M3.

It's been almost a year, and I still love my Evo. I "get" the Evo now, why it has so much tradition and is so revered around the world. Sounds corny, but the Evo has "soul". Silly fast, practical, technologically advanced, and wow is it fun to drive.

As for the "no paddles" comment... trust me, drive an MR. I used to think the same way. Mitsubishi just nailed the flappy paddle gearbox programming with the TC-SST. It's incredible. You won't miss that clutch pedal.

--michael

 

If u get a evo, and leave it stock u will regret it. Once the car is BPU'ed/ tuned it will become a snarling pitbull with blood on its teeth. The evo will only get boring when u stop modding it.

 

Oh yeah I remember you at the garage and you use the same handle I think over in bimmerforums.

Funny that you bought an evo.

My kids are older so a 2 door is fine and can get away with even the tiny seats in a 911. I think I'm keeping my 964 Turbo, which means I'm penny pinching on the daily driver. Despite the flaws of the Evo (no car is perfect) it is a great machine and hilariously fun.

 

I can honestly say..its one of the best cars I've ever owned. I sold my 04 EVO VIII and still miss it to this day. I've got a EVO X GSR and love it and glad I'm back with a .

 

well whats the verdict Knobby22?! You going to roll with the evo? WW is the sickest evo color out there whethers its an 8/9 or a X

Good luck with your choice,

steve

 

I too came from the BMW world and I've never been so passionate about a car. I loved my M3's but they never made me feel the way this car does. I look forward everyday to the time when I can drive it to go anywhere. Even when I have nothing to do I just want to go out and drive this thing. This car is amazing.

 

Though I didn't buy a X, I feel I can give you an alright answer.

My current car still does it for me far more than my previous two cars. Both in looks, and fun. And convenience, there's never a time where I go "Oh God, I have to drive again?" like I did with the old Evo (The boy racer problem you described came into play here).

I came from the old Evo, into the Porsche, I loved the luxury and keeping the sportiness. Hated missing ALL of the boy racer/tuner world. Looked at the X and STi and found out to my surprised they'd added a large chunk of luxury and drivability, without hurting the tuner/boy racer qualities I loved.

The X is a great car, that's for sure. If it weren't for my lack of trust in Mitsubishi and my love for the look of the GRs, I may have wound up in one. Even with the things I didn't like about the X, they would've easily been made up by getting one for around 30k with 0% financing. (2k more than I paid for the STi used, with 6% financing)

What Porsche did you have!? My Evo and STi could both easily (weight problems aside) outbrake my Porsche. But unless you had some crazy Porsche (or some other car) your brakes are nearly exactly the same as they were before.

Have you looked at the STi? Or do the looks completely ruin it for you (as it does for most)? I drove both in my quest and found (surprisingly, since I hadn't driven an STi back in the day) that the current STi has none of the things I hated about the Evo VIII (including the painful turbo lag) and everything I loved.

Aftermarket tuning and opening up airflow will help with the turbo lag, but no matter what you do without going to a smaller turbo or bigger motor there is always going to be that problem. I didn't think the 2.5l with a smaller turbo would make the difference it did... But it does. Sure it's got more lag than my 911 had, but it's easily half that of the Evo, and I had a full TBE and tune.

As far as the seats... I wish they were tighter

 

X is a great car in performance to value wise. However, I do question its build quality.

 

You won't regret it.

 

I am a fan of the VIII's mostly but hell if anyone wants to buy me a X I will drive it! I love all Evo's but IMO it goes 8, 10, 9