So I’ve been driving a BMW Z4 for over 6 years and loved every minute of it. It’s a great car, great quality and great fun.

My second Z4 lease is up and the new on is not doing it for me, so the Evo caught my eye.

I love the look of the car and drove a ralliart lancer with the sst tranny to get a feel of it. It was a little weird but I think just a different style of driving has to be adopted.

My question is this, has anyone else moved from a BMW/any other luxury german car to an EVO, and how have you found the change.

Would you do it again? Is the EVO better? Is the drive of the EVO that good that it over shadows the difference in build quality, material etc?

Any comment welcome, thanks guys.


FYI other cars I’m looking at in the price range is the 370z coupe

 

talk to Noize he went from evo x to a 135i to 335i to evo x again. I have driven a z4... nice car but the evo is much much more fun.

also the EVO is faster than the ralliart and feels much more responsive in both power and handling. the evo comes in two flavors the MR which has a similar tranny to the ralliart you drove but is a bit heavy but more cushy. the other is the GSR which come with a proper 5mt and is a bit lighter than the MR.

 

I came from a well-modded Audi A4 (which I cross-shoped with lots of imports like the Evo IX and STI). Evo absolutely murders it. My comparison would be something like this:
Evo makes Audi feel like a Bentley in terms of luxury. It also makes it feel like a Suburban in terms of precision, handling, tactile things, and speed.
The Z4 is a much more direct car than the A4, but it will still pale in comparison to the Evo. I strongly suggest driving one to see for yourself. The build quality doesn't ever cross my mind, nor do any of the so called "penalities" of the Evo. See if you can live with the added noise, attention, and speed-demon fuel economy. If you can, it's like upgrading from a pair of cross trainers straight to Ussein Bolt's track spikes. The Evo X is an extremely liveable car in my opinion. Even moreso in MR trim, which adds slightly more compliant suspension (still not "soft" by any means), a bit better sound deadening, a nice interior, and the SST transmission. There are plenty of people around that have switched to or from German cars to the Evo on these boards. That's my first bit of advice. The Z4 will be more similar to the Z4 than the Evo in terms of configuration, drive, and purpose. Just depends what is and isn't important to you.

 

go test drive one!

 

I had a 06 325i and now I have a 07 gti and an evo ix MR. I recently drove a 335i and was very impressed with the engine and would love to drive a modded one because I think the added power would make the car about perfect. However, as much as I love my german cars, its the evo that certainly puts the smile on my face the most, and that is the justification of any of its shortfalls it may have.

As end this post I can only recommend having both, I just can't say I would enjoy driving my ix cross country. I also know for a fact I wouldn't enjoy paying the gas penaly either.

 

Speaking of bmw, i just raced a supercharged e92 m3 he only took me by half a car if that, me going from second through 4th holding it all the way out.

 

Well, since you have already owned bmws, you will see the differences of the interior, exterior and ride quality. If you are looking for status and ride quality and the overall feel of a luxurious vehicle, there is no turning back. Bmw is the way to go. However, if you are looking for the performance and handling ONLY, evo can be a pretty good buy. if you have some models in mind to compare it would be a lot easier to do the decision.

Good luck, an evo won't let you down. My situation is that I will be over 30 in the next few years and evo probably won't synchronize with my occupation and my age well.....and my evo will be gone by then.

 

I agree with iamblue03. A BMW and an EVO are two different vehicles. A BMW provides a smooth, comforting ride with all of the luxurious amenities that one can find in a vehicle (even the M cars, although having a sporty, aggressive flavor to them, are built around a concept of luxurious transportation). The EVO is built around the ability to perform on and off a track with spartan like qualities in interior.
My wife and I have driven AWD Audi's (S4 bi-turbo and Allroad bi-turbo, respectively), and Porsches. After driving the EVO, even my wife was impressed with the performance and handling capabilities - she even loved the EVO seats. To me, the EVO is easier and much more fun to drive than a lot of the German cars.
If you can stand not having a full blown leather interior with the heated seats etc., the EVO is a great car for the price and you will not be disappointed with anything like buyer's remorse.
PS: After the wife drove the EVO and then drove the Ralliart, she chose the EVO.

 

OMG U sound like death is just around the corner after the age of 30! It appears that U have swallowed the senility pill a bit to early....come on, live a little to 60; 30 is just a small blip on the rev-ometer of life! Keep the EVO and trade up till U can't get in the car...at that point U will be dead anyway!

Later, Ken

 

This is amusing, because there's a topic with somebody who's moving from an X to a 135i.

 

dont worry he will come back...
He wont be the first one

 

evo's def more fun. interior quality doesn't come close to bmw...i'm talking about 328xi specifically. thought the 3series interior is more bland vs. evo's more aggressive tachs and whatnot. but the plastics are just cheap in the evo and fitment is left to be desired. my dash and door have started rattling and buzzing witht he radio on at moderate levels. hopefully there's a fix for it. other than that, i'd take the evo over bmw anyday. can't beat the price/performance combo.

 

gl bmw are pretty

 

Hope it's at the track because I don't think the Mod will like what you just post buddy. Anyway, planning on getting an M3 after I pay off my Evo.

 

i had 325e e30,325i e36,325ic e36 and bmw m3 e36 euro 3.0 then i changed to an evo8 and loved the hardcore of it it was an rs and now i have a evox mr which i so much like,i dont miss the quality and the high maintnance of the bmws also the evos are more reliable cars they just dont bother at all compare to a bmw,and sst is such a fun gearbox and for the price on the car its worth every penny