I had a similiar dilema. Excpet my choice was between an 04 cobra and a 08 evo x. I drove mustangs my whole life up until the evo. When I was in high school you could get decent foxbody mustangs if you had a decent highschool job. They were easy to work on and there were so many aftermarket parts that you could always find a deal. They were fun affordable cars to drive, work on and take to the track on a friday night with my friends. Eventually I got tired of them though. 10 years later I still wanted a performance car but was looking for more then just straight line power. I found an 08 evo x with 14k miles and a 04 cobra with 20k miles for about the same price. I drove them both but in the end I wanted something different, something I could drive everyday and not worry as much about rain and snow. Something I could still get parts for and make my own. Something that handled better then any car I had ever driven. I chose the Evo for those reasons. If I could have a second car for around the same price I wouldnt think twice about parking that cobra right beside the evo. It all depends on what your looking for. Both cars would be extremely fun to drive for totally different reasons.

 

Wow.....just....wow.

Maybe you haven't read anything regarding the latest Mustang. It's a helluva car. The engine is nothing short of amazing. Much too nice in fact to be in a 30K car. It readily beat the Evo X SE around VIR so to say that it isn't comparable is just ignorant. It's got 120 hp more, stops just as quick, and handles nearly as good....even with a live axle, AND it's cheaper.

Speaking from a pure numbers stand point, they are very comparable, but their similarities pretty much end there. As others have pointed out, the two cars are executed in completely different ways. I will tell you this, if I lived where the weather was nice year round and didn't have kids, I'd have bought the 5.0, no question.

 

fwiw, I sold my 2010 GT500 to get my current ride...2011 EvoX. The gt500 sucked in the snow, sucked in the rain, had terrible useful power... basically give it some gas and sit and spin, handled like a bus.. really.. take a corner and the entire car is leaning over. It was way too big and heavy. The build quality was far superior to prior mustangs, but my evo seems to have tighter body lines. Anyway, you made the right decision.

 

Haha I know I know. Gotta give the new 5.0 some credit though, it's a beast of a car

My friend has the new X with the flappy paddle shifter... Something about the car just doesn't do it for me. It is sexy as hell though

 

well did you noticed the bump stop? LOL

the problem is whit this picture, usually a do it yourself upgardes lead better and more quaslity results with a same premium price or even cheaper. I still like the cobra look better.

Im not soo thrilled magazine stufs. we will see on the track soon how the 11 mustang hold it ground, so far defenietly the best performing one from the factory

 

I don't think these two car's should even be compared, a lot of people are stating that the mustang is heavy and doesn't handle as well as an Evo. Thats obvious, its a MUSCLE CAR, they're supposed to be heavy, and have

always been known to slip and slide. They are made to just dominate on the drag strip. My dad has a 2010 Challenger SRT8 and that engine noise is just orgasmic. Granted i beat him in a straight line(he's stock and the 4400lb

curb weight doesn't help either), and if there's a turn, i'll be GONE. With that being said my dad still loves his muscle car, because it does everything its SUPPOSED to do so well.

I love my Evo and would never choose a muscle car over my Evo, but that doesn't mean i wouldn't buy a Vette to mess around in.(which is sooooo going to happen, because vette's are sexy).

In conclusion, the best overall car is the Evo hands down, which still doesn't take away from the preformance and beauty of a true muscle car.

ps: lifting up the front tires is cool!!!!

 

I have a long dislike of Mustangs. This one is easily the best GT yet, but it holds up everything I hate in a performance car and lacks precision and handling. Good car, not remotely something I'd ever pay money for.

 

i bet members on the mustang forums are saying the exact opposite

 

you can bet on it.

I actually would see what they think about an evo. Probably th EVo gained some respect since 03 , but not much... LOL

 

Have you guys heard about the Boss 302?

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/24/2...-drive-review/

Track tuned suspension, 444 hp, 380 ft-lb and only 60 lbs heavier than an MR.
Mustang has 8.18 lb/hp vs MR's 12.27 lb/hp.

Of course it's alot more expensive than a regular 5.0 at $41k, but it'll spank a $38k MR...and a $64k M3.

 

When will everyone realize that evo doesn't have 295 hp? It's a 400 hp car the moment you drive it out of the dealership... Intake, exhaust, tune - 400. And you invested about a 1000$. Compare it as such. A stock evo is an impressive out of the box solution for 30k, a mildly tuned evo is a lot more than just impressive for 31k.

 

Why are people saying mustangs are big and heavy? They hardly weigh any more than an Evo X. They are heavy compared to an VII or IX but not compared to a X.

 

Hah, FWIW I just bought a new GT after wanting a EVO for a long time.

I've bounced between wanting a EVO, STI, or 135i for last year or two, and then when I finally saved up enough for one at the last minute I ended up getting the GT-- no regrets. Some reasons:

So for all the comments here about Mustang being heavy, its 3600 pounds. I wouldn't call it light but, these days, its pretty average. What does your lightweight EVO weigh? 2008 MR 3,594lbs? WTF? Actually I cannot find it listed anywhere on Misubishi's site, and everywhere you look is slightly different, copy and paste from another thread here:
X SE (per M/T) - 3563 (curb weight)
MR-T (per R&T) - 3690 (curb weight)
MR-T (per R&T) - 3855 (test weight)

What car is heavy? Even if a Mustang IS heavier, the EVO is heavy as **** as well. Nothing is 3200 pounds anymore.

Straight line, stock, Mustang is faster-- 365-375 to the wheels on avg? From a roll its no context, from a stop typical GT will be high 12s with non-retarded driver, EVO will probably be low 13s-- I'm sure some single person has done some awesome quarter mile run, but you can find someone with a GT who has done an awesome run as well. On avg I'm saying high 12s vs low 13s.

On a track, I'd say Mustang will likely win most of the time. VIR lightning lap this year GT beat an EVO SE by 2 seconds. On willow springs it matched a M3 w/compettion package. The live axle comments are fun and all but on a smooth track its not going to matter. The Mustang handles well (maybe not better but well) and has more power. Most tracks Mustang will win, IMO.

I drive ~60 miles a day, GT gets 26mpg, EVO gets 22 highway? Adds up. Hey and GT will even take 87.

AWD sounds cool, and it makes it easier to drive fast, but RWD is fun. I live in CA and it rains one month a year. Also, as someone who grew up in Chicago driving a RWD car, RWD in the snow is not impossible. Get some snow tires and you'll be fine.

Long term reliability... NA did tempt me.

Cost... this is another big thing that bugs me about EVO. How is it so expensive? I got a Premium GT + Brembo brakes + Glass roof for $34 even basically. It takes about 5 minutes of work to get a Mustang at invoice with no haggling. Also had I not ordered mine, I would have gotten another $750 off--- but my car ended up comming in 3 weeks early and it ruined my timing. (Basically you request brosures from Ford and randomly they have $750 coupons that are good for a short time-- easy to get if you buy off the lot, you wait for coupon to come and then go buy-- I ordered, so I had to try to time things so that car and coupon arrived at same time-- I failed.)

Anyways, comparable EVO... GSR + leather/sunroof = $38,600 MSRP. Not sure how far below you can get it.

Oh yeah and one other thing.... dealers think an EVO is a Ferrari. Ford dealer-- walked in and all I said was "Hey I wanted to test drive a new GT" and the saleman turned around to get keys. I ****ing hate car salesman, but how can I fault that?

Couple other things-- NA V8 @ 7000rpm it makes your knees weak. Microsoft SYNC is awesome. 6 speed is almost requirement if you want to drive around on freeway, wtf GSR? Downside to GT would be 4 doors is nicer than 2, at least for practicality. Tuning a stock turbo is a cheap way to make power-- although while this kept me interested for awhile, for a daily driver I am going to put tons of miles on, I care alot about reliability.

 

See this is the BS that got to me, the EVO IS impressive out of the box solution for 30k. But it doesn't cost 30k. Its a ****ing 38k car. 5 years ago it WAS an impressive 30k car that cost 30k :P.

 

The new 5.0 is sick. I have personally seen one at a test and tune run 10.9's and 11.0's at 130 over and over again. This was with slicks, 150 shot, and custom tune. Nothing else. The car only had 1800 miles on it. The new mustang is no joke. There is no way our cars will run 10's for under 2 grand. Hell my clutch cost that much. And as stated above it runs pretty much dead even on a road course with the new M3. For the MONEY it may be the best sports car currently on the market.