@acm_evo - i, thanks for that post. VERY insightful. I'm pretty much moving on from the Vette. By now, I'm well aware that the car has too much power for what I want to do. I want to become a better driver, power does not give you that. Add to that the other downsides that I found, and the Evo is looking a whole lot better by the minute.

Plus, like I said, the fact that I found out that I can buy a used Cayman for close to $30k was the last nail in the coffin for the Vette. If I want flashiness and a more mature look (the only thing the Evo lacks) I'd rather go with a Cayman. But, the Porsche has a bunch of other downsides too. (Cost of repair, etc. etc.) They are very reliable, but that doesn't mean it will not break.

I've also toyed with the idea of other cars (used) such as MX-5 (mentioned earlier), S2000, 135i, etc, etc. Some of them just to get me spending less (used MX-5 - $22,000). But in the end, I just have to make a decision.

I've been speaking to my dealer via email today to start negotiating. I was going to order one with Nav and leather. But I've decided to rather add Nav later to lower the price of the car a bit. Stock leather with cloth combo alone does not add cost, (not getting the leather/sunroof package), but there's also the option to add Katzkin a bit later. I'm a bit fan of the dark burgundy red seats (a la Porsche). Not red, but the dark brick/marroon stuff some of the Porsches have. I might order Katzkins with what I will save from doing the SatNav myself like the example in the SatNac sticky thread.

 

I had 3 Vetts. 2 Porsches. My Evo MR is most fun. I think it wil be less expensive to maintain. But this car works better for me than vetts or 911's. All depends on your life style. Living in L.A. thre Evo works great for me.
The MR is great in L.A. traffic. Sunday in the Malibu canyons are fun. Other cars don't come close in the canyons. So it all depends you. If you are in L.A. pm me if I can be of help.

 

I miss my black 07 1LT MXO C6...

 

Thanks for the info. The best advice I can get here is from people who own, or have owned, Corvettes and Porsches.

I'm in San Diego, and in the area I'm in traffic jams are no problem whatsoever, I'm interested in a GSR. But knowing me, even if I were in LA, I'd still prefer the stick.

If I have more questions, I'll let you know, but so far the best help you can be is once I get the car, we should meet up and you can show me the routes to those canyons!

 

I'm wondering why nobody has pointed this out yet?

According to the owner's manual for my 2008 chains are not an option.

Page 7-28 "Tire chains cannot be used on your vehicle."

Did they change this for later models or come out with a Evo specific chain or ???

Hope that ain't a deal-breaker for the OP? FWIW I lived in N Idaho for 8 years and never needed to use chains. I had a Toyota 4x4 with Snow Tires.

On another subject...

Tracking a brand new Evo - why not? I did and it was a blast! I was pretty nervous at Laguna, there are walls everywhere! But go to some place like Thunderhill and most places on the track you can slide off for half a mile and only hit dirt!

I feel sad for my fellow Evo owners that have never tracked or done an Auto-X, they are missing out!

Good luck on your purchase!

 

I'm kind of in the same position, going the other direction.

I had an 04 evo making about 350 whp on E85 a few years back, man i loved that car. We were getting married so i sold it to pay some bills.


Fast forward to last spring and I was ready to get into another "fun car." I found this 05 6 speed Z51 car in CA with around 45k miles on it. It is in great shape except for a small paint spider on the corner of the back bumper which you can hardly notice. I paid 24k for it.



The car is fun to drive but the torque band is so flat is doesn't feel nearly as fast with the same power (a stock LS2 will dyno around 350-360 to the tire). I ran a 12.1 @109 with the evo and the best i could do on street tires was a 13.2@109 in the vette. With drag radials i'm sure that would improve but not a full second.

The handling is also a lot different. The Evo handling was much sharper and "flickable" where the vette is not so much. I can see the vette holding the same corner but the turn in is not as sharp.

We are now expecting our first child so i may be going back to an evo, lol. I would have no problem keeping the car but i just don't think i would drive the thing. Take an evo X and do intake, exhaust and a tune and you can hang with a stock vette in the straights and pass them through the corners. throw on a FP red or black for 450 whp on 93 and you're keeping up with cammed C6's and stock C6 Z06's. That's my plan :-)

 

Ok, since 2008 I've had two C4's (still have one), a C6 LS3 car (still have), a 2008 GSR EvoX (sold), and a 2012 5.0 mustang (just bought).

The Evo was the most expensive car to run- don't be fooled by the sticker price. They drink gas and you will not be able to drive one normally.

-The EvoX is a beast on the street because you can drive 98-99% all day long with the SAWC. One the track? well, they will hold their own, but my C6 is also pretty rewarding to drive hard on a track too. On the street, the vette doesn't have that fine degree of feedback, but with a little room to let it hang out on a track, the car feels great.
-I wouldn't bag on the vette interior after experiencing the GSR interior.
-Evo Gas mileage sucks- it sucked before and after a tune...whatever- all awd cars pay a penalty and since it's turbo, even more so.

-The EvoX had the best steering. The next best car I have driven regularly that had comparable steering would be a VW Golf- but that car is decent because it weighs 3000 lbs and is balanced, not because it has aluminum suspension or good brakes or anything...plus its low on power so it doesn't get scary.

-The Evo is a 4 cylinder- I had mine up to 155 mph and the aero was proper and very stable...it took a long time to get there- vette by a mile. Even my C4 would wax it on the interstate (but its a ZR-1 ). I know there are people with insane high output turbo 4's, but realistically, a typical car with a tune and a pipe...c'mon, it's a 3500 lb 2 liter. You may miss the off idle torque of a V8.

-Insurance is high and the purchase price is a little high on Evos. I do not know if you will ever get the deep discounts like on domestic brands. My 2012 'stang GT premium was less than $27k (it was returned with 400 miles on it due to financing issues- technically I bought it used)..but still... Ford is also giving $3000 cash back right now.

I would have loved to have kept the Evo, but I don't have a the juice to have a Jay Leno like collection of cars. The reason I bought the C6 really was that 335 BMW's kept bullying my GSR ;(. The tune did help. It did run the twisty roads around palomar airport road in record time though...I scared my family and friends fairly often with that car. I usually got the bird flipped once a month- you will not have patience for people driving the speed limit. I found myself crossing into no passing zones to let it run and getting real close to people on the road. It's a Jeckyl and Hyde thing. Let me also say many people hate import cars..I have had many many more people move out of the fast lane when they see my C6 in their mirror. You will be frustrated in the Evo and resort to driving bad like I just described.

I would not be satisfied with only an Evo...You might want to keep an 8 cylinder car in the lineup if you can swing it. it was nice while I had it though.

 

I find myself speeding more in my C6 than i ever did in my Evo. 60-90 is so effortless in the vette, you would notice the turbo spooling for that to happen in an evo, lol

 

I'm not exactly sure why that is? The manual for my 2011 Mustang says the same thing - no chains. But I wonder if it's due to the possibility of scratching the wheels or the body, or due to the traction control. The correct set of chains will not scratch your wheels or the body, but I don't know how bad they can be for the traction and stability control. You know... All the vibration and stuff.

Also, the chains are mainly for the police. If the conditions get hairy, they'll MAKE you put chains or they won't let you through, AWD with snow tires or not. Typical California.

 

That's a nice looking Vette, I really love that Orange. And the Evo... 8,9 10 or otherwise doesn't look as impressive as that long swooping body. But then again, that's not the reason Evo lovers buy Evos. I've gotten my fair share of "get a mullet" comments from some friends when I tell them I'm considering a Corvette. While others love it. That's the reason you have to buy whatever it is you like and screw what others think.

Again, nice to hear from someone who has had both.

 

I live very close to Palomar airport road!

That's one heck of a good price of a 2012 GT Premium! I paid something like $24,600 or so for my V6 Premium and that was with the $2,500 rebate last year! I sometimes wish it were a V8. I could trade it in, but then I wouldn't be able to buy the Evo, so no. Admittedly though, the 2011 V6 Mustang is on heck of a car for the right purposes. Plenty fast, feels like a sporty luxury sedan and looks great. It's also lighter than the V8.

What MPG where you getting out of the Evo that you sold? Most of my cars are between 16-21MPG and I don't typically drive long distances nor have long commutes, so I don't mind the gas thing all too much.

I'm busy selling current commuter car (not the Mustang) - So I'm taking my time to decide on the purchase... But every time I think about a different car, I keep coming back to the Evo. If this keeps up, as soon as the current commuter gets sold, and I have the downpayment in hand, I think I'll end up choosing the Evo. I'm in no hurry... In the meantime, keep discussing. This is a great thread and I'm sure will help a lot of people, not just me.

So far, I've considered the Vette, a Cayman and one I don't think I've mentioned is a 2012 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4x4, lifted. But that's a whole other story entirely and I don't want to go into it here too much. Originally, before the Evo, before the Vette and before the Porsche, what I wanted was a Taco. But I was disappointed with the current engine and manual 6-speed transmission (don't want automatic). There is word of a new engine for 2013, but it's no solid info yet. Plus, that doesn't mean Toyota will necessarily fix the stupid gearing ratios of the manual 6-speed, or the clunky shifting. But, in my research for the Evo X purchase, I'm trying to imagine that the Tacoma with the new engine is here and available. Just to make sure that if I choose the Evo over the Taco, Corvette or any other car is because I really want it, and not because I'm impatient. You know? Don't want 2013 to come around and have me going, "I should've bought the Taco!" A used Corvette is easy to get out of... But a new car isn't. I know a lot of you (with all due respect) buy quick and don't care. But no, I take my time.

Anyway, cheers and good night for now. -D

 

^^^ I never really got much better than 16-17 mpg combined with the evo. If you played hard, it got like maybe 14mpg. With a tune, the engine is making almost 3 hp per cubic inch. To keep it from melting the pistons, it has to wash it down in gasoline- that will cost you as does the AWD.

you can get 24 mpg on a very smooth highway run not exceeding 70 mph, but it is possible to get combined 19 mpg or so if your commute has a good bit of freeway time plus if you drive the speed limit (you won't). I guess in the end, the higher insurance cost was the nail in the coffin for me, because I did not have the car paid off so the car payment combined with running costs was a bit much. I also had the car when premium gasoline was $4.50 a gal and the car was costing me $850 a month to run.

My c6 is actually cheaper on everything except the $9k more it cost to buy new. it only wears out rear tires instead of 4, better on gas, and insurance is not bad.

 

^^^ Cool, thanks for the info. My commute is only 10 minutes, but I always have to be ready just in case it ever becomes more. I was quoted $90 a month for insurance. I'm calculating the gas at $180/ month for my driving.... Looks like running the car will cost me $770-800 between loan payments, insurance and gas. $850 if you factor in maintenance and tire costs. Yes, you're right on the money.

Definitely more expensive to run than a C6. If it were paid off it would be a no-brainer. But it's not a cheap car. Not for me at least

We shall see.

Where do you go to track your C6? I'm only starting to get into the track and Auto X thing, so I'm still figuring out where to go. A friend of mine keeps telling me I have to come to one of the Auto X's held at the Qualcomm parking lot.

 

At least you got some pretty good choices for evo. Here in MN there is basically none

 

I rented a Hertz Corvette in Vegas that was an automatic and that thing hauled! The V8 motors are just wonderful! The sound of the exhaust in a parking garage sounds great.

My friend has a C6 Z06 and that thing flat out hauls as well. I am sure that it is in a different league than an Evo. The C6 race teams do race vs. Ferraris.

I own an Evo and that is what fit my budget. A new Z06 can be had for the price of a GTR. The insurance was actually cheaper for the Z06 than an Evo (wish Evo owners would quit driving them off cliffs and wrapping them around poles). The payment would have been more for the Z06. The 4 doors on the Evo is just more practical. I also wanted to jump on getting the Evo before they started releasing the hybrids. I can wait for the depreciation hit the Z06 owners take after a few years.

If you have the money, then get a C6 Z06. It even gets 26mpg on the highway since it has a 6 speed. Having just a 5 speed on freeway driving in the Evo can get kind of tiresome. You don't even have to mod it to get the power that you want out of it. Just stomping the Z06 from 60mph on the highway is pretty impressive and it has high speed stability. I think the top speed is 193 and the Evo probably is around 155. I know the owner with the modded OBP X has done 180 in the standing mile, but his car seems like a straight race car. I have a stock Evo and stomping it at 60mph is less than impressive, but then again it is stock. The AWD system is tremendous for cornering and watching the AYC display on the dash on which wheels are being powered by the system is cool.