AndrewBayles

Looking to finance a new car near the last quarter of the year. I definitely want a sedan. Stick or auto is fine. The two cars I am currently stuck on are Evo X and the Charger Scatpack. Two completely different cars, but I can't make up my mind. I'm leaning more towards the scatpack just cause its hard for me to get over letting go of 4 cylinders for around the same price. If I ended up going with the Evo would I feel like I downgraded in power by a ton, or does it still pack a nice punch compared to the scatty?

Where I live, we get a fair amount of snow during the winter seasons, so the 485hp RWD really doesn't sound ideal but I could definitely get a set of snow tires. The Evo definitely wins in this department...

I'm open to other car suggestions, let me know what you drive and why you like it. I'm looking for the ~30k price range. There are SO many WRXs and STIs here, I'm completely over them so that is not an option lol

splattj

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, you're looking at two cars that couldn't be more different!

I'd also take a Kia Stinger for a spin (RWD) while you're shopping. The Evo will likely feel a bit anemic compared to a drive in the Charger but it'll really show you a much better time in the corners. Neither the Evo nor the Charger have a great interior, IMO but the Stinger is a rather nice place to be....

Fox_IX

Do you like driving fast in a straight line or driving fast around corners? If you want to be able to do both get the Evo. If you just want to do burnouts and drag race on the free way get the scatpack. Just my 0.02.

Oh and I forgot to mention, snow tires on RWD can still be rough. When I'm in MI for the winter I regularly see people getting stuck without AWD. If you care about winter drivability in the snow I'd definitely stick with the Evo.

splattj

iTrader: (2)

I don't know about that. I've driven through over 15 Michigan winters and I've had about a dozen cars. AWD is definitely where it's at (and why I beat on a '99 Volvo Cross Country with Blizzaks from Dec to April) but it's more an issue of ground clearance and tires than driven wheels, IMO. I've done Winter here in an RX-7 and a 3-series and not gotten stuck once because they were stock ride height. Winters in the R56 Mini and the Jetta TDI Wagon were terrible because they were heavy on the low-end torque and because they were lowered. Now, the RX-7 was a little eager to get sideways sometimes when the roads were bad but modern stability/traction control addressed that in the 330. I've been swapping on snow tires since high school and they definitely make a huge difference.

Anecdotally, I have a coworker who does winter will all-seasons on a Charger R/T and says it's not too bad. Possibly because it's such a beefy unit of a car or maybe it's driver skill......

Fox_IX

Depends on where you're driving, I suppose. My experience is mainly in rural MI, near Saginaw and I see people getting stuck all the time in RWD and FWD cars. Maybe it's just dummies running all seasons? Who knows, I've never bothered to stop and ask.

llllBULLSEYE

Well I can def tell you driven both The Evo just feels so much better as a sports car. the Scat pack has more HP, but honestly
power wise they feel the same stock for stock. It could be due to the Charger weighting in almost 1,000lbs more then
the Evo. As far as low end power the Charger has more and you can feel it so it makes for a great commuter if you drive
in city traffic. Fuel economy is the same so the small 2.0 doesn't help here.
Excellent stopping power on both.
As far as handling the Charger I feel does poorly in my opinion.
I have the same confidence with my mothers old Corolla when taking a corner at high speeds as with the charger.
This could be due to the heavy 392 engine which makes for uneven weight distribution.
Finally if you're not too big into racing and taking your car to the track I would stick with the
Charger as its a far easier car to live with.

Also I agree with splattj the Kia Stinger is another great option and handles better then the Charger.

llllBULLSEYE

Totally Agree with you. When I had Blizzak tires on my old RWD 330CI it took the snow like a champ.
Now without them the first snow storm I had to call a tow truck...

donny_utah

Gonna go against the grain here. I have a X GSR for over six years. And I'm a fan of the Charger Scat Pack. My buddy has an SRT8 Charger. It has a lot going for it.

First is torque. Lot's of torque. The kind of low end torque that the Evo does NOT have. Especially if you drive around town and city driving.

Big useable trunk in the Charger. It's roomy. You can bring your family along for the ride. Sure you can in the Evo. But it's tighter.

Also, you want instant power? On the highway? Mash the throttle.

RWD is no problem if you got winter tires and good enough ground clearance. I've lived and worked in the PNW(Puget Sound) for many years. A few winters we got ZERO snow. Sure the roads got wet and icy and cold. Winter tires man.

Playing the devil's advocate, the Charger is an overall more usable package. But so is the MR.