Well I've driven trucks my whole life and it's time for something new ! I'm trying to sell my current 03' Dodge Cummins to get an Evo. I drive 60 miles a day on the Garden State Parkway and the truck isn't cutting it anymore. I need something more exciting ! One of my biggest concerns is driving in the snow and want to hear from owners that do drive through snow with their Evo to see how they perform. I know they are AWD but being low to the ground and having to possibly bulldoze through unplowed side roads is what I'm worried about? What can be done to prevent this as much as possible?

What are some realistic MPG numbers on a close to stock engine on the highway?

I would like to get into an 05' model year but is there anything wrong with 03's and 4's? I've seen some nice low mileage 03's for a good number. Pros and cons ?

Any other advice ? If I get what I want for my truck, I plan to spend about 17,000.

Thanks !

 

I don't drive my evo in the winter but my friends do... They all say with WINTER tires it's a fricken beast!! They go past people going uphill on snowy days going 55 while people are sliding all over the road. Also a very fun car to drive in the winter. Worth it!

 

Rally car.....duh

 

I guess I could of just said that.. And Left it for your imagination.

 

Gas mileage is not good, like maybe 25 mpg on a stock car with a tune i think it was waht i was getting. As far as winter driving, its AWD. Get some good winters for the winter seasons and you will be all set. You can do all seasons too, but alot of people have mixed feelings on them. I have a set right now for winter tires and i actually get better traction with my summer tires than i do my all seasons lol. And yes i have driven the car with summer tires in snow and it was a blast lol. I know not the safest thing but whatever it was fun lol.

 

Get some good winter tires ( I prefer Bridgestone Blizzaks LM-60's) and you will rule the snowy road like a king. Gas mileage should be better than the truck ( unless on boost 99% of the time!!! ) Good luck with your Evo search and make sure you don't get some teenagers beaten toy.

 

+1 Blizzaks FTW!

 

With the stock springs and winter tires you should be fine. Lowered cars will odviously not be good. I think the mpg rating is around 23 iirc and you have to run premium so it's not that great on gas.

 

At stock ride height and with winter tires I've driven through up to 20 inches of snow. Granted, with twenty inches of snow I wasn't moving very fast. This on side streets that had not been plowed or driven much. Trying to drive in more snow than 20 inches would probably have punched in the mesh on the grill work and damaged the intercooler. So, this is where you start to need a vehicle with more road clearance.

 

nothing wrong with 03, 04 model, the only thing that could make them go wrong is the bad driver. 05 has active center differential. nice low mileage 03, go for it!

 

i drove mine the first 2 years ive owned it in the snow, honestly the best car/vehicle ive personally driven in snowy conditions. i had continental contiweathers on it and i went up a steep *** hill in an ice storm! granted i was goin like 5mph but crawled like a champ

 

I had never driven in snow until I moved to Reno, but I bought my Evo in preparation for the snow. I was on coilovers though and simply raised it up for the winter. I did get stuck once but that was only because when they plowed the snow the didn't clear the entrance to the apartment complex. With that said I drove through 20-24in of snow with no issues on Toyo Proxes4's (performance all seasons) with the exception of minimal sliding when I wanted to have fun .

My gas mileage was decent. I was making roughly 389AWHP with a larger stock frame turbo and 780 CC injectors and I was getting roughly 23mpg city and up to 30 highway.

 

I have driven my car on ice with the Summer Advans and while I had to go slow I didn't get stuck or slide out. Jeeps and pickups where scattered all over the road :-). With that being said I try not to drive my Evo during the winter because the salt is what I'm avoiding. Nice thing about a truck is most people don't care about it getting all salted. Of course ground clearance is an issue but the stock ride height of the Evo is fine for NJ.

 

don't buy an evo to get good gas mileage unless you plan on grandma'ing it the entire time

realistically you are looking at closer to 18-22 mpg

as others have said... with winter tires this car is an animal in snow

 

30 mpg? Sorry, I'm not buying it.