First of all, hello everyone! I have always wanted an EVO and now I finally get the chance to own one.

A little about myself, I'm 22 (next week), living in the Bay Area 415, currently going to school majoring in Criminal Justice. Up until recently I used to drive an '08 Civic Si Sedan but unfortunately it was totaled last Thursday; blind curve on the freeway and there was traffic (I was going speed limit BTW). My ABS was not functioning at the time and the roads were wet, so the brakes locked up and this happened.


In her prime.




She has seen better days.

It's very depressing to look at these pictures even now, since it happened so recently, but on the bright side I get to pick a new car! A car is replaceable, but a person is not. I'm currently waiting on insurance to pay out plus any money I make from parting out. Anyways, the EVO VIII/IX was my original choice, but I decided to go with a civic for other reasons.

I still have not set in stone that I am getting an EVO, but if I do, it will be an EVO IX hopefully in white. So far I've narrowed it down to an EVO IX or a 335i. (Criticisms welcome) I don't plan to track anytime soon and my driving habits are pretty consistent, so for now the worst stress my new car will see is WOT while on the on ramp to get up to speed. For now it will basically be my daily. Eventually it will be my weekend warrior, taking it to the mountains or track. But that wont be for a while.

So before I make a commitment and join you in your EVO greatness, I have a few concerns I want to address first.

I hear from a couple of my friends that EVOs like to throw rods under spirited driving (which I like to do occasionally), also that they are expensive to maintain and difficult to work on.

In addition to these concerns, I also have a few concerns of my own; from the pictures of the interior I see, it looks really cheap and uncomfortable, mainly the rear seats. Then again, I have never sat in an EVO so I don't know for sure, it just looks really cheap in pictures. How is the OEM sound system? If any. Also, how is the gas mileage? I used to get 31 mpg freeway on my Civic, I know MPG will take a hit, but how big of a decrease is it? In addition, how is the ride quality? Including road noise, bumpiness etc. Furthermore, variable valve timing + forced induction sounds like reliability issues in the future. Any opinions on that?

And lastly, what should I be looking for when purchasing an EVO? I come from owning and working on many Hondas so these things are not so obvious to me. I read this thread, but it says nothing about the small things, like leaks, cracks, faded colors etc. Keep in mind I am in the market for an EVO 9 so hopefully there wont be many of those issues. I know from my experience working on Hondas that there are always certain things to look out for when checking out a used car, so if there is anything like that on the EVO, please point them out.

Thanks for taking the time to read my intro! I look forward to reading your answers soon

 

Just get the BMW. They get far less molested and it sounds like it would suit your needs/ wants better. A clean 9 is becoming very hard to find.

If you have your mind made up on an evo, Id take maybe 2-3 month reading here/elsewhere and just watching the cars F/S section. Do your home work, and makes sure you know how to spot the diamonds from the quartz if you know what I mean. Great cars do pop up from time to time, but they usually demand a premium, and even then they come with no guarantee.

BMW by contrast includes almost ALL the maintenance as part of the purchase price so finding a well cared from 3 series is like finding shells on a beach.

 

Stop talking to your friends about Evos until you have driven one yourself.
You may get 25 MPG(hi octane) if you drive as slow as a civic. But then it will just kill the fun.

 

Normal driving, with some spirited driving mixed in there, I get about 24 mpg. Mixed city and highway. Interior quality wise, it's not gonna be much better than your Civic, but not really worse either, the seats are much nicer. These cars are a blast to drive, the 4g63 is a very strong motor, never heard of them throwing rods under spirited driving. They're a reliable motor as long as you take care of them, and don't go TOO nuts modding them. VVT doesnt make a motor less reliable. Maintinence costs aren't too bad really. Timing belt service and brakes are really the most expensive items. Drivetrain fluids are fairly expensive.

You need to take into account that Evo IXs don't have cruise control. If that's something you don't think you can live without, you may want to be considered, though it can be added aftermarket. The BMW will obviously be a MUCH better daily driver, but isn't gonna be as fun. Also consider that the Evo will hold its resale value much better than the BMW will.

 

Everyone has their armchair theories on different cars, it makes me laugh. On a stock motor, you only have to start worrying about the bottom end when you make over 450whp. Yes, they are expensive to maintain. Being 22 and in college, the evo is not a smart choice. Being 22, you'll probably not listen anyway. No, they are no more difficult to work on than any other car.

The evo isn't a luxury car. They're basic seats and they do their job. Not sure what you're expecting?
I can't comment on this, maybe someone with the SSL package can help you out here.
~20mpg if you can stay out of the boost map. I think my record was 320 miles on one tank.
It's fairly harsh on the Bilsteins, not as much on the KYBs. It's a performance car, not a luxury car. Buy the BMW?
No. There are no reliability issues if the car is properly maintained. Have some faith in Mitsubishi engineers.
There is a wealth of knowledge on this site, take a bit of time to search for threads that might address your own concerns. For instance, are you worried about the six speed transmission issue with fourth gear in the Evo IX MR? Maybe you should search for that.

 

Best of luck with the BMW.

 

I lived in San Jose for many years. Since you live in the Bay Area, don't get the BMW. Every stop light has about 50 BMW's sitting there. Granted they are great cars, just way to common and boring out there.

Also consider how hard it will be trying to find your car in a parking lot. There will be hundreds of BMW's that will be the same as the one you buy. lol

 

Doesnt sound like the evo is the car you're looking for.

A evo thats new or in great condiciton is just tons of basic preventive maintenance but finding something like that is rare. The car will have its hassles its just that type of car. Theyre beat on a lot.

Get thw bmw is gonna be a much better bet for a reliable dd.

 

I've never heard that. Personally I've owned two Evos during the past six-and-a-half years. Maintenance isn't cheap, but it's not bad either, considering the performance. If you're just going to DD it and have fun on freeway on-ramps, it's not as if you're going to burn through wear-and-tear items that quickly either.

It's mostly the dashboard and HVAC controls that look cheap. Everything that you touch (steering wheels, pedal, shifter and seats) are definitely not cheap, and they feel a lot better than those same parts in other cars. I don't think I've ever sat in the backseat before (at least not while the car is movie), but I've fallen asleep on it on nights where I decided it would be a bad idea for me to get behind the wheel.

The standard factory one is okay, but apparently getting a new head unit really wakes the car up, since the speakers are pretty decent. I still have the factory stuff, as I've never really felt the need to upgrade. I just have an iPod/iPhone dock to play music through the FM radio signal.

Again, neither good nor bad. Considering the Evo is about 500 pounds heavier than the Civic with 89 more hp and over double the torque with two extra driving wheels and a lot of other stuff, count on taking a hit. My lifetime average in my current Evo is around 21.6 mpg, though on the freeway, I'll usually see something between 24-26 mpg, depending on how much traffic I hit or how much fun I decide to have. City will usually get me around 18-19 mpg. I've hit 30 mpg once (and it was among the most miserable drives ever since I was purposely going for 30, with the A/C off) and 29 mpg twice. After those three, I did 27.2 mpg as well, and that was when I didn't expect to since I was on the freeway going 75-80 mph with the A/C on with some traffic.

Ride quality is a little stiff but nothing unbearable, but not quite as good of a compromise as a BMW. Like someone else said, you can upgrade to more comfortable Bilstein shocks (which are standard on the Evo MR, though there is also another model of Bilsteins that are similar) when the time comes. But part of why the Evo seems so stiff is because the OEM tires and also the Z1s (which seem to be the tire of choice for the more hardcore drivers) have VERY stiff sidewalls that contribute to its steering response. I had Z1s for 25,000 miles and replaced them with Hankook V112s, and the car is noticeably more comfortable, though obviously I noticed the difference in turn-in response within a few seconds, but it's nothing terrible once you're used to it.

No problems there. Both of those on their own can often be very reliable, and the two together can also be reliable, especially if it's from the factory and maintained properly.

 

I came from the Honda world and got an Evo 8. I'll never go back, period. One of the reason's, are people like your friends who say Evo's throw rods under spirited driving. Really just sounds like something a Honda Fan Boy would say followed by the statement, "My 98 Coupe with a D16 SOHC pulls so hard after I put the wing on it!"

The loss of 30+ Gas Mileage (I've owned many B16 and GSR Swapped Civic's) to 23-24 MPG is a step back from what I was used too, but everytime I get in the car, the Evo reminds that a simple drive from A to B can be a blast.

Ride quality is exactly what you'd expect from a Race inspired car. You will have more road noise than your Si, but the steering in it is very qeerky, and my stock Suspension with 115K Miles on it does not bother me at all. Can't wait to put the Swift Springs on this weekend!

 

Get a bucket and search for a well maintained Evo......