Hello all,

I am a 19 year old student at Ball State University in Indiana. I have been driving my parent's cars since I started driving and I am looking to buy my own car soon. I am looking for a car that gets good mileage but isn't a "ricer" but isn't stock. I really like the look of the Lancer. My fraternity brother had an OZ Rally Lancer and he really like it. Any thoughts about OZ Rally Edition? Like, Dislike, etc?

 

the only difference between the OZ and the other models is aesthetic. dont think you are getting an upgraded performance package or anything. i used to have one. it got me from point a to point b. ha, as for being "ricer", well, you can mod, but if you take a quick glance at most the lancers on this forum, they very easily become "ricer".

 

yeah im trying to stay away from the wannabe fast and the furious civic's that are all over campus

 

well, then I would say keep your lancer stock. Just about everything you do to these cars screams ricer. you wanna throw on some rims and some tint and what not then go ahead, but everyone with their ridiculous body kits and evo spoilers with loud exhausts that give them 2-3 hp... well, just kinda give the lancer a bad name.

 

stereo helps as well. I had an alpine 7" touchscreen in mine, back in the day when I had a lancer. the stock stereo wasn't fun at all.

 

In my opinion I feel the lancer is worth it. I have the OZ rally and no its not fast, but Im a college student on a budget as well. I got it so I can learn about tuning while having something fun that wasn't a civic. I wouldn't worry about ricer, any car can be a ricer, just mod and do things that YOU LIKE because really thats all that matters. I say if your looking for something quick, dont get this car, if you can afford it, get a newer model ralliart or check into evo viii, you can find them under 20k now, but if your "pinching pennies" and looking for something cheap to have fun with I say go for it! Its a reliable car!

 

Don't listen to the Evo owner talking about ricer this and that. His opinion is skewed. When I look at the show and shine most of what I see is nicely done, its just not what he wants to see.

But yeah, truth be told...its not fast unless you do "other" things to it. But on the plus, its very reliable, unique, and you have us to help with any problems.

 

How's Muncie man? Anywho the OZ is a good car. With people saying it's not fast at all... dont listen to them. It may not be an EVO but they do have quite a bit of pep. (5sp anyway, I have no idea about the autos). Mileage is great. My ES (like the OZ without the cosmetic extras) gets ~46 MPG. Insurance is cheaper then most other econobox's, and if you insure in Indiana, it'll be cheaper since most likely you'll find either a red or yellow OZ.

why did you bump this?

 

All in all, i just got my OZ Rally from a friend... has 109k miles on it but the motor is in fantastic condition. Needs a little brake work but its a step up from my old crappy ranger They look really clean to!

 

Yea I got it for the look. I get close to 40mpg and they can be a good starter car for tuning if you want to learn about cars and dont wanna take the typical honda civic route. I say go for it!

 

Thats pretty much what I am looking for. It's unique but isn't a "ricer" per say. Great mileage is a must as my primary residence is in New Castle, Indiana, my college and fraternity house residence is in Muncie and my girlfriend's house is in Ft. Wayne (about 100 miles to Ft. Wayne). I'm glad to hear they are good on insurance as i do have two speeding tickets =/ my other question is, what about the brakes? I have been hearing that the OZ does not have ABS, is this true?


P.S. Thank you for all of the help guys!

 

Any of your four cylinder cars are gonna be considered ricers to some people. It is just all about what you like.

 

No they do not have abs brakes. Honestly though I dont even notice, its pretty normal for me to pump the brakes if Im sliding around anyways now. At first I was worried about it because my past 2 cars had abs, but it wont bug you.

I wouldn't worry about it being a "ricer" either. Everyone will tell you it is if you put an exhaust on it, or paint certain things a certain way regardless of any car you get. A lot of the evo guys hate on the lancer guys for doing the whole body kit thing and a lot of other guys hate just because they have nothing else to do. Just look at it this way "if people aren't talking **** about your car, its not worth talking about" so rice up and have fun with it. Throw a huge body kit and spoiler on it and have fun with it. Its an excellent car though for what your looking for, its a good car to learn basic modding with, my g/f lives around 60 miles from me and my school and work are about 30 miles each so I feel your driving pain, and if I go to my g/f's twice a week and school and work every day I only have to fill up once a week.

So I say get it, get a little intake and exhaust, do some paint work, buy some bolt ons and enjoy the car. Just make sure you post pictures on here! 99% of us appreciate seeing your work, rice or not!

 

You honestly dont need ABS in the Lancer. In the winter you'll start to learn threshold braking. I will tell you this. If you get a manual it is somewhat hard to get going when there is snow on the ground. The automatics are much easier to get going, but that's the only advantage of auto.

 

HA ball state oh lordy

anyways, I really like the OZ rally ones, but as everyone has said, its just looks. But I do think they look really good compared to my ES :P
Get a OZ, get a good stereo, not some crap from wally mart, and maybe an exhaust and you will be good to go, much much better than the **** F&F civics. I know exactly what you mean by that too cause everyone around here gets the cheap wanna be fast car and buys cheap **** mods for them and a cheap *** system and tries to pimp around in a cheap hack job of a car.
I havent done anything but tint and a system to mine and I love it.