Well guys, after a great ride, and much fun, the Evo has been sold. It went to a member of the forums which I am glad for. I hope he enjoys it as much as I have. It never gave me any real problems other then a blown HID ballast. SO that was very minor. Over all, one of the best and most reliable cars I have owned and hope to have again at some point.

It was a Silver 03 VIII GSR. Had it from 24,000 miles three years ago to almost 60,000 miles last monday.

But, I had surgery, the fiance/girl has her own buisiness and gas is just sucking more and more. I needed something cheaper and with better MPG.

So, the new ride is a brand new, Mazda 3 GT, 5dr in white with the Bose/Moonroof pack. Other then missing a TON of power, and being a little more :"roll: happy in the body. It has a very nice ALMOST Evo like driving feel. The steering is real nice. Clutch is soft, but feels ok for the car. Power is very lacking compared to what I am used to. But, it gets almost 30mpg and runs on 87 octane. Plus my payments are $100 less a month, and insurance is around $300 less a year. Actually a little more.

So the old ride.

I will miss her, but I think she has a good home.





And now, the new ride. 08 Mazda 3 S GT 5dr Crystal White w/Bose/Moonroof and a few minor things. Paid $20,677 +Tax and Tags.

 

Too bad you had to part w/ your Evo. The 3 is a solid car.

 

Yeah, it stinks somewhat. But the new car is pretty sweet. Much better inside then the 03 Evo.

Black leather seating though the seats are not as nice fitting as the Recaros. Heated seats, 6way power drivers. Steering audio controls. In dash 6 disc changer w/mp3 and SAT ready. Trip comp, HIDs, rain sensing wipers? 7 Speaker Bose system that rocks pretty well. Lots of little cubbies for this and that stuff. Huge glove box. AUX input and two ports. Lots of other little nice things. Plus with the fold down rear seats, I can fit my climbing gear and other stuff easy. get a nice rack and the kayak goes on top in a hurry.

Goign to miss the AWD in the snow though, that's for sure.

But, with nice snow tires, and the traction & stability controls, + FWD it shoudln't be too bad.

PLus saving $2000+ a year in insurance+payments+gas is going to be nice.

 

Sucks that you had to give up the evo but the 3 is pretty sweet in its own way.

 

I'll tell ya one thing about the 3's. The steering is excellent, The first time I drove one I was really pleasantly surprised.

 

For a couple grand more you could have gotten a Mazdaspeed3.

 

I drove the speed 3 , very quick small car and its fairly cheap

 

Yes, but that's the thing. I needed to get OUT of the tuner thing for a bit. The MS3 is great, but I would have kept the Evo over the MS3 anyday. It would have been the same payments, the same insurance, the same gas, plus wanting to Mod. I needed something as a nice DD on the cheap.


So............. nice plain 3 GT hatch will work out well enough.

And I still have my old school Chevelle 68 SS 396 for the power fix when I need it. As long as I don't try to stop or turn that much I'll be fine. Plus it only gets 6mpg in town and 11 on the highway.

 

Put nitrous on it.

 

Well when I swtiched....I pay less in gas, cheaper insurance, BUT same payments.

 

That's too bad that you had to get rid of your EVO but hey its not the end of the world. New Mazda look great too. You are correct, gas prices these days do s**k!

Congrats on you new car.

 

I got about 30 mpg in my Evo. That is if I stay out of boost.

 

Sad day. Good luck with the 3. They r good cars

 

nice evo but that 3 hatch is tight as hell..id throw 2 12w7s in a 28htz tuned box and get to bumpin nice choice

 

Good choice, Mazda makes great cars. My last car was an '04 Rx-8 and I loved it. I test drove the Mazda 3 and was pretty impressed. It's a damn good car for the money.