I'm driving a Legacy Turbo and 09 Outlander, and expect to buy the new 2010 X in a few months. By buddy already took t5he leap and he's done a few mods. Before this he had a Cayman and M3. We've both had the chance to drive a lot of nice cars.

Anyway...we were talking about the X and he made this outrageous statement: You know that the X is the best handling car for under 70K? Well...I wasn't too sure I was ready to agree. Surely there are tests where the X lost. Yet we were talking pure handling and while we liked the M3 and Lotus Elise, neither were as sharp as the Evo X. The one car (which we have NOT driven) we do expect to be as good is the GT-R, though a recent shootout proved the X was still more nimble. Of course a Cayman does about as well on the track, but drive one and it's dumb compared to the Evo. The M3 is a stunning combo that bests the Evo in every way EXCEPT pure handling. Of course...as I said in another thread, if you really need AWD then the list of competitors is very short indeed.

So there you have it....or am I missing something? The Evo X is the best handling AWD car for under 70K...or maybe 100K???

Call this my first true "fanboy" posting about a car I've yet to buy!


R.

 

defenietly up on the top in that class.

 

i dont think you can beat the evo in terms of price/performance....put a few mods in and its obvious why this car is a winner...

 

I have not had the chance to drive anything in a higher price range, but I would find it hard to believe anything other than a high-price supercar handles as well.

I also have not had the chance to drive a X (I own an VIII) but I am sure the refinements help put the VIII and IX to shame - it is, afterall, about Evolution...

 

the Elsie and the Cayman handles great too just as the STI etc.
There are many cars out there with good handling.

As far as i can see the STI and the EVo is like brothers . Yes you can argue 10th here or there and so, but the fact is they are very very similar in many ways. I personally think the RX8 handles great too but badly under powered. Same plague goes to the Miata and so.

The reason is the Evo stands out i think, because it is a bit of all.
Power - handling - practical - all weather /makes it all year around car/ so its a full package.

 

I didn't mean to say the Cayman's handling was DUMB...but rather NUMB.

As for the many cars that handle great, I've driven several...a new Vette and STI among them. Those cars simply don't have the feedback and agility of the X. The Elise had a lot of feedback, but I couldn't make it feel stable over anything but the smoothest sections of road

I know tests show these cars VERY close and the Evo even bests some so called "supercars" but the actual driving experience is what determines the handling qualities of a car. You truly have to wrestle with the M3 to make it corner hard like the X. And in the end you may even be faster than the X, but you STILL had to wrestle with the M3 and it's not as rewarding.

A Miata...you brought it up...is a PERFECT example. That's a car TOASTED by a ton of faster cars and yet it's handling remains nearly perfect. The RX8 may be one of the few cars I'd nearly rank side-by-side with the X, but no AWD hurts it.

As for the STI...I'm sorry to say that numbers aside, it's NOT in the same league as the Evo. I think people see the tests and the close numbers, but don't really understand how the STI has to be muscled out of corners and how unsettled the chassis gets. Subaru has a lot of work to do and they need to stop building cars that look like melted AMC Gremlins!

R.

 

^^^^

There are a lot of good handlers for around the price range or even lower, like RX-8, S2k, miata or even the 370z, but one thing they lack is the power that comes along with the great handling prowess. Sure the 370z pulls around the same G as the Evo, but I am sure upon driving them, the only similarity is the number.

 

If someone bothers to read car magazines or find car test on line you should find out that the 370Z pulls a few seconds on a Evo X at Willows springs which has been the standard track to test most of the cars in a road course. Additionally the 370Z already proven the high G lateral and braking so the answer is the Evo X is not alone at all, you have the regular Vette, the Cayman and other cars that put a good performance show.

Carlos

 

dont expect to see any 2010 Xs any time soon, i dont even think the 2009s are available (dealers still selling 08's)

 

"The best handling car for under 70k" is so subjective...

I'd say the Evo is definitely towards the top of the list, but between the top contenders it often times comes down to personal preference.

 

I would definitely say the m3 is up there, but would probably go with elise, maybe cayman

x is up there for sure though

 

a lot of guys talk like the evo x is the god of car handling thanks to its solid chassis and sayc/sawc, but here are the numbers quick and dirty

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/05/e...uba-lap-times/

Compared to an STI, or even older Evo models, where is the advantage that is kicking in? This is of course stock cars

 

Wow, you're using 1 track to judge the cars overall handling. Going by that logic, the 9's are slower than the STis of that year too... Track times don't necessarily correlate with handling capabilities of the car, since you know, tracks also contain long straights that require power. I own an X and I admit that in stock form, it's slower than the previous gen Evo because of its weight and the stock flash isn't going to help it much. Pull up the slalom tests, the G's, the data thats actually relevant to handling..like the chassis stiffness etc.

 

Motortrend does a yearly article that used to be called "The Best Handling Car" but this year was called the "Best Drivers Car". I believe that the Evo IX was featured in last year's comparison. It really did not do all that well, but some of the criteria is going to be very subjective. Please note that they did have some very objective data also. I have to say that my RX8, though underpowered, handles slightly better than the Evo. Of course, in a slippery situation, the Evo or STI would be the car to have. I have to say that the Evo had the best steering of all the cars I have owned and driven. But the suspension set up along with good steering in some other cars let them edge out the Evo. And don't forget, some cars get some extra handling ability from a little extra power. If you get in trouble with the Z06, sometimes you can get back in line with a little extra throttle. Unfortunately, I only did a short test drive in an Evo X so I can't give a good comparison with the latest version.
Yes, this is an Evo forum, but yes there are some other equally good handling cars out there for under 70K. It could boil down to driving style and driver preference.
My two cents,
James

http://www.motortrend.com/features/1...car/index.html

http://www.motortrend.com/features/p...car/index.html

 

Production car? If only requirement is 'street legal', then Elise, Superlight, Atom are way up there for under $70k and you don't have to go through grey market. Well, Elise also meets production car category.