Ok so I've been a part of this site now for about 3 years just waiting to buy the perfect evo. I've had alot of cars in the past consisting of 3 different modded srt-4 neons, low mileage corvette C5, impreza wrx limited. Now after just reading up on the x MR I feel mitsu is on to something great. I was able to test drive an 08 (in rain) unfortunately but I did and absolutely loved it from everything down to the seats were amazing. If anyone has ever test drove an m3 SMG I would say the sst is similiar to it but more responsive. I love the mr and just about everything about it and I need an auto so it seems mitsu came out with it just in time. I just don't believe paying 40g for one is worth it so I'm just waiting for the price to drop a bit more and I will be picking one up. My quesiton and I'm sure any other persons quesiton is how do YOU (owners of the MR) and also SST cars in general, like it?? Pros, Cons, because nothing is perfect. Yeah, yeah I've seen the magazine reviews and threads posted about this car and I seem to see more problems than "this car is great" threads which kinda makes the car look worse than I'm sure it is, but I wanna know good, bad, ugly. Just your thoughts on the car in general. This thread serves as a thread that any one wanting an MR or SST could look at and seriously think --ok that is a good point-- or --that's definitely a cool feature-- I'm sure this thread has been created before but I cannot find one and I've been following the "would you do it again" and it gives good information. I just want this thread to serve as a "review" thread that will allow all you sst drivers to to give all the info you want. Doesn't need to be a paragraph if you don't want it to be. Because one thing that articles lack is longevity of ownership and that's only something a daily driver of an sst could describe. So please if you have the time or would like to just submit your own personal review about the SST, MR, interior, exterior, motor, quickness, ect. please by all means submit any info. If you want pics are awesome also

I appreciate your time for reading this and thank you for any and all input. Maybe eventually a sticky for everyone to view or submit info.

Thanks again

 

08 MR. love it. sure it's not as quick off the line as the gsr or even a 370z, but take one corner and you'll forget everything. only issue so far is cabin rattling and thin paint...something not MR exclusive. SST is great during DD and awesome for spirited drives. i've never launched the car or autox so i can't say exactly how fast it is ***** to the wall. just recently got a cobb AP, running stage 1 93oct now. pulls alot harder in the low revs now and really is the way the evo should've felt off the dealership floor. it def. helped alleviate the sluggishness you feel from the car off the line.

i came from a manual car and don't miss it in the least. i drive mostly in auto with a dash of paddles when i feel like it. sometime i even shift up with the stick shifter and down with the left paddle. it seems to work out pretty well sometimes lol. SST can be frustrating from dead stops though. well documented that there is a delay from when you goose it from a stop till the car actually starts moving...making turning at intersections a sometimes delicate situation.

burns through gas like nothing. i moved up to 94octane gas and i have a 20min commute (all city) in the morning. spend like $160-200 in gas a month. insurance is prolly the worst. it's in the same league as M3s and porsches...cars costing twice as much. also did i mention the paint? lol. normal driving, even after i clearbra'd the probelm areas, i still get chips on the edge of the rear doors and multiple dings and scratches from idiots in the praking lot. even though i park a mile away. seems like the tiniest graze will scratch the paint.

pros:

corners like a champ
awesome seats
get compliments and stares often
fast enough (for me) with a cobb ap tune

cons:

cost of ownership (gas, service, inurance)
paint
interior rattles
cheap plastic interior..like really cheap. my $10K jetta had better plastics.
did i mention paint?

bought it May 2009. have roughly 20,000Km on it.

 

with a tune and some easy mods like exhaust and intake, the car is a blast!

 

That's hilarious I feel the same way. When I went to buy the MR I couldn't get over the fact that I thought it had an automatic transmission. I left came back the next day and decided to take it for a spin, and if it was good enough I'd buy it. Well as soon as I jumped out of the parking lot I fell in love. I don't miss the shift knob at all, and I feel like I can really concentrate on driving vice worrying about the clutch. The cons are the same; Paint sucks!, and gas is killing me!!!!!!, but I hope to tune it this weekend and that should help. I have found out that if I drive it like an old lady I can average 18-19mpg, and insurance for me isn't that bad as i thought. All in all, I wouldn't give it up for anything!!!!

 

I purchased mine as a daily driver. It's doing it's job perfectly. It looks great, pulls hard when passing and you can do it in Drive, Sport or S-Sport with automatic, paddles, or on the floor lever action.

I get so much out of this car. I always enjoy pinning it in corners and some of the looks and comments I receive. My other car is a 99 SS camaro with a 6 speed and the difference from going to the SST from a standard is like being on vacation. Shift in heavy DC traffic was killing my knees, and back. Now I can just putz along as I like and get into the boost when I need some thrust!

3.2k miles and still smiling.

I'm waiting on some parts to be delivered so I can pep it up a bit, not used to driving such a quiet car.

 

Oh btw... when I bought mine I got it for 25g not 40g. It does have 34000miles and its only two years old but it came with a full exhaust and intake plus navi and HID so I can't complain whatsoever. Theyre out there just gotta look for them. Good luck.

 

have an '10, and for the most part like it a lot for a daily. however, as a track toy, that's another story. biggest problem is that the trans overheats and the transmission will miss shifts after about 5-10 laps in auto modes on tight tracks, even with the fog lights removed. i diy'd a trans cooler baffle, which i'll post a thread of later, which helped a lot, but even then my trans missed shifts at laguna seca (no slow down warning though, which was good.) putting in manual mode and shifting only as needed did the trick the best.

so, if this is gonna be a serious track car, be ready to shell out big $$$ for the SSP mods, fluid, and labor. if just doing trackdays here and there, you might be content with short shifting, and shifting minimally.

 

Good reviews everyone, I appreciate your input!


just thought I would throw in an update. Purchased an 08 mr stock from another member on here and so far I love it. Already have mods planned for spring time as well. I won't be tracking it and I do daily the car so it seems like I have chosen the perfect vehicle.

Also unlike a typical auto even though it shifts on its own I have noticed that it still shares traits of a manual to remind you that they still are clutches in it. Like downshifting, going from 1st and it shifts different from a conventional auto (Faster, and at different RPM's) Which I love.

All in all I think it was a good purchase.

the only thing I miss is the ocasional ability to push in the clutch and be in neutral coming to a stop or going through gears (up/down shift). That's really the only thing that I don't like. Everything else I think is great.

I have noticed some little rattling in the cabin also sometime that can be super annoying.

I also paid 26 for my evo which is why I didn't pass this deal up. it had 32,000 miles and I knew the first owner so I was happy to give it a home

 

I love my MR. That being said, I can't wait to convert it to a manual.

 

i LOVED my mr BUT i missed having a clutch after about 2 months of owning it. if you like driving a manual trans then get a gsr, also greater HP #s are harder to make when tuning through an sst trans, so if you want BIG power and dont have a BIG wallet then go with a GSR. with that being said other then simply getting "tired" of the sst trans theres not one bad thing i can say about the mr model.

my MR was totalled 2 months ago and am actually very glad it was, as i will be getting a gsr come spring.

 

lol I see... Honestly the gsr although it's the same model doesn't appeal to me at all. I don't know why I like the MR more than the GSR but if I wanted a manual I would get into a CT9A and call it a day because as far as evo's I like the VIII and IX's more. Specially the GG evo 8 and 9.

 

I love my X MR, it though is definately not my former VIII, loved the smaller more nimble handling and the power I had in it ( modded of course) and do miss shifting, but don't miss it in traffice. My X though is much more comfortable to drive and more space. I don't regret my purchase either. the first couple of times driving the MR I kept reaching for the stick when I would decel cause of the way that the car decels, it is still fast and very nimble even though it is a bigger car. and another big factor for me was my wife being able to drive it, being that I am looking to get back in the military so if I am gone she needs to be able to take it for a spin or move it or what not.

 

I love my MR, but I'm not entirely comfortable in the car so I think I'm going to post it up for sale. Sometimes being 6'4 and over 200lbs is a disadvantage. If the seats were a little wider and the steering wheel telescoped it would be much more comfy.

 

you know, you could get aftermarket seats that are wider, and rails that are lower. aftermarket rails alone would drop you a few inches. some seats would also lower you further.

 

Sounds pretty pricey. I sit pretty low as it is in the MR compared to my wrx. I can see wanting wider seats though cause I'm a 32 waist and it fits me perfectly.