Yur

Just wondering. What other cars have you tried before the Evo?

For me it took a little under 6 months to go from "i am getting a new car" to making the purchase. In the process i drove several cars that i thought fit my requirements. I wanted something fun, light, fast and practical enought to drive every day.

Here is what i thought of the cars i tested before picking up the Evo:

WRX STI - Very nice! A bit less agile vs the Evo, a bit less defined in it's purpose. Softer and more of a "one size fits all" kind of deal. Not as stressed as the Evo but still kinda cool and special feeling. Cool instrument panel. Good seats. Needs to be pushed hard to bring out the fun. One tenth too posh for what its supposed to be. Still very good and appealing if not as good looking as the Evo. The new corporate "nose" sure is ugly, i liked the previous one better. If there was no Evo, i think i probably would not have noticed it's flaws.

S2000 - Raw. Very fun to drive when you have time to fool around. Not practical at all. Scary when pushed in the wet. Egine sounds racy and when vtec hits it sounds like god ripping up the sky. While a blast on a sunny sunday drive, not a car i would want to drive every day. No rear seat - not fun for my son. Canvas top is not my thing. Still when the moment is right it shines like nothing else. I just dont think i'll have that many moments between my son, my wife and my work.

350Z - Great exterior styling. Not as pleasant on the inside. Car is trying to hard to "appear" as an enthusiast auto and somehow manages to pull it off until you start driving it. Push it a bit and it gets fat and heavy quickly. Steering felt numb. I walked away feeling that its a car for people who dont really want to drive but want to look like they do. Interior materials feel cheap. The Evo has a spartan interior with plastic abound but at least it does not pretend to be an upscale GT. Has potential but will need lots of mod work. Needs to go on a diet.

911 - Very comfortable in terms of the driving position and ergonomics. Great view and seating. Engine sounds very mechanical. Very seductive inside and out. Not practical at all. Feels a bit artificial at times, held down. Base 911 is a bit underpowered still very expensive. Did not feel worth the money compared to the other cars. Maybe in 10 more years when i neet a GT but at that point i think i'll go for an Aston.

Cayman - more lively vs the 911. More agile and youthful. Not that much power to start though. Looks like a dead chicken from above. Not practical. Entry level Porsche has "couldnt afford a 911?" stamped here and there. Something about it does not feel right. Good car but just not me.

Elise - Extreme! Brilliant! Very fun but makes the S2000 feel very practical. Great track car but feels wrong on the road. Not something i would drive for over 30 minutes. Not for every day use. Asks the big question "Wouldnt a bike be a better choice?". Not for me at least not until i need a dedicated track car. Maybe in another 5-10 years.

So in the end, the Evo came out as my number one choice. Great power, great handling, very tossable, easy to live with, very practical and yet edgy enough to be exciting. Great looks and great history. Comes directly from the Land of the Rising Sun. The price was right as well.

trueno429

i was considering buying a kia rio before i bought my evo

ntwaddel

iTrader: (2)

you should have got the kia

Rollin'stock

I settled for an Srt-4 before I got my evo thankfully I was able to get out of it without taking to much of a hit on the trade-in.

I ruined the mopar family of cars we had but my is a much better upgrade.

shadykilla717

I have a chevy cavalier as my first car. Then a civic ex and a civic si. Civic si Is a slow car till moded, then it gets the feel of it being fast. Well faster. I was gonna test drive a 350z but it was raining and didn't wanna bother. I was gonna test drive an STi. But felt insulted by the salesman trying to explain the STi to me and I knew more then him.. So I said F this. I went to mitsu and I'm gettin my evo wed )

spdracerut

iTrader: (2)

I was looking at the STI, S2k, 350z, G35 coupe and sedan.... I basically ruled out the S2k and 350z as they were impractical. Given the option, I would've loved to have th S2k (though I'm a Nissan guy, the 350Z is too heavy to be a serious car).

So it was really down to the STI, Evo and G35s. One of my buddies was selling his Evo... so that's basically how I ended up in the Evo. However, I do think the Evo is the best fit for me; The G35 definitely does not make for a great track car (unless you get rid of everything that makes it so nice), and the STI does not have the same performance edge to it that the Evo has. The modability of the Evo and the steering feel/handling edge puts it over the STI in my view. Sure, I wish the interior of the Evo was nicer, but oh well; that's the tradeoff for performance. Fortunately, the crapass stock stereo system can be upgraded easily...

Janimation

iTrader: (1)

well, I have had the 350z when it first came out, i liked it, had to give her up because loss of job. but the stylee of it was very cool, kinda inpractical for me.

eventually got a 04 sti, had lots of fun with that as well, modding got expensive for the not so great gains good car none the less

Decided to go for the IX, had it for 10 months now and love it! would not choose any of the previous cars before it.

Wazvette

iTrader: (5)

I traded my 2003 Ford Ligtning for the Evo...i loved the lightning for beeing very mod friendly (500$ and your in the mid 12s!!)...but I was tired of having no traction with any type of street tires on first and second gear. Slicks are fine for track but on the street this truck had too much torque to deal with in that platform...SO...awd was something to consider and I wanted something that is mod friendly also...I considered The STI and the EVO...after researching ALOT...I discovered that I have to spend more money on the Subaru to get it where I want it to be....The EVO won...I still think that I made the right choice....whats really WEEEEEEEEEIRD though...is that I tend to get bored with cars pretty quick ( Less than a year!!) I had the evo for way more than a year now and I still love to drive this car and I enjoy how responsive it is...I also like to teach people who dont know the car what its about ....Now what I hate about the looks is that it attracts very young people that like the big wing ( the looks is growing on me more now though)...Kids are just annoying...sometimes I feel like saying " PUNK... thats a rally car with a racing heart and history...its not your weekend ricer that you can insult by driving it and showing it to your stupid frieds saying you have a turbo in there" .........

evolution_racer

iTrader: (2)

I was taking hard look at the G35 Coupe. A buddy of mine has one that's nicely modded and hauls ***. One of the main things that set me on the Evo was the AWD. I had an Eclipse GSX at the time and I just couldn't give up the grip

I work for an autogroup with a Subaru dealership so I have a lot of time and experience around STi's. They are great performers but a little too generic in my opinion. I don't know about other regions but for every Evo I see here there are ten STi's.

Sinister Subaru

I went with the STi, but looked at the following. I looked at some closer than others, considering I needed either an AWD or FWD car for inclimate weather.

1. Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2. Subaru Impreza WRX
3. Volkswagen R32
4. Pontiac GTO (400 hp LS2)
5. Infiniti G35 Coupe
6. Dodge Charger Daytona R/T (in "Go Mango")
7. Chrysler 300C (Hemi)

Basically the G35, GTO, 300C, and Charger didn't have a chance, being RWD, but I figured I'd give'em a whirl anyway. The G35 was very nice but a bit too small inside, the GTO was quick but was too heavy and didn't handle real well, and the 300C and Charger are Chryslers.

I was left with the STi, WRX, Evo, and R32. At the time I got my STi I already had a 2002 Volkswagen GTI 1.8T, so I knew the ins/outs of the VW, and I had great luck with it. It was a very nice car, but the FWD crippled my intentions of what I had for the car. The R32 handled well but was just a bit too slow. The Evo felt a little bit twitchier than I prefer in a vehicle, and I didn't like the things I was hearing about Mitsubishi. For what I wanted to do to a standard WRX, it would've just been cheaper to go with the STi.

I went with the STi, and couldn't be happier. It's treated me very well and it's a lot of fun to drive. The only things I can really complain about as far as the car goes (price of mods not included) are the seats and the harsh ride. The Evo MR rides softer than the STi and handles better. The STi's ride is underdamped and oversprung.

mike127

iTrader: (19)

Thought about getting the new wingless STI, but glad I got the EVO.

mike

tony_b

iTrader: (31)

I didn't even look at or think of anything else. I've been into DSM's for a long time, so EVOLVING was what happened naturally.

jdmevo8313

b4 the evo I was looking at a 05 srt4, 05 sentra ser spec v, 2nd gen gsx but then just went with the better choice and got a 05 evo gsr.

d'shark

iTrader: (10)

I never looked at anything else either. I had 2 supras and a 02 F150. Always wanted an EVO and things came together in June '05, so in July I traded in the F150 (they gave me 2300 more than I owed on it, I had it for 3 years and it only had 24000+ miles on it) for the EVO. Now I drive the EVO only on the weekends. GOD I LOVE THIS CAR

RoadSpike

iTrader: (5)

Had a range of cars over my lifetime None has come even close to the thrill factor of the Evo.

1) Ford Ranger 1988 - Oh my god where do you start on the horror? Lemme just say wind + water is a whole NEW driving mastery with a light truck and bad tires. Snow... just don't even think about it... Never AGAIN!! Not even practical since it barely managed the 20mpg mark and hopefully , gods willing, got to 50mph too...

2) Chevy Camaro IROC z28 1985 - Nice looking car, i happen to like its more boxy look compared to the older and newer generations. It doesn NOT handle worth a damn, flooring the car is more likely to make it go sidways then forward. Practical? No..

3) Toyota T100 1994 - Great truck in all the sense of the word except for one small.. big problem. Gutless.. I mean like a tractor trailor climbing a 15% incline gutless. Not practical either since it averaged about 15mpg. I'm told new 3.4L motors fixed the power issue.

4) Mazda Protege 2002 - Awesome! Loved this car minus its seemingly horrible amount of power. It handled so well for a FWD car just astonishing. It has amazing nimbleness and stability. I've done 100+ ft controlled slides in this car in the wet and its been very easy to control. It was practical too got easily 25+mpg just wished it actually had power and was RWD...

If my mazda actually had RWD or AWD and say like another 50hp I probably would still be driving it. But thankfully salvation came my way in the form of a new job and a significant pay raise and i was able to get a car I've always considered one of the best you can find