NICE choice on the two. Im slvrevo9owner's brother and I was trying to decide on the EXACT same cars today, while i was thinking in the car. But in my case it would be next years VIII or the EVO 9 and those years Lightnings.

Anyway, both are great. Lightning- great power. EVO- great..... well theres a lot of great stuff. However when it all comes down to it, are you going to want a 2WD truck? If that doesnt bother you then take your pick car or truck depending on what kind of driving your going to be doing, or even the region you live in could play a part in your decision. Personally id take the EVO only because Ive ridden in one more than the Lightning, and the fact that I just cant see myself in a truck

Overall take your pick and either way youll still be smokin up enough ricer civics to die of smoke inhalation



My bad no im not slvrevo9's brother. slvrevo8owner.

 

FORD = Found on Road Dead
or Fix Or Repair Daily.

Go EVO

 

Am I the only person who doesn't think Ford is that unreliable? I would be willing to bet that the supercharged V8 will outlast the turbocharged inline 4, no offense, but Mitsu hasn't been known to be long-lasting. Plus, I don't consider SVT cars/trucks to be really in the same category as Ford, I'm a big fan of the Special Vehicle Team, they've done a great job on tuning Ford cars and trucks. But for me, it'd be an Evolution anyday.

 

What are the performance specs on the Lighting? Sounds like a cool truck.

Chris

 

Well, we bought a new Mercury Mountaineer in 1999 and everything that broke, Ford wouldn't cover under warranty. Obvious defect stuff we had to fight and argue. Their Customer Service is embarrassing and a disgrace. Paint peeling off the hood and rear hatch wasn't covered because of acid rain. Well, in Portland Oregon we don't have acid rain and our vehicle was always garaged. We are anti-Ford people now. We're not alone either. So I recommend buy anything you like as long as Ford isn't involved. This includes Jaguar, Mazda, Land Rover, Volvo, and whatever else. Go Evolution, WRX, Neon SRT-4, etc. Be safe.

 

If you even have to ask, get the Lightning.

 

Ford's service is as bad as I have ever experienced, and is worse than I thought bad service could be. I've only had two minor issues I had to take my ZX3 in for, but it is a total PITA their. and all my friends warned me from their experience. but sometimes you just have to hit your head against the wall to really find out that it does in fact hurt. But I have been very happy with the car. I flog it very hard every day, usually take it to 8+ track events a year and too many auto crosses to count between the local autocross group, BMW and Porsche clubs and SCCA. I'll probably hold on to it for another 10 years as a beater, since it's inexpensive to maintain, Ford resale value is non existant, and it gets good gas mileage. But with a Lightening maintenance may be higher, their may be a little better valuation, but I am doubtful, and for gas mileage, doubt that one too.

 

phillyevo was that sarcasm? lol or were u being serious???

 

I currently drive a 2001 Ligtning which i am trying to sell for an EVO. There are pros and cons to each vehicle:

EVO: Pros

1.Good MPG: There is no way in hell the EVOs MPG is anywhere near as low as as the L (i've experienced 8-10mpg or about 250miles per tank)

2. Newer design and styling, it's look is so ugly that it's beautiful (although I don't know if I would agree with the girls liking the Evo more, frankly most of the girls I know like guys with trucks. Infact when i showed my girlfriend a picture of the EVO VIII all she did was bag on how ugly and cheesy it looked)

3. more comfortable seats

4. you can fit more people in it.

5. Better handling

6. I assume since it is a FI engine it is fairly simple to mod

EVO:Cons

1. TURBO LAG (which can be remedied but it definatly isnt instantaneous like the boost from a supercharger)

2. back to the styling (can be easily confused, by the untrained eye, as crumby economy car)

3. interrior needs a little more flare. its kinda cheap

Lightning:Pros

1. it really is limited production therefore resale is not bad at all (I paid 32k out the door, and I have had many serious offers at around 27k after putting over 33,000 miles on it)

2. Instant boost from the SC

3. it has great styling.

4. Blower whine (extremely loud and cool)

5. Very fast straight outta the box (tuner Johnny Lightning took his directly from the dealership to the track and ran a 13.0 stock)

6. SERVICE. That's right! I said SERVICE! the only problem I ever had throughout the entire 2years and 33,000 miles of ownership was the clutchpacks going out (which was all my fault because i sprayed 120 shot of NO2) and Sunset ford in Westminster CA had my car fixed in 1 day! other than that the overall build quality is impecable.

7. don't count the lightning out in the handling department, although not quite as good as the evo, with the right set-up(roush suspension and QA1s) you are a very formidable opponent on the track.

8. very, very easy to mod. I only spent about $2500 only my lightning and ran a best quarter mile of 11.79 @112mph with NO2 and 12.6 @ 105 without it.

9. you can haul and tow stuff. And you can be the quickest one back from home depot!

10. the girls love it.

11. nicer interior (in my opinion)

12. forged engine internals

Lightning: cons

1.****ty sound system

2. the new f150s will be out at the end of august therefor making the lightning an outdated body style.

3. regardless of what anyone has heard the 500/500 new lightning body style will not be out until 05. I spoke with an SVT representative and she mentioned that if there was an 04 lightning that it would be the "classic" body style.

4. the new 03s sit way too high in the back (due to increased payload capacity)

5.stock tires wear down really quickly(you need to replace them basically every 15k miles)

6. VERY bad gas mileage (8-10mpg, 12 if you are lucky)

that being said, both of these cars are great and looking at your situation (going off to college) i'd say to get the EVO simply because of the gas mileage.

one thing i must say though. You cannot simply call the Lightning a "truck" or regular f150. its like calling the EVO a lancer. Sure they both share the same basic platform. but that is where all similarities end.

 

for all the info you ever wanted on the Ligtning go to www.f150online.com and visit the lightning forums

 

I traded an '02 Lightning for my Evo. The Lightning was massaged a bit to make 375 rwhp and 505 rw torque, and ran consistent 12.9's at 106mph in the 1/4. It was a tire frying, 'vette scaring beast. It also handled very well for a 4600 pound truck, with a skid pad better than a normal Mustang GT. Plus you had the world's largets trunk for your stuff.

I wanted something that handled well enough to win at solo II, and the Lightning modified runs in the same class as the Evo modified... ESP. Guess who wins? Lots of other reasons for the swap, including the fact that my Evo is now faster than the Lightning was, handles much better, and even gets a bit better gas mileage.