ImportUpgrade - Find a dealer that will let you drive one. Period.

I was able to arrange a test-drive from a dealership other than the one I had my car ordered through (they wanted to sell me a car someone had backed out on). I almost went home with it. The only reason I held off was because I wanted the sunroof and their car didn't have it.

I've owned quite a few performance cars, but the Evo is a completely different beast

 

Well, I waited for over two years for the RX8, putting off my new car purchase (which is a good thing....read on!). Anyway, I love high reving, "low torque" cars that are light, nimble and handle great (i.e. ITR, S2000, etc.).

Unfortunately, the RX8 suffers from WAY too many compromises and an engine that flopped in its first year. I've racked up over 800 posts on the RX8forum (RX8Club) and the problems with this car make the clutch and paint issues with the EVO look nonexistent! I wrote a detailed review after my test drive of the RX8 in the Other Cars forum a few months back if you want to see the details of my critique.

Anyway, the EVO is a much more serious drivers car that is more on par with a 3rd Generation RX7 rather than the RX8. Yes, it IS really that good. Forget about RWD vs. AWD, etc as IMHO the tune is much more important (unless you are really good with tweaking suspensions) and this car's handling is so confidence inspiring that the car really should be illegal!

The main components of this car (engine, transmission) have basically been around for 10 years and are solid (with abuse exceptions for the drivetrain- specifically the clutch, which is normally more at risk in an AWD car) and should be fine for daily driving. A turbo timer may be a necessary addition, if you can't wait for a minute or two after driving to let the car cool down. However, this car should be much more reliable than this year's RX8 and will even get better gas mileage too!

 

yes I do agree its a serious drivers car, I am a serious driver, however I would use the Evo as a track car, cuz I can't be racing in crappy Southern Californian traffic. I am not used to AWD and no little about it, thats why I am a little weary. The Evolution I understand can produce serious power, but tweaking the turbo boost and upgrading the internals, etc. etc. the car becomes less reliable. I would rather use it for racing on the track because its a track bred car, not to say its not on par for street use. I borrowed my friends MR2 Turbo and man I was hell with his turbo. That car is nothing but problems due to his turbo and I just do not have the patience, tolerance, or time to have a FI car crap out on me with problems up the ***. I haven't had too many problems with my RX8, but for $33000 I thought the RX8 was a better package for what I paid.

 

If you're not happy with the RX-8, stay with a NA car & have RWD then I say get the Z. That was one of my choices

 

The 4G63 is one of the most reliable engines in the world. You will be hard pressed to find one more rock solid than the one in the Evo. Simple bolt ons and boost control will not affect the reliability of these awesome engines. I am not trying to bash on rotary engines (they're a great concept), but they have had their fair share of reliability problems...

If you don't want to go FI, then maybe the Z would be a good choice. The RX-8 hasn't been around nearly long enough to determine the reliability of the Renesis (long term effects, anyway).

As for AWD/RWD, once you go AWD you'll be hard pressed to give it up, especially in daily driving. It's just that fun!

 

I don't know how you could've kept up with an EVO (even a stk EVO). I have beaten 2 RX-8s recently with my Z (stk EVOs trap about the same as a stk 350Z). It was not even a challenge (put about 2 cars on them easily from a roll) and my Z was completely stk, and I had a passenger. The RX-8 is very slow. I mean we're talking ~210-215 hp for a manual RX8. The EVO driver was probably playing with you.

Anyways, I love the look of my Z and the RX8 looks nice, but I'd rather sacrifice the looks a bit for a car that has more bang for the buck in the power dept and prob handles better than my Z. Can't wait to get an EVO.

 

ImportUpgrade - My car has about 16k on it and purs like a kitten. No clutch or other problems I've seen posted on here. It's started and run reliably since new and sees almost daily use. It did great the week I put about 2K on it while traveling on vacation. The car has been solid.

Like any car, if you start to mod it reliability may decrease, and little "issues" may appear; that's just part of the game. I haven't had any issues with the changes I've made, but I recognize and accept the potential costs of those changes.

My car has also seen a fair bit of spirited driving - I won't elaborate more as I've already had one call from a rep about potential warranty coverage issues. If they catch you on the track, your warranty is toast; they do have a database - I've been told about it. I don't believe they go to events just to bust people, but I do know that some reps attend track days as drivers; even with non-mitsubishi hardware. While there they may just snap a pic of your car.

Even given the issues that might come up with my warranty, the car is great. It is amazing to drive; I've owned it for over 6 months and still smile every time I turn the key. The car will be easy for you to drive at speed, and it will let you learn without biting you. Just have some respect for the speeds you'll be carying; it's easy to go fast.

 

I almost went for the rx-8, but after a test drive on the evo I never looked back. The problems on the evo are nothing compare to what the 8 have... Clutch, speedo a bit hard to see I thought I was going 60 but when I double check I was going 80, small gas tank... I think dats all.

 

if you take a rx8 over a evo , sti , or even 350z i hope your on something. the only reason i could see taking a rx8 over a 350 is seating. still , i think sti & evo dominate 350z & rx8 , especially stock , the only downfall i see to a sti is the newer engine , therfor the evo wins over all ( plus the evo handling is better! )

 

Well...look at it this way:

If you drive up to the Mitsu dealer in your RX-8, they will know you are a serious buyer (regardless of what rep the RX-8 has). Take it for a test drive and see what you think. Make sure however that you go in with eyes wide open...the Evo is a monster of a car, but it does have flaws.

The Interior is very econo except the seats and steering wheel, the car squeeks a lot when its cold (due to the stiff suspension). It is very noisey...definately not a 'refined' sound. Paint is generally accepted as crap (so is the carpet too btw).

The EVO's strength is the engine and handling. This is going to be one of the standards that all US tuners benchmark their shops on. The aftermarket industry is getting very very large for Evos now...and it has a lot of street cred. You can drop some extra money on the car and gain way over 150 extra horses...this is no joke. Its a great platform for better things.

But being a platform car (which is what I consider the car), be prepared to spend some extra money on upgrades and maintenance.

Just my opinion. I have had the Evo since April...and to be very honest, I do not have one regret.

Good luck

 

yes i agree with the above post , if you drive in with a rx8 of course there going to take you seriously , both cars cost around the same amount! so why wouldn't they ?

i also agree that the evo is a great platform car and has much potential , i also think that most evo owners do upgrade things on it , and someone who buys an evo should too .

 

Importupgrade...Dude get the EVO, you wont regret it. I just got my EVO a few days ago and I love it. I think your making a bigger deal out of the AWD than you need to (not flaming) This is the first AWD car I have owned and I cant even really tell its AWD except for the better grip I got to drive it in the rain today, I can tell you this. My S2000 is almost scary to drive on the freeway in a downpour and I know the RX8 feels alot like the S2K with the EVO not once did the back end start to go out like RWD cars, I was very impressed.

I drove alot of cars before buying the EVO and the RX8 was one of them, its felt nice and tight, but felt underpowered to me definitely felt slower than our S2K at the time. I know I dont have the seat time that some of tehse guys do but at 450 miles I still smile everytime the turbo starts to spool (even though its not much since im breaking it in) Good Luck with whatever you choose but I know you woudnt regret getting an EVO.

 

i too have been testing the same market as you all, and so far my conclusion has been that the evo is the most fun overall - it has the most potential due to the 4g63, it handles marvelously, and it is the second best looking, yeilding to the 350z. IMO.
I was pretty impressed with the rx8, but the power thing got to me too - i want my next car to be a performer, and constant retractions from mazda have whittled the 8's hp numbers damn near a lawnmower.
I was very dissapointed with the 350z - first off the interior was terrible, for almost 40k i was hoping for an interior that didn't scream "fischer-price", next the road manners weren't what i was looking for, i know it's fast, but it felt very numb - i thrive off of road/car feedback, and the z just felt like a luxury car- plainly put, it was just not fun to drive
I was going to test the STI, but i'm thinking it wont be as good as the evo - here are some thoughts- the US is the only country to get the EJ25 engine - the 2.5 liter that subaru had to make to compete with the evo - if there is no market in japan for this engine, would'nt there be a good chance for a lack of performance parts? please correct me if im wrong or throw in your $0.02.

Overall I think the evo is the way to go - great value, potential, and fun. - Not the BMW everyone drives in your towns.

-teddy

 

RWD to AWD is a fairly easy conversion. It's a lot easier than going from AWD to RWD. AWD is very forgiving of newbie mistakes and the only thing you will have to complain about is it will be tough to learn how to get the car to turn.

 

Dude...just get the Evo...trust me on this one...