I decided to join some guys one afternoon as they headed to the Batangas Racing Circuit, here in the Philippines. When we got their, we noticed one thing. There were so much Evo 5s battling each other in a funrun. There were Evos 4 to 7, not a single 8. All they did was just to pay Php1500.00 and they can get their Evos on the track. I asked most of the guys whats with the Evo 5 RS and why they cant get rid of it for a 7 or 8. All of them said that its simply the most limited Evo with the best performance. So I just wanna get other opinions here (especially those who had driven other Evos). Well to me, I simply love the 5 because of its aggresive looks and fun factor. Here are some pictures of that funrun, and some snaps we had taken on our Evo trippings:

Note: all shots taken in the Philippines unless otherwise stated
















Evo 6 TME







For more pics, simply click ont he ff websites:
http://www.pbase.com/jcolayco/pics__1020_funrun

http://www.pbase.com/jcolayco/c_magazine_evo_story

http://www.pbase.com/jcolayco/vidcaps

 

When it comes to looks, its really up to opinion. I actually think the 6 TME is the best looking Evo but when it comes to performance, I dont think the 5 is the best. It's a proven fact that the Evo7/8 chassis is ridiculously stronger and stiffer than that of the 4/5/6. Best motoring even had a race between an evo2,5, 7 and a few imprezzas. The evo 5 did not beat the 7. Seeing as how ive never driven a five I couldnt give you a straight answer, but if you go to www.lancerregister.com, (its a european evo site where they do have and drive every evo) you'll see that the general consensus is the the Evo 7 and 8 are the best two evo up to this point performance wise. They seem to be partial to the 6 as far as looks go tho.

 

OH yeah, I placed an article here where we tested Evos 4 to 7. Just look for the title C! Magazine Evolution Test. Its somewhere in these forums. Well as for our update here, we had tested an Evo 7 and a Japan Evo 8 RS (the model being sold here). Results where spectacular though. We even tested a JDM Evo 8 MR against Bimmers and other Euro cars. Damn my scanner, I couldnt get all our articles here scanned but we featured the Japan Evo MR. It placed 3rd next to an M3 Cabriolet and a Porsche GT3. The MR is being sold for 3.3million in Philippine pesos whereas the Japan RS (its still got the spoiler except it runs on steel rims, LHD and AYC/ACD) sells for 2.4million Philippine pesos. I still love the 5 though... hahaha.

 

Well, to start with we have to compare apples to apples here and in this case we have to compare RS to RS. I will not take looks and appearance into account here as that’s totally “in the eye of the beholder” as it says.

As the word “Evolution” means gradual change and improvements during generations it generally would mean that the longer you go in the evolution chain the better things would be. This is true to a certain extent and I would be very surprised if a V RS would be faster on a track than a VI RS since it was the furthest step in the evolution of that specific body. Then came the VII which was built on a totally different body shell so even if it has a higher number it is to some extent back to zero in the evolution. It has a much stiffer body but it’s heavier and uses new features like the ACD. Then came the VIII and now the MR which in RS spec probably would be slightly faster than a VII on a track during similar conditions. All this will be turned upside down as soon as you start to modify your car in any way, just changing tyres would make it an unfair comparison.

So back to your question, it would be very interesting to know why they claim the V to be the best Evo ever? Is it faster? Better handling? Will it last longer in a endurance race? Lots of????? The VI has several improvements over the V, some more noticeable like the rear wing, some less noticeable like the different design of the fuel pump arrangement in the tank. The V or at least the VI could be faster than a VII but compared to a VIII or an MR they would most likely be beaten. Once again this would be under identical conditions, identical tyres and the same driver.

 

I just dont know how they were able to claim it. Prolly basing it on results in the circuit and track. Some said better handling. Some said the Evo 5 RS is faster in lap time than the 6. Remember, we did this on the track, therefore, driving skills counts here too. BTW, try reading the article i posted here "C! Magazine Evolution Test". We pitted the Lancer Evos 4 to 7.

Since ur in Europe, maybe you could have noticed the ff Evos:
Mines Evo 5
Evo 6 Extreme
Evo 7 FQ330
Evo 8 FQ330

If u got any articles that tested all four or at least two of them, pls tell me. Better if its in a site.

 

So i guess ud wanna get ur hands on this baby:







Davao City, Philippines

 

Ohh JEEBUS!!!

For those who don't know..

TME='s Tommi Makinen Edition.

A colleague of mine in London used to own this car. He said he loved it, but it had to go because he bought a Lotus Exige, which is now also gone. I love this car. Its just so damn beautiful. This car really shows Mitsu's Rally heritage. I sure do miss seeing Mitsubishi whooping some major **** in WRC. grrrrrr

 

Maybe we could add more spice to that. This car (below) is owned by my friend here in the Philippines:

 

All so sexy!

 

Nice pics

 

Well, I guess for us here in the US, the 8 has to be the best, 'cuz it's the only thing we've got

 

But believe me, most of us are extremely jealous! Those pics make me drool...

 

I'd post more...but the drool is screwing with my ability to type

 

I have driven both the 5 and 8.
In a few simple words the 8 cannot even compare to the 5 in performance. However a big advantage of the 8 is the chasis rigidity. And its more comfortable

But the 5 has more power, better handling etc. Its just raw.
I love the looks too.
Btw thats a nice TME and girl

 

To answer the intial question! YES!!!! the Evo 5 is just the best looking overall Evo made. It has the epitome of aggressive rally looks and style for the streets!

My opinion of course.

The Evo6 and TME are great also, but they became a bit more toned down leading to the Evo7's tame "looking like a regular lancer with a big wing" looks. The Evo 8 is the worst looking one, but I'd still get one, if I don't get a great deal for an STi. Dang.. some Filipinos have too much money.

hey, philippine_evos ... email or pm me your contact info, man. i need soem hook-ups on info and such back there. thanks!

raynold@gmail.com