MI_FamilyMan

For me the EVO looks too rice, and the 4-dr sedan makeup hurts it as well. Performance cannot be denied, however. I wonder how well these EVOs hold up in the long run. I was following one in my Ford a while ago, and there was nothing but black smoke coming out of his tailpipe as he accelerated.

It also seems like everyone coming on here debating RX-8 vs. X-car always claims that they are going to soup the thing up with some kind of turbo or other hp upgrade. I'm guessing at least 50% of these people are probably just fantasizing.

That said, it then depends on how much performance you want, and what style vehicle you want to be driving around in, because from an appearance standpoint, they are completely different cars.

I believe the RX-8 is a beautiful design that will stand the test of time and the EVO displays a lot of "what's hot now" styling, but as many have mentioned, it is quite subjective. I do believe 8 yrs. from now, fewer people will be interested in checking out your EVO as opposed to your 8.

Ike

The 4g63 in the Evo is proven and very reliable, they don't call it an Evo 8 because it sounds cool, it's the 8th incarnation of it and it has been in various parts of the world for years. I'm sure the black smoke was because it was modded and catless.

Shocka

ok here is a SOLID reason for not getting an evo.. i am not being biased.. i was in the same position Evo vs. RX8.. and i am glad i got the RX8. I currently own an Mitsubishi Galant.. so just hear me out.

Mitsubishi as a company has been doing HORRIBLY here in US for the past couple years. In NY they have closed alot of dealers and their sales are plunging. Check out the Evo boards, service has been a major issue. Alot of owners have heard "this is not covered"

on the other hand I must say MAzda is no Luxury company but their service has been resonable for an mainstream import company (Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi....)

I can attest because my Galant is still under warranty and its HELL getting things done, first there shops are less and less, since mistu is doing bad in the auto dept they are trying to charge for everything and its a struggle.

As for the Rx8 I can not complain about the service. Some have had problems and that will happen at any shop/dealer but i think for the most part us rx8 owners are settle with the warranty based serivce we have recieved

please note I am refering to issues that should be covered under warranty

timmyx1

HAHAHA i know how bad mitsu is doing financially i used to work at mistubishi corprate in cypress.... i was layed off due to financial cut backs so i know.

i know about the issues about the service ect. as i have been debaiting between the 2 for about a year.

right now i own an 03 protege 5, i used to own a 97 bmw 325i wich i had to trade in due to some tickets the insurance was killer so i traded and payed the rest off on this car. my insurance has gone down since and its time to get a sports car again.

grapes

There may not be an 06 evo9-If Mitsubishi doesen't get bailed out to the tune of hundreds of millions by their parent company, it could be all over.

bmcc49er

Looks are subjective and its just an 8 is correct but I have had nice cars before and never had people staring and making comments on a daily basis. This has been going on for 5 months now. And no, its not teenagers. Just yesterday a guy looked to be in his 50's pulled up while I was pumping gas and just sat there for a good minute looking and then finally started asking questions. Was he getting gas? No, he then drove off. People have actually approached me to sit in the driver's seat. Sorry, its an opinion but that just isn't going to happen in cars that aren't high end like it does the 8. People love the looks.

BlueEyes

I had similar experiences in an S2000 when they were fairly new on the street, an I have heard the same out of Z owners. They are all good looking cars, and worthy of all the looks they get and then some, they are sports cars after all.. I think the 8 was a well designed car, certainly more pleasing than an evo, but I can't imagine people look at it and become riddled with jealousy as another poster claimed. That was the main point I was trying to make with the "it's just an 8 comment". I give jealously laden stares to Ferrari's and Lamboghini's and the good Porsches, not rx8's, although I do look at them
either way you have a pretty car.

bmcc49er

I agree, i don't think they are looks of jealousy at all.

Steiner

I would take a used Evo 8 over a brand new '05 RX-8. It's simply a better performing vehicle. The RX-8 may have better lines in the eyes of many, but it won't keep up with the Evo on the twisties or in the straights. Do you want raw performance or not?

VikingDJ

That is a great point. I find it funny to see people criticize another car to justify why they got their car. Choosing either car has it's compromises. If raw performance is not your goal, then the EVO is not your car. However, I can't understand why people can't appreciate the EVO for what it is. It's built for the exact purpose you criticize it for. I'd like to see more people on here be able to break out of their bias love for rx8, and see other cars, who they were built for, and why they are special. That's my .02.

Hornet

I wish people would stop bad mouthing the design of the Evo! If people would research it more they would see the big wing is functional as well as the vent on the hood! The car is put together with purpose. The 8 while different also has parts that are with purpose but it is made to be more daily driver friendly! They are both great cars IMHO and if I could I would have both! I will say if speed and really aggressive handling are the thing someone wants right now, the Evo is it. If your goal is to cruise and just look pretty but not to blow the doors off everything else the 8 brings a lot to the table. I haven't seen any 1/4 mile numbers for the 8s with F/I but I know that the Evos will run 13s in stock form. Both great cars and I don't think a car enthusiast can go wrong with either!

BTW...I think the Evo looks good in an aggressive way while the 8 looks good in a more curvacious manner!

takahashi

Agree with Hornet. The design of the EVO is the ultimate is tuning term. It tends to stretch at bit to the limit and nothing really original and revolutional about their design. Aluminium roof and those wings - yes, but it is hardly new in the racing pt of view - it is new in production car that is all.

But I have to agree with some, I dropped out from getting an EVO 8 to get an RX-8. I am sure I will not get as many comments of having a sexy car from poeple on the street as an EVO - which people tends to associated you with the other hoons (driving riced up Lancers).

Only people who knows cars will admire an EVO. I do love an EVO VERY MUCH and don't I love to pull next to a riced up Lancer (in my EVO) and give him a sign to race .... LOL. That is a major fun to put those people down.

For a married man in his early 30s with a baby daughter - both car are practical and fun. Baby, IMOE, do not mind the stiffness and lack of road absorbance nor sounds of cars. EVO is comfortable enough, can hold bikes and slightly better boot space, better performance, and get jealous eyes from car lovers around the world.

I drive RX-8 for the sound, class and advance design of the car. It is more refine and yet it is more fun modding the car so far. If I brought the EVO 8 last year, I will have finished modding the car by now and thinking of selling it. Getting one by one mod and being frustrated and suprised at the same times, modding an RX-8 is an adventure, not just a pointing finger to a shopping list. Even japan admits RX-8 tuning is only in an infant stage. When a few turbo kit is fully developed and tested long time - then it is a much fun car as the FD. But yes, I don't see it will be up the class of the EVO. It will be the best luxury 4 seat sport car - which sits between a 350Z and a say STi or EVO. RX-8 is very unique.

timmyx1

very nicely put takahashi.

One of my biggest reasons to get the 06 evo 9 is that it will be the last run on the same platform as the current evos as well as the last time we will see the bullet proof motor 4g63 in the car itself. its some what of a collectors item. The end of a legacy...

I would love to get the rx8 as well like takahashi said the fun of modding a new car. but with that there can be more head aches as well. i know if i got the rx8 it would be looks over performance. but i wish to bring up the performance level on the 8 as close as i could to evo standards...

and if i get this new job im working very hard to get... i can have both!

Steiner

The Evo 9 will have a variation of the 4G63. I believe the call letters will be different. The MIVEC heads are enough to change that. The Evo 9 will be an interesting car. Supposedly the improvements to the heads and turbo will increase low end torque AND gas mileage. It's also rumored that the Evo 9 will have a near 50/50 weight distribution. It's hard to imagine how amazing the handling will be if that's the case since the current generation of Evo is front biased at about 60/40 and already outhandles 99% of its owners.

Have you seen the video of the prototype tearing up Nurburgring?

http://www.rbrally.com/Download/EVO9_Nurb.wmv

timmyx1

i already know about this the car tracks 4 secs faster than the current evo mr. but this will be the last run of this evo platform... the evo 10 is fugly. this will be the best evo to date... that is why my decision is so hard between the 2

Rotario

This RX-8 is my first Mazda in many years, but I had a '97 Mitsu 3000GT from 1997 - 2000. At 40,000 miles, the car sounded like it was about to fall apart -- rattles, squeaks, doors that "clanged" shut rather than "thumped," etc. etc. Now, I have no idea how the RX-8 will fare in a similar amount of time and miles, but let's just say that I was less than impressed with the overall quality of the Mitsu. It was a great looking car (subjective, I know), and was lots of fun to drive, but I had no faith at all that it would get me to 100k miles without some serious problems.

FWIW,
Bill

takahashi

That is the spirit

Agree with the prev poster. Build quality is unknown and worrisome in an evo9

salituro64

What do you prefer...A car that gets noticed when it's moving fast, or one that looks great moving fast, slow or just parked. The RX8 is a blend of performance w/great looks and the Evo has performance. It looks just like the STI which I also think is butt ugly.

BlueEyes

Correction, the evo has great perfomance and it's looks.

salituro64

Looks my a$$, that car is a box with an engine and there is nothing anyone can say that will change that. A cheap car with an expensive engine. They should put that engine and suspension on the Eclipse which has a slight chance of being a performer if they get rid of the FWD.

BlueEyes

It appeals to someone man, you don't have to like it.
The car also has just as much engineering as your 8, so it's not a cheap car with an expensive engine.

Oh, and either you changed your post or I somehow missed the entire end of a sentance because I read it as the evo has performance and it looks

jsh1120

Timmy,

You're an EVO guy if I ever saw one.

salituro64

I was editing the post and when finished, your response was there. The fact of the matter remains that the Evo was taken from the Lancer (the cheapest car Mitsubishi makes), they put in a beefy engine and modified the suspension, but the car is still a Lancer. The RX8 was designed to be the Rx8 it was not retrofitted from another model. Maybe it's my age, but the only people I see into the Evo or STI are teenagers and young adults.

I have a buddy with an STI and he is always talking about how fast it is and how he can beat this one and that one (because it's all he can say about the car). But when we are both in the parking lot at work, guess which one everyone is in awe about...The RX8. I don't want to get into a pissing match, but the original post asked a question so I gave my response.

RX8 over the Evo, STI, 350Z, Mustang…the list goes on and on and I don’t care which one is faster in the ¼ mile. When the time is right I will get a corvette, but until then in this price range there is nothing that compare in style, performance and ammenities to the RX8.

BlueEyes

Your entitled to your opinon.
It's funny you pick the corvette though, arguably the evo of the high end sports car world. I often hear Porsche owners making strikingly similar arguements about the vette as you make of the evo, you would probably dismiss those opinions as foolish though

Steiner

Hey salituro64...does the RX-8 belong to you or your father? I'd hate to think anybody that could afford an RX-8 and considers themself a car guy could be so close-minded and misinformed. I could write a short novel and it wouldn't be long enough to outline the history, engineering, and evolution of the Evo line. Remember that the Evo VIII is the 8th incarnation of the series. The Lancer platform is simply the current vessel for the Evo nameplate. Mitsubishi's replacement compact for the Lancer will likely fill the same role.

The Evo is a car built for driving purists. It's a niche market. On the other hand the RX-8 incorporates a better balance of performance, creature comforts, original styling and daily driveability.

BTW...If you get your rocks off from coworkers admiring your (father's) car then you should have saved your money and bought a BMW 3 series, not an RX-8. I buy cars for myself, not for others.