Lancer Evo test drive:
 

Out of town my car salesperson friend says "go take the brand new 300HP Evo out for a while". Tell me what you think compared to your Rx8. Here's our impressions:

*He opens the door....CHEAP! I thought "Dodge Neon" (well, almost...my wife said that)

*Damn...the steering wheel is far away. I move the Recaro seat up and put the steering wheel down. Crap, the bottom seat cushion is slanted too far in the front. I feel hunched over. I'll adjust later I thought. Later I got out as I was not comfortable. I looked and couldn't find an adjustment other than the recline. There is NONE and this thing costs almost $40K! I never could get comfortable.

*Hmm, a bit on the loud side even at idle and low revs.

*Nervous ride quality though not punishing...tolerable.

*Got down some empty back roads...hit the gas...HOLY CRAP! Good Lord, when that Turbo kicks in your back needs circulation. Was in love with the power. LOVE! What about 4th and 5th gears? Damn, just floor it, wait a second or so and zoooooom....who needs to downshift? Nobody. Very impressed.

*Got back into town and tried some normal DD driving. HATE IT! No matter what you try it almost always lugs severely for a few seconds until boost comes on. It was not easy to make a semi-quick to quick start. Lug-city. I'm sure with practice there's a way around this. Meanwhile I see the Evo as a pain in the butt for city driving.

*Twisties? Corners? Damn the traction was sweet. The handling was a tad below Rx8 in my opinion. I did have to learn the trick to get the thing through corners fast. At first I hated it....you'd take the corner FAST and when safe, floor the pedal. Crap, 1.5 seconds before power goes. This sucks! Solution: Half way through the turn where you'd NOT hit the gas in the 8....hit the gas in the Evo. By the time the power hits you're exiting the turn and it rockets away. Very impressive with some practice.

Conclusion: The Evo is in fact a WILD RACING MACHINE. It will eat the Rx8 in every race...and by a long shot, especially at 60+. That's where it ends though. As an overall car one would have to live with...no thanks. We found our 8 superior overall, far nicer inside, smoother, quieter, easier to drive, more fun to drive (most of the time).

One last comment though....had I not owned the 8 already? I might and probably would have been sucked in by the incredible accelleration. What a charge. Car-wise though...no thanks for me.

What model wast it (RS, standard, or MR)?

Turbo lag is the nature of the beast, but it's not far different from the 8. You still have to be in the right gear if you want instant response. Off the line in an MR with the DSG is sluggish, but the standard 5 speed shouldn't have been an issue.

Cornering with AWD is just slow in, then power out after the apex. Exit speeds are where they shine because it's just grip and go.

i am test driving a lot of stuff. i wont' bore you all with details..but i have a semi reliable daily driver sedan. debated about adding a "sporty" car like RX8, s2000, boxster to the stable. OR dump sedan, pocket money, buy another newer / nicer sedan. i am leaning toward the latter - and getting a TL Type S. Nice daily driver, sort of sporty, lots of tech gadges...not as much fun in teh twistys as an 8.

anywya..I test drove teh Evo X. I hated it. I had ZERO interest in it once I left the dealer. I couldnt' stop thinking about the 8 after I left.

the EVO feels cheap, is loud, rides rough, and honestly did not blow me away in terms of performance. it had turbo lag and was not "FUN" to drive.

the 8 is 10 X the fun. period. and I'm not biased b/c I DON"T HAVE AN 8. i'm not just syaing that b/c i have one and am trying to justify my purchase.

i'm just a guy who likes car that are fun. the MOST fun car i've been in in a boxster. even MORE fun than the 8. but more money too.

RX8 vs EVO X. RX8 for sure. not as fast but way more fun.

Thats funny, I felt the opposite. I had an rx8, now I have an evo x. The 8 was a fun car, but the evo is the type of car that just blows you away when you think you've reached it limits. Come to find out your barely pushing the car. Exit speeds out of corners are just mind blowing. I actually feel like the X is similar to my rx8 in terms of it's positive attributes, only taken to the next level. Power delivery is smooth and linear,like the 8, yet pulls extremely stronger. I feel the handling is on par, yet the X can handle more speed through the corners. As far as luxury and amenities go, the 8 gets the nod. However, when buying and evo you don't expect it to shine in this area. It's never been what the cars about. No surprise here, if your expecting more, then you either A. don't belong in the car, or B. know nothing about its lineage. You want all out performance, get an evo or sti. You want a fun sports car that sacrifices some performance for comfort, get a z or an rx8. Thats how I look at it.

Evo X FTW!

I drove the 5-speed model. It was the top performance model. Don't remember the RS or MR trim.

There is no RS. There are two versions, GSR or MR. GSR has the 5speed and the MR has the 6spd Auto (DSG). Same engine in both versions. Make sure to ask if they reflashed the cars before you drove.