This is a duplicate post from theh thread titled 'Is it Evo time?'
It is a useful reference, for people considering an Evo/FD2 as a choice of car.
Well I went and drove it today..
It was a bit of a let down :?
The car itself was pretty much pristine, it is over-priced yes. The only fault I could find with it was that the carbon blade on the spoiler was a bit cloudy, also the tyres at the front were budget ones. Other than that it was a pretty tight car.
It went like **** off a shovel but then so did my VI and that was half the price, the turbo spooled up nicely and there were no knocks or dodgy noises coming from the suspension or diffs. The seats were very good and the engine note sounded awesome. - The MR's come with a HKS system as standard.
However..
The negatives.. The car had 1/4 tank of fuel left. I only drove for around 15-20 miles on a mixture of dual carriageways, bypass straights with roundabouts and some urban driving - When I pulled back in to the stealership the light had come on. Not good.
You need to have a telescope to see what speed you are doing and as it gets up to speed fairly easily you find yourself constantly trying to see what speed you are doing. I did not like the gearbox either, it seemed very notchy but I have heard the Evo 6 speed box is a bit naff anyway but then I am used to the honda six speed box which is a dream. Also the dash is pretty naff and basic, there were a few rattles inside which I could not pinpoint.
I found the suspension fairly stiff, it was similar to the FD2 in that respect. Handling was phenomenal as expected but then so was the FD2's, although I did not really push it that hard with the salesman in the passenger seat. Even though he owned a VI himself.
Overall and most importantly though I was not blown away, I did not get the same grin factor that I did when I got out of the FD2 recently. Deep down financially I am pleased about that.
I will not be buying another Evo, certainly for the time being anyway. My next car was narrowed down to an 8MR/9 or an FD2. I actually preferred my VI to the 8, it seemed a bit more like an 'Evo' should seem. :?
Here is another picture of the car for anyone that is interested.
I expect the 9 is similar to the 8MR so I have written a test drive in one of those off.
I think in the near future I will be sticking with slick gear changes, high revving N/A fun, oh and save around £5k+ a year at the same time on consumables/servicing and petrol. I have done the boost thing and I have got it out of my system.