I have had a heavily modified 450HP Mitsubishi 3000 GT AWD Turbo since 1994 and have thrashed it every one of its 134,000 miles.
I picked up a brand new EVO IX MR in '06, wound the wick up to 420 HP and have wrung its neck also for 87,000 miles.
Both cars have been utterly reliable and absolutely brilliant in all conditions and on track.
After spending almost 20 years driving high HP AWD cars hard, I don't think I would be safe in a 2WD car anymore
i think it's important you mention this as most people have no idea how robust the evo platform is. i daily drove a highly prepared street car that passed modified ZO6s not only in the corners but also on the straightaway where there was no skill, only power involved.
track activites: bounce off of the limiter regularly, boil the brake fluid, on track temps of 120, annihilating pure race cars with my AC on max, on dot legal r-comps (great all around tires, but not nearly as good as the michelin blues + aerodynamics packages others were using).
track work + commute to work, at one point i was on pace to hit 35,000 miles annually on that car. that said, didn't have to do anything other than consumables - oil, brakes, tires.
of course, when using expensive consumables at an obscene pace, i learned how to do the majority of my work on my own. including data logging (engine paramaters, AFR data), interpretation of data leading to learning how to do actual tuning (including alternate fuels), and a seperate system to log and analyze telemetry. that's when you really learn just how simple it is to work on an evo (vs the stupid flat boxer motor, with twice the components, smaller access areas, and an intercooler mounted at the hottest point in the engine bay), and how idiot proof the engineers at mitsubishi made the drivetrain (it's incredible: the car comes rich from the factory, and an aftermarket intake and exhaust set the AFRs almost exactly right - evidence that they knew exactly who would buy this car and what they would do first) and how effective it is when you start to look at even simple 0-60, 1/4 and trap speeds, and continuous and maximum transient g loading.
Ha then they were not trying hard enough or they were in the wrong AWD car.
There is a reason that the SCCA banned Audi AWD's and Mitsubishi Eclips AWD's from racing back in the late 80's and 90's - they absolutely spanked all the far more expensive 911's and GT1 specials. The 911 owners all all of the SCCA's GT1 Class objected, so AWD's were banned for 20 years.
The whole point of high performance AWD cars is that they have unbelievable dynamics at the limit. Mitsubishi's EVO IX FQ 420 petty much set the benchmark for real world road and track performance when it was put up against pretty much everything else, over and over again.
The feature that really stands out was that any test driver could get consistent 10/10th lap times out of the EVO because it was so forgiving at the limit, whereas only one or two test drivers could get the best out of 911's, Corvettes and equivalent 2WD cars.
it always struck me that reviewers would talk about all the tech in the evo. electronic yaw control, electronic center diff, etc. when people talk too much about that, i know they don't have much time in the evo at high speed or really dynamic scenarios. that's when the systems really show how refined, effective, and complimentary they are. these aren't lunky MB traction controls, with slow actuation and even slower recovery.
the only other car that i have found to be as intuitive to drive is the E30 M3. which is, in my opinion, the only M3 that matters. and yes, i had one of those too, with the track time and mountain time to speak from experience. that is the only other sports car i would consider at the moment, but i dont have the garage space for it.
But why? You had it correct the first time; the Cobalt SS is better stock than both those cars AND FWD...unless you must have AWD. Here's my experience at the track with AWD: the guys in the Subi's and Evo's spun more than anything out there, unless it was raining...and then they would merely depart the track. I'm not blaming the car, but I AM blaming the apparent lack of grip due to these AWD jockey's not understanding weight shift and contact patch when they turned in early and matted the throttle, expecting the AWD system to fix ALL of their errors. AWD is also more wear on tires, drivetrain, fuel economy, etc...but it IS nice in the snow/ slick.
A good Cobalt SS can be had for about $12K. $12K and you get a hell of a lot of car. Then go get a Subaru Outback wagon for $10K and use that for ski trips...IMO of course.
the thing about good drivers is they are good especially when the conditions are bad. when the conditions are good, and someone does weak shit, that's a personal failing.
that said, awd systems are insensitive to environmental conditions relative to a fwr or rwd setup. this can help compensate for people that don't like rain or snow. personally, i relish those conditions. rainy winter days are among my favorite training conditions on the supermoto. but in exactly 0 conditions are a fwd dynamically superior to the other two. but, fwd can be very fun to drive nonetheless. if fwd gives you a secure feeling and lets you drive more confidently, and ultimately have more fun, then go for it. but i wouldn't minimize just how much more fun rwd or awd is over fwd.
Owners of Evo's are the WORST in terms of taking care of the things...the ones I see at auction are beat to shit under the wheel wells. Without a doubt, one of the worst owners cars, IME. Cobalts are actually well cared for (most) as they're Chevy brand loyalists who own and wax the shit of these things...but that's a pretty general statement. There are those who beat on the things...
BTW, 16-23 years olds are not the ones who beat on their cars. It's not limited to age...it's really unlimited and you never know who's beat on what till you own it. Sucks...
Boring...yeah, nothing ground shaking. But they own at the track and with a few mods, REALLY own at the track...for cheap.
generally speaking, this is very true for evos. people run them hard. they invite you to. i've said several times that the evo is incredibly robust. but as with any sports car, buyer beware.
I totally disagree with that. I owned an evo and im 21 and my insurance was around 150 a month for full coverage
do you have any real adults on your policy in addition or are you the only one? once we added my father in law to our policy, we got like a 40% discount. free pro-tip for those of you out there with cars in the expensive insurance bracket.
Lol how this thread has seemed to take a turn for 'who has the bigger penis'. Can't a girl just like how her little Scooby handles and wants to know what else might be out there that has moar power and excellent handling?
well, i'm running out of suggestions at this point.
-i read a bit more the last few days about the raliart, and the reviews suggested that the lancer ralliart sportback is actually dynamically sharper than the wrx, with a little less cargo room. but that might not be the case against the latest generation of wrx.
-wrx, focus st, MS3 are good contenders, but awd eliminates the last two. which circles back to the ralliart sportback.
-the SUV/CUV segment might be interesting to you. i rather like the outlander for its combination of a class leading (for my taste) awd system that is pretty dang fun in light duty off roading and pretty nice on-raod, with a tailgate, 7 seats, and a smaller footprint than lets say a pickup truck. the engine choices are below average for the segment, especially vs the latest crop of SUVs (nvh is bleh, mpg is below average, low on power) but, again, i was oddly excited when i was OFOing in the dirt in the outlander gt.
-another thought would be a suby forester with the turbo'd motor. a bit of gound clearance, awd, cargo, etc. amazing that no one had suggested that yet. should also be acceptable insurance. just understand that everyone will assume you're a lesbian.
