968PORSCHE

Damn, I was rooting for a GTI.

Good thing I wasn't drinking anything when I read your last post Mr. B. I would have sprayed it all over my nice new flat screen monitor! Milkshake. . . too funny.

MrBonus

I drove the GTI and it honestly didn't hold a candle to the 3. The 3 felt far more connected to the road and had far more power once you got into it.

I drove the Mini as well but every Cooper S they had was approaching or over $30,000 and as ridiculously fun to drive it was, I didn't want to spend near 3-series money for a hot hatch. To order one would have taken 6-8 weeks and I don't know if my truck would still have been running in two months.

Chris from Cali

Congrats on your new ride, Ian. Not much beats a hot hatch for a no-worries daily driver! Does it have all-seasons or are you changing to winters? That thing will be a handful in the white stuff with summer tires and cooking FWD.

MrBonus

Thanks, Chris. It has summer tires but I'll be switching to some Blizzaks soon.

eljeffo64

3rd the A3 - especially with the DSG box - loved mine, a real quality car .......

Quote:
Originally Posted by MrBonus
Considering this is a rather well traveled, international board, has anyone driven a Smart car? They're supposed to be coming to the states in 2008.

http://www.smartusa.com/

We've had one as a 3rd car for 7 years now - absolutely superb, goes like stink for a little thing and never misses a beat

Chris from Cali

Not to go too far OT, my wife loves the A3 (my former DD) that I gave her. Great car...

MrBonus

So as a further addendum to this thread, I traded the Mazdaspeed 3 in for a new Evo X last night. Best car decision I've ever made.

nkhalidi

Tell us more about what you think about the Evo. I haven't seen a new Evo X on the road yet; I didn't even know they were on the ground in the U.S.

Nine9Sixer

well, that's certainly "near 3-series money!"

MrBonus

I owned an Evo VIII before and it has the same character except it's more grown up. The car doesn't feel its weight. It actually feels lighter than the 997S and the active center differential with active yaw control is a work of art. It won't allow the car to understeer and will actually redistribute torque to rotate the rear end in an almost video game-esque fashion. I can't wait to get in some track time with it. It may be the best handling stock car I've ever owned.

As for the power, it has the typical turbo lag but the engine pulls hard from 3000 to 7000 RPMs. It's also a quiet operator.

The stock Recaros are tremendously supportive and the car, overall, has that Evo "charm" where everything serves some function (Except the dual tailpipes).

I love it.

nkhalidi

Interesting points. Thanks for the response. All the best for the new car!

Chris from Cali

Ian, as you know I had an Evo VIII that I loved, too... I am seriously shopping for an Evo X (I'm waiting for the MR). Where did you pick it up?

I am REALLY curious to know your impressions after you've got some miles on her. Feel free to PM (or post here) with updates. Awesome car!!!!!

MrBonus

Super Active Yaw Control is amazing. It makes you a hero. The steering feel of previous Evos is gone but so is the tacked together feel. The car feels extremely nimble and the steering is still lightning quick but it no longer has that immediate off center jerkiness of the previous Evos, which may sound like it's worse but it isn't because you can cruise at 50+ MPH without having to keep your hands planted on the steering wheel for hours on end. The engine is smoother and quieter than the 4G63 and long gone is the stuttering and sometimes irritatingly slow spool.

I am in love with the car. A good friend of mine who is currently shopping an RS4 drove it (He previously had an VIII RS) and now is more confused than ever. He loved the updated comfort and the fact that it's actually smooth when driving at highway speeds.

It still begs to be tossed around like the dirty little ***** of a car it is though (Which is why I've come to the conclusion that I can't NOT have an Evo in my life).

MrBonus

I guess I should list the negatives too. The heads-up display looks like it was ripped straight from an Audi (A good thing) but the rest of the dash and stereo are very low rent (Bad thing). Also, there is a noticeable gap between 4th and 5th that makes the car sometimes irritating at the 40-50 MPH range where 5th gear is too much and 4th leaves you cruising in the mid 3000 RPMs.

Otherwise, no complaints.

Chris from Cali

Thanks for the heads-up - I am seriously contemplating trading/selling the RS4 to get an Evo X MR and then go buy something wild (P-car, Aston, etc.) for the "weekend" car. Congratulations again - sounds like an impressive beast - post some more pics when you can. White or gray look the like the colors to get.