The new lancer costs about 29,000 and you get a 4wd car with 271hp/6500rpm with a 4G63-type 2.0-liter in-line 4-cylinder DOHC intercooler-turbocharged engine. I know a new base priced WRX runs for 22 and with that extra 7 grand you could probably push 450+hp. Despite that, Ive been hearing alot of praises about the new Lancer......whats you opinon?

Also:

Whats the performance difference between the Boxer engine and the inline DOHC?

Whic out of the two has more potential?

 

Both have an enormous hp potential. However the WRX will need a 6spd STI M/T, brake, rear diff swap to take it up to the reliability levels and braking performance of the STI which is really the Evos competition.

 

Thats because of the unequal length design of the exhaust manifold on the Subaru. Put a aftermarket setup on your car thats equal length and the sound will go away. The Evos have had equal if not better reliability then the WRX outside of the US and lets face it neither of the cars will win any real beuty contest.

 

If you buy an EVO for $30,000 and a WRX for $22,000 plus $7,000 in mods, you will lose a ton of money when you decide to sell the WRX. When you mod a car, you can essentially count on throwing that money away when you decide to sell it. Enthusiasts usually like to modify their own cars. The EVO is a much better investment in this situation, and comes with a full warranty.

 

That's true in some cases, it just depends how and where you advertise your car. Local SCCA and import drag/show offs are great places to bring your modded car. Also, using quality, name-brand parts with professional installation appeals to potential buyers more than DIY setups with less known parts. Subaru's are growing in popularity, as well.

On the other hand, Mitsu. parts and tuners are plentiful and cheap. A lot less mechanics understand Subaru's enough to build them well. And warranties are wonderful things, unless the tranny on your WRX breaks and they deny your warranty. (Sons of B@#$)

 

Well, here goes my 2 cents...

One of my best friends just bought an EVO 8 today... we went to the Mitsu dealer just to see if we could scam a free test drive (both me and my bro got to test drive the car for about 40 miles total around San Diego), turns out my friend liked it so much he was able to talk the dealer into selling it to him for only $30k!! The dealer at first was trying to sell it for $34k ($5k mark-up), but with some pretty intense negotiations he was able to talk him down to MSRP plus tax and licensing... altogether $30k. Well to make a long story short, we test drove the snot out of an EVO.... and he bought it for just about sticker price!

....I'm a VERY proud owner of a 2002 WRX and it has given me nothing but joy... yes I have the clutch shudder, and yes my car has plenty of squeaks and rattles everywhere. It has its fair share of mechanical problems but has proven to be a great car. It's a little hard to find (knowledgeable) mechanics who can work on them, and aftermarket parts are quite expensive for it, but IMHO is a great platform to build upon (if you already own one). Make no mistake, I still I love my car to death. With almost no mods (all I have is an HKS Carbon-Ti cat-back), I am able to out-run most "performance oriented cars" from light to light, on the freeway, and on a 1/4 mile race track.

But while driving the EVO today, one thing was very apparent to me. Even if I was to dump $7k worth of engine enhancing mods and had it professionally tuned, it wouldn't come near to the overall performance that the EVO has to offer. I'm talking OVERALL performance... not just straight-line speed: handling, stability during high-speed antics, braking, firmness of ride...you know, the whole package (even those sweet Recaro seats). Yeah, I could stuff one of the numerous "stage (insert random # here)" turbo kits being offered by numerous tuners, but that for the most part only fixes the acceleration portion of having a fast car. Building up the suspension, braking attributes and overall build of the car (to include upgrading wheels and tires) becomes very arduous, not to mention down right EXPENSIVE to your average sport compact car enthusiast.

Now back to driving the EVO... basically everything you've heard about it in magazine articles, TV shows and even the crap the Mitsu dealership tells you is true. This car accelerates, handles and brakes spectacularly, just like the press it has been getting. Bottom line is, this thing ain't no watered down American version, when you buy an EVO, you're buying pure unadulterated Japan-spec performance. If you've ever driven a go-kart, that pretty much sums up how quick the steering is. Where you point it is where it will go. Hardly any body roll during hard cornering and it always feels firmly planted to the ground... even going over slight depressions and bumps in turns. I'd like to say it's the best handling car I have ever driven. 'Nuff said about that.

Back to the WRX vs EVO comparison: pitting my mostly stock WRX against it was futile. After my bro bought the car, we couldn't resist. He wanted to break it in nice and slow for it's first 1k miles, but a little provocation on my part, I got him to run against me (rolling starts, he didn't want to launch from a standing start) a few times... from stop light to stop light. Well, he still held back on me, shifting at only 5k RPM while I dam near took every gear to redline and I was only about a car length ahead of him by the time we hit 85mph. So much for that test... we'll try again after he cruises to his 1k mile mark. On the freeway was a different story. We basically kept pace with eachother at about 85mph then stabbed it in 4th, and he pretty much walked away from me (in a hurry I might add) after we hit about 95mph...

Well, I've rambled long enough... sorry it was so long. In the end, I sat around after I got home and pondered everything I would need to upgrade in my car to equal a factory EVO 8's performance: I came up with about $14k JUST in parts. I'm talking from bumper to bumper: Larger FMIC, HKS's new turbo kit, larger wheels and rubber, and a Brembo brake package just to name a FEW items. Mind you, this is my wish list, wish lists vary from driver to driver . If you haven't already made your decision from my little (ok..BIG) anecdote/opinion/statement... go buy the Lancer if you have over $30k to throw around. You might want to re-think buying a WRX then try to match it by buying huge amounts of parts to make it go faster. It just doesn't seem worth it. Or better yet, find a dealer selling an STI that's NOT marked up to $50k and buy IT!

-Sal

P.S.- These are just MY opinions... feel free to flame away!

 

There's less then $7K in price difference between the Evo and the WRX if you find a good dealership. Hell a Wisconsin dealer is selling at least 2 for $1,000 under MSRP. Besides even if you spend $8500 (according to the last post) to upgrade a car to Evo hp levels with the WRX then you might want to look at a 6spd conversion since the 5spd will just break at those levels which adds another $6K to the price and you still have the issue of the seating which is another $800 or so and then you have a price of $15,300 to get your $23,000 car to the same levels as a $28,000 car. However the steering rack in the Evo still has a better feeling to it which can't be helped with the WRX. So $38,300 to buy a WRX and modify it to the $28,000 Evo.