FAQ for living with the Evo X MR

[JaCe]

Oz suggested that I start livening up this forum and hopefully attract a few more peeps across, so I thought I'd start off with a simple Q&A. If anyone has any questions at all about the Evo then post 'em here and I'll do my best to answer them. Try to avoid technical stuff because I'm not an expert/knowledgeable in this field and would need some serious Googling to find the answers anyway.

[Superintendent Chalmers]

The first question on everyone's mind.......Would you like to swap it for my car????

[tadz0rz]

YES. Ill swap you an ES for the EVO. Very important question.

Im actually curious about, did it have any teething problems? My ES had the problem that the drivers door didnt close properly. What about you?

[JaCe]

The first question on everyone's mind.......Would you like to swap it for my car????

No. And you are about the 7th or 8th person who's asked me that FYI

YES. Ill swap you an ES for the EVO. Very important question.

Im actually curious about, did it have any teething problems? My ES had the problem that the drivers door didnt close properly. What about you?

There are two categories of problems with any car IMO- design problems and build problems. The first is really a flaw which is an issue with the car, whereas the second is when you're unlucky and something went wrong between when they designed the car and you drove home in your new car.

Design problems (some will be common to normal Lancers)
- SST's reversing beep which cannot be disabled
- SST's stupid way of changing modes (why have an up/down toggle switch to select between 2 modes primarily, and then holding 'up' for 3 secs to enable super sport? Seems so pointless and poorly designed)
- lack of storage spots for wallet, phone, keys, etc...
- cheap plastics used in the boot to cover battery, fluids, etc... and the sub which is muffled (rockford sub)
- the "INFO" button tries to do too much
- lack of easy to reach central locking button on console/drivers door armrest as opposed to the actual door lock next to the handle
- having to press "AGREE" everytime i turn on the car and look at the MMCS screen
- MMCS GPS is awesome but requires you to read the manual since buttons aren't labelled
- MMCS GPS woman's voice is a bit slow and soft even with max volume; and when music is playing, it is really cool how it reduces volume and the diretions are announced in the driver's speaker, but the moment it finishes announcement, it goes back to the music very very quickly and sometimes you can miss the end of the instruction
- MMCS phone book is crap/difficult to transfer contacts and not fast
- MMCS phone has way too many confirmation requests when calling

... I think most of the above are actually not Evo specific but SST and MMCS specific so it probably also applies equally to RA drivers and anyone who spec'd the MMCS. That being said I still think SST and MMCS are great, but they are just some of the things I don't like about them. Definitely still prefer to have them than not.

Build problems
The only build issue which I thought I had was the bonnet latch wasn't working and I thought I had a lemon (there was a recall of boot latches last year on Evo X's). Turns out though it's because the Evo hood is so light (aluminium) that alot of the time people don't close it properly and the latch doesn't hook in. Dealer told me I need someone to push down on the centre of the hood simultaneously whilst I pull on the release lever in the cabin and that would fix the problem. And it did.

[tadz0rz]

You have a very extensive list there, and i agree with the MMCS, although i dont have it, ive heard so many people having problems with it

thanks man

[Superintendent Chalmers]

Jace, the Ralliarts SST gear ratio is different to the Evo's, In the RA it changes to 6th by the time you hit 60km/hr. At that speed, does the Evo change down to 6th or stay in 4th or 5th??

Question 2: Have you actually used the super sport mode driving anywhere other than a track? I use the sport mode minimally (I'd rather use the gear stick/paddle shift myself)

Question 3: How much pulling power does the Evo get you???? (You know what I mean!!! )

[JaCe]

Jace, the Ralliarts SST gear ratio is different to the Evo's, In the RA it changes to 6th by the time you hit 60km/hr. At that speed, does the Evo change down to 6th or stay in 4th or 5th??

For me it's around 4th-5th gear when in normal mode once I go past 40km/h. It goes through the gears pretty quickly and smoothly. Haven't really tried in Sport to see how efficient it is- more focussed on looking ahead lol.

Question 2: Have you actually used the super sport mode driving anywhere other than a track? I use the sport mode minimally (I'd rather use the gear stick/paddle shift myself)

Haven't tried it at all yet. Evo is <500km so it's not run-in hence not game enough to try using S-Sport mode. I'm also still relatively new to the car and want to learn the handling/corners/position of the car a bit better before I try it. I heard bad things about it though when you try to use it on the street and that you must use the manual shifting because leaving it in the auto box is just troublesome and a waste of fuel.

Question 3: How much pulling power does the Evo get you???? (You know what I mean!!! )

Haven't tried it yet for this purpose lol. As a 21 year old single Asian guy, I prefer to drive my Civic if I'm going to take a girl out on a date/dinner. I can park it anywhere and at least she won't be going for me because of the car (unless she really likes stock Civics?). I'm also avoiding telling girls and randoms it's an Evo- rather just say it's a new Lancer. If I say what it really is, it just attracts unnecessary attention and unwanted questions.

[tadz0rz]

21!!!

I need an EVOX for my 18th just to show you up man! I thought i was lucky with my ES. But dannngggg!

You finaced it? or buy it outright? If you dont mind me askin

[Superintendent Chalmers]

Hey Jace, me again: As a 21year old with an Evo, What insurance company are you with??? And is it quite expensive???

Have you driven a VRX or RA before??? I was going to ask if you have, how much harder is the suspension?? I have read that it can be brutal as a daily driver sometimes.

And finally : Going from a Honda Civic, were there any other types of cars you were interested in instead of the Lancer at that price??? BMW, Subaru, etc.

[JaCe]

21!!!

I need an EVOX for my 18th just to show you up man! I thought i was lucky with my ES. But dannngggg!

You finaced it? or buy it outright? If you dont mind me askin

I'll PM u as it's quite private Obviously not for reposting on public forum.

Hey Jace, me again: As a 21year old with an Evo, What insurance company are you with??? And is it quite expensive???

Just Car Insurance is approx $2150 (forget exact amount) p/a in premium with a total of $4300 excess (there's standard, plus the adjust, plus the vehicle, plus the male 21 y/o). The excess reduces by $100 I think once I turn 22 in a month.

Have you driven a VRX or RA before??? I was going to ask if you have, how much harder is the suspension?? I have read that it can be brutal as a daily driver sometimes.

Sorry can't compare. This is my first performance car.

And finally : Going from a Honda Civic, were there any other types of cars you were interested in instead of the Lancer at that price??? BMW, Subaru, etc.

Nissan 370z- great car, lots of fun to drive, but 2 seater with puny boot is just not practical and at that money, I would like something with some usability. My best friend's advice is "if you meet a girl at a bar and wanna take her home, but she doesn't wanna leave her friend alone, you'll regret it."

BMW 135i- too expensive IMO once taxes/onroads are added at around $85k after corporate discounts. That's not including satnav either.

BMW 325i coupe- similar to the 135, I felt it wasn't worth it's pricetag of nearly $100k.

Subaru Impreza WRX STi- ugly. Also I wanted an auto since I live in the city.

Audi A4 2.0T- not fast at all despite salesman claiming people go track in it. Price is line-ball with the Evo X MR with a nice interior but the wheelspin on acceleration and the weird electric steering was a let down. I love the look though. The subtle things like mirrors moving when reversing, the cool screen (admittedly it lacked GPS and that's an expensive option!), and the smooth tranny was cool... but let down by overall price once you put in basic options which were standard on Evo like the smart key, cool headlights and decent sound system.

Benz C Class- didn't like the interior and felt the dash looked like an Astra console (clean layout but basic and non-luxurious).

Golf GTi- new one wasn't out yet

[DavidAnthony]

Hey Jace,

Nice Evo X, never seen one in white before good choice.

How are the Recaros? are they comfortable after driving a fair distance?
A lot of journalists have said the ride is quite hard is this true? if so how far do you get before your ass starts to feel bruised? lol

Would you be willing to do a test fit with your wheels on one of our cars so we can see for ourselves if they have rubbing issues? I'm talking in the future once you wear things in and feeling a bit more confident of course.

and last but not least, how is the turning circle? How is parking and doing U turns?

[Superintendent Chalmers]

What about the exhaust note??? I haven't heard one of them in person, but the RA has an awful revving noise (I have heard better on a Hyundai) Does the evo have a sound that reflects the car's agressive status??

I am still kicking myself for not paying an extra 12 grand to get a manual Evo 10. Thanks for your answers mate!!! With that insurance premium and excess I will tell you to drive safely!!!

[JaCe]

Hey Jace,

Nice Evo X, never seen one in white before good choice.

How are the Recaros? are they comfortable after driving a fair distance?
A lot of journalists have said the ride is quite hard is this true? if so how far do you get before your ass starts to feel bruised? lol

The heated leather recaros with carbon fibre are awesome. Supremely comfortable all the way, hold you in perfectly. My parents loved them and thought they made the car extra special and were happy to sit in it for a while as well. I don't think the ride is hard at all, it's firm, but it's not painful in any way. Only negative point is if you are a bit on the plump side, it might be uncomfortably tight (not meaning to be rude).

Maybe I'm a bit desensitised because I learnt to drive on a Daihatsu Terios (google it if unsure- a 2001 model I think). The suspension on that was painful.

Would you be willing to do a test fit with your wheels on one of our cars so we can see for ourselves if they have rubbing issues? I'm talking in the future once you wear things in and feeling a bit more confident of course.

I'd consider when the time comes and it would depend on how confident I was with the person doing the labour. Don't get your hopes up yet though because we'll wait and see. Out of interest, what is the difference between using my 18's and any other 18's?

and last but not least, how is the turning circle? How is parking and doing U turns?

Parking- surprisingly easy because of large mirrors. Steering is not too heavy but considerably heavier than my Civic.

U-Turns are a *****. Huge turning circle and the slightly heavier and large (relative to Civic) steering wheel make it annoying. I guess with practice I'll get used to it because I still don't know the dimensions/position of the car and tend to be conservative and not reverse all the way to the edge of the road when doing a 3 point turn. U-turns are simply not an option most of the time.

What about the exhaust note??? I haven't heard one of them in person, but the RA has an awful revving noise (I have heard better on a Hyundai) Does the evo have a sound that reflects the car's agressive status??

I think it sounds really good for a stock exhaust and it has a nice meaty sound to it when going slowly/idling (sounds like a manual actually). That being said compared to Ryan's (infinite) aftermarket exhaust, my car sounds rather unexciting.

I am still kicking myself for not paying an extra 12 grand to get a manual Evo 10. Thanks for your answers mate!!! With that insurance premium and excess I will tell you to drive safely!!!

How much was your RA? I heard if you haggle well you can get an Evo X GSR (manual) driveaway for under 57k with a lot of accessories thrown in since there's quite a bit of stock.

[Superintendent Chalmers]

How much was your RA? I heard if you haggle well you can get an Evo X GSR (manual) driveaway for under 57k with a lot of accessories thrown in since there's quite a bit of stock.

I bought my RA back in december just after it came out. The dealer couldn't do much of a mark down on it so ended up paying $44500 on the road with the RF package, tinting etc. I could have gotten a demo model GSR with 950kms on it for $57000 on the road but only in a silver colour. (Really crappy colour for an Evo) So I passed on it. You can now get some demo models with 1000kms for $52-53k, and some RA's for $38k. Alot of bargains to be had.

[JaCe]

How much was your RA? I heard if you haggle well you can get an Evo X GSR (manual) driveaway for under 57k with a lot of accessories thrown in since there's quite a bit of stock.

I bought my RA back in december just after it came out. The dealer couldn't do much of a mark down on it so ended up paying $44500 on the road with the RF package, tinting etc. I could have gotten a demo model GSR with 950kms on it for $57000 on the road but only in a silver colour. (Really crappy colour for an Evo) So I passed on it. You can now get some demo models with 1000kms for $52-53k, and some RA's for $38k. Alot of bargains to be had.

Ahh I see. Funnily enough silver was the one colour I did NOT want for the Evo... right until I was about to buy and then I thought silver isn't so bad (because I had been seeing the US-spec dark silver/grey which looks really good). I think in silver, the car looks very very ordinary but it's not too bad. At least scratches won't be easily visible.