So, I was on my way home from school the other day and decided to stop in to Reeves, a local BMW dealer near home just to poke around and see what they have on the lot. I was impressed to find a Lamborghini Gallardo sitting out front... brand new. Very nice looking car. Then, I saw they had an EVO VIII. It has 6K on it and it was traded for an M3 by a local doctor (must be nice!). They said they're willing to work lower on their asking price of 27,500. Now, my 'tour is being sold this summer and I'm in the market for an AWD/turbo car. I kind of had my sights set on a nice low mileage 01-02 S4. That is... until I drove the EVO.
We take it out on the local I-275. We approach the onramp, a nice banked sharp 90 degree corner with a nice 1/4 mile or so (how convenient!). So... I downshift to 2nd about 40mph, and normally my inside right tire, even with Azenis tires will just spin most the way through 2nd. This thing... ABSOLUTELY ROCKETS out of the corner. I have intrax/bilstein combo on my SVT... and this thing makes the SVT look like SLOP. No offense to anyone... I think the Contour is one of the best handling sedans I've ever been in bar-none. That is the impressive part. So... from a stop it will out-accelerate a SRT-4 and the Lightning, and in the corners will completely own my SVT. Very impressive, you don't see too many cars like that, that's why I liked my SVT Contour in the first place... this thing is like an SVT contour on steroids.
In my group of friends the cars are: SVT Lightning (I owned it previously), 2 R/T Dakota's, SRT-4, SVT Contour, Ecotec Cavalier and an Acura TSX. So... we definitely have a lot of car 'genre's' covered. Sport sedans, luxury sport sedans, Sport trucks, Turbo neon, fast 04 cavy... we have a lot of fun. The only thing I can think that I like better in any of these cars... is the interior in the TSX. However, the interior in the EVO is great as well... suede seats all around, recaro's in the front, height adjustable HID's, manual/auto I/C spray etc. The biggest shock to me was the corners. The acceleration was awesome... just like the lightning and SRT-4, but can absolutely TRUMP my SVT in the corners. I have never felt turn-in and bite in the corners like this in my life. The comparison I tried to make is the Contour handling is to the Lightning, as the EVO handling is to the contour. Absolutely amazing. And my SVT made the S4 look sloppy and heavy, which was one part I didn't like about the S4. That test drive just really changed my view on that car and I advise anyone out there who likes the occasional spirited drive to give one a shot! Best handling car (in the world?! nearly.), good gas mileage, more back seat room than my SVT, proven ability of the 4G63, AWESOME brakes and comfortable. What a nice well-rounded car.
Has anyone else test driven one or own one? Thoughts? Opinions? Would you get the EVO over the S4? TIA!
