I am in the market for a new car, 21 years old and I have about 24,500 tops to spend.(About 10 saved up)

I was fairly set on getting the 350 then a friend of mine pointed out that there have been quite a few people switching over from the Zed to the Evo(though I am sure the reverse is also true). Now, slightly above the price range i have listed(26) which I could do if i waited another month or so(driving a beater around right now), I could get a base 06 of either car.I have also found used of each right in the 20k range.

I love the raw power of the evo and how easy it is to modify, but the Zed is alot nicer inside and out. I am 21 and single so the back seat is not important to me but I also don't plan on heavily modifying the car(wouldn't spend anywhere near the money to turbo the Zed, not yet at least) so I would probably end up doing basic mods such as intake exhaust (header/manifold) tune and suspension.

With the mods I have listed do you think I would be happy with a Base 350? Having the brembos would be nice but I would not track the car or very rarely. The suspension would be swapped so either way thats taken care of.

input and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Or if anyone has a great deal on a DB Zed PM me

 

I have a 350z 2004.5 Enthusiast and I am very happy with it. Did not do any modifications yet, but possibly will do exhaust or intake soon.

As for the Evo. My friend just bought the MR and let me test drive it. Yes it is a beast, thing is so fast. It has storage room for when you want to carry an extra friend or 2 around. Has a trunk that can fit stuff in it. I tried to fit a keg in the Z and didnt work =\


Anyways if you are looking for performance go Evo. If you are looking for style and better reliability, go 06 350z

 

It really depends on what you want. Better looks, a nice torquey engine, reliability, go for the 350Z.

If all you care about is performance, get the Evo. Zero torque until boost hits, which makes it annoying for driving around the city with stoplights (IMO). Looks cool but a bit ricey, high school kids will envy you but you won't get the compliments like in a 350Z. AWD is very nice to have. You can further lighten the car easily by removing rear seats, and as you mentioned it's easier to modify.

The Evo is a great car, but Mitsu as a brand name is pretty "meh" .

It's really up to you. I definitely wouldn't mind owning an Evo, it's more fun to drive than the Z in general. But I definitely made the right decision for myself. You just have to decide what's the most important thing to YOU.

 

This is where I'm at as well. I'm just getting ready to sell my Mazda and get a 350z. My reasoning behind this is that this car will go forever. Just as most everyone else, the cars I was looking at are.

350z
Rx8
STI
EVO
s2000
m3


My opinion of the cars are really.

Rx8 - not fast enough, not as hot looking as the z, slower, consumes oil like a ****, by design.

STI - No real complaints, though the 2006s are ugly as hell(front bumper).

EVO - Prefer the looks over STI but there are warranty problems and relaibilty is questionable if you plan to mod. Most of the forums I've read involve alot of problems and complaints, moreso then STI or z forums. But that isn't a judge of relaibility, atleast not a good one. Also something might be different for the 06s.

s2000 - Not a good DD, too much interior noise, not enough tourqe, high rpms only, gear selection is hard. EXCELLENT TRACK CAR. Good overall car, just not very comfortable to drive every day.

m3 - One word "Maintenance". Between special dealer oil, and god forbid something breaks, youre going to be out an arm and a leg. Really nice cars, just out of my budget.

350z - The relaibilty of NA as well as a quality built car with comfort. As long as you get an 05 you will love it. GREAT DAILY DRIVER. My only complaint on this car is the door handles on any color but silver, but thats easy to fix with a little paint.

These are just my opinions and just as everyone elses. Look for yourself and figure out what you want. Reliability, comfort, how much style, street racing?

Write down a list of what you want, and it will point you towards your car.

Good luck.

 

The turbo lag doesn't really bother me on the evo as my last car was a 1.8 with a GT2871r behind it. Didn't really turn me off plus just driving around it would get great mpg without going into boost. As for maint. Turbo trix is not far from me so if anything needed to be done I'm sure they could take care of it. The only main issues I have dug up are the transfer case and syncros, similar to the 350's grind issue although there is no warranty behind them. Apparently mitsu figures owning the car voids the warranty as I have never heard of anyone getting taken care of.

I wish I could take both cars out for a few days and get a definate idea of which I would rather have. My brother has an STI and just the feeling right out of the hole is incredible, plus w/ awd they are good in any weather... I just cant get over how cheap they feel.

Man I hate trying to pick cars. I will be overwhelmingly happy with either, as long as i never have to pay for german parts again hahaha

 

Well, I'm one of those who went from Z to Evo... just some general advice...

First of all, I would not recommend getting an Evo RS (the "base" version) for a daily driver, seeing how it doesn't have antilock brakes...

If you're going to get a Z, I'd recommend getting one with a LSD and traction control... and don't be an idiot that turns off the traction control and ends up wreckin'.

If you decide to get an Evo, print this out before you try to make a deal on one. http://forums.evolutionm.net/showthread.php?t=193135

The 6spd in my Evo is much nicer than the 6sp in my old Z... obviously if you want Auto, the Z is the only choice but I'm sure you knew that...

IMO, the standard brakes on my touring Z were nicer than the Brembos on the Evo... I'm pretty disappointed with 'em...

Being off boost on the Evo SUCKS... SO... MUCH...

Expect to fill up your gas tank twice as often if you get the Evo... man, I miss the 20 gallon gas tank and the 26 highway mpg.

The Evo feels much sturdier than my Z ever did... but then again, the Evo has a roof while my Z did not... in the 9 months (yeah, I only had my Z for 9 months) I had a few problems, nothing big. 2 months with my Evo, nothin'. But the 5/60000 bumper to bumper and the 10/100000 power train warrenty is great for me, especially since I don't plan to mod much...

Obviously the interior of the Z is nicer... it's a driver's cockpit... you feel like it's been designed for you to be there. The Evo, is just standard sedan with awesome seats...

Obviously the Evo is much more practical...

One thing that bugged me to no end on the Z was the climate control. For some retarded reason, it's designed to switch to outside air when you turn it on... I live next to a farm... that leads to nasty suprises. The Evo has a "MAX AC" setting, that keeps the air recycled. I LOVE IT.

So, those are my thoughts... drive both, if neither stands out, wait until one does.

And if it's going to be a stretch, I would recommend buying neither car. If it's going to be a stretch and you're going to buy anyways, I would recommend the Z over the Evo, mainly because maintance costs and gas is going to be cheaper for the Z... IIRC, the Z has the lowest true cost to own on Edmunds...

 

I actually went Z to EVO then back to a Z. I loved my evo but dont think they are for everybody. I had an 03 that i modded with only about $600. I bought a dp, hfc, buschur intake, hallman mbc, fuel pump, and i actually sent my ecu to Turbo Trix to get a flash. The car was a beast. I hung with my friends evo that ran 12.5 @110 on the highway all day.

Now as great as that is, its not for everyone. Fluids must be checked and changed in the differentials often. The stock clutched in Evo's suck, which make buying a used one a real problem. Brakes in the 03, 04 model years, the rotor were known to warp which mine did, but dont expect Mitsu to fix it, because they'll just say u beat on it. I also only got like 16mpg when i wasnt beating on it in the city and only like 22-24 mpg on the highway. Barely 220 miles to the tank. I also paid 26k for it about a year ago. They are obviously a lot cheaper now, but i wouldnt buy an evo with over 20k on it due to how many things can break.

Now i have my 2nd Z which is an 03 touring w/nav. it had 28k on it and i paid 21k for it. I think i got a pretty good deal. I put in a jwt intake and a motordyne spacer, cost me about $500. Made a little bit of a difference but nothing near what it did for my EVO. But i get 20mpg in the city and almost 30 if not more on the highway. I now have leather w/heated seats, a more comfortable daily driver, a little less practical, but more economical. I saved a lot of money on buying this over an EVO, and continue to save more money versus all the required maintanence in the EVO.

I hope this helps u out. In all honesty, i would've bought an EVO again, but i didnt want to buy a used one all that much due to how much can break, and a new one is about 28k which i didnt want to spend. It was a really nice car though, all i ever had to due to mine was change the oil and keep it clean. I cant say that i was easy on it either. I raced a lot!

 

As far as the other cars,

RX-8: my friend had one for a while. Nice car, handled very good. Only had to put about 1 quart a month in it. Back seat is kinda cool, but the truck door to get in it is crappy lookin. Not a lot of torque. Get an intake and its louder then a motorcycle.

STI: AWD, 4 doors, turbo car. Basic bolt-ons dont do a lot but will get u into high mid 12's w/ stock turbo. Nice interior, kinda not a lot of complaints.

EVO: Samething, bolt ons will get u a little faster even with stock turbo, especially 06 models. Interior in 06's is a lot better then older models. Kinda expensive between the urge to keep modding and the need to keep repairing.

S2000: I've driven a few and cant understand how they are any worse of a daily driver then a Z. Great gas mileage, a little less room then a Z. Honda reliabilty with a good warranty. Nice well balanced roadster. Probably my next car if anything goes wrong with my Z!

M3: bangin car, just couldnt do it. I dont like the interior all that much. Powerful though, especially a beast on the highway. But i would hate to see something break on it that was covered by warranty. And i agree, the oil changes are really expensive too!

Z: Good reliability, good gas mileage. Nice warranty. Only a 2 seater though with not a lot of room compared to the others except the S2K. Decent build quality for the money. Hey, I still have mine so what can I say!

 

Wow this is a really helpful insight regarding the evo to z switchers.

 

Very nice thread here, one of the most unbiased one I have ever seen on all forums. Keep them coming so potential buyers can obtain some good info before they pull the trigger.

 

Right now as it sits I am leaning towards the 350, my last car I didnt even have the back seats in an rarely carried anything bigger then a duffle or a few small boxes. Another big factor? you guys. Just reading through this forum there is a wealth of knowledge and very few 'thugs' that are just here to bash(barring that azz that was bragging about drinking and driving). Almost every Zed driver i talk to is outgoing and not snotty[bmw](I work with car audio).

Thank you all very much for quick responses and taking the time to write out some very nice comparisons! Now to find me a Blue Zed.

 

test drive both then make your decision.

as far as reliability, the evo is rock solid. the only common issues that cant be attributed to abuse is the clutch, clearcoat peeling, and po300 code.

if someone blows their front diff or messes up the transfer case its not because they were driving easy on the car. i have 16000 miles on mine, and have yet to have any issues.

i dont mind the lag much, car is at full boost at ~3500 rpms. you can cruise around town in the 2000 rpm range and it doesnt feel all that gutless.

mpg sux on it if you boost. if you stay out of the boost you can get low 20's. if you drive hard expect 15-16 mpg.

 

my only complaint with the evo is the small gas tank. Other than that, it has been an awesome car for me. 55000 miles with 0 problems. Well, the clearcoat on the wing did start to peel but they replaced it under Warranty.

 

+1 you should test drive both, z and the evo are very different cars, here is a good informative site on the evo: socalevo.net

 

This thread is unbiased because no one is trying to blatantly say "Evo is better than the Z in every way."

Give it some time, it will happen. Someone will come in and say the Evo is more reliable, better clutch, better response, better daily driver, better looks, you name it.

 

I think anyone who tries to say that just doesnt really know. there are a couple people in this thread who own or have owned an EVO, like myself, and i loved it. It was a great car that responded to mods better then most cars could dream of, but im not saying it perfect.
In fact I have mentioned how the clutch sucks and other negatives about the EVO.
either way, i hope this thread has helped u upperguy and jsupetran!

 

I like evo 9 and the power it has but, interior is just like lancer.
so it all depends what you like. turbo? n/a? look?
for me, just because of that interior evo has i would go for z
evo interior is awful...

 

nicely said!