On The Road In The Mitsubishi Evo FQ400
£50k for an Evo? Ouch. We find out if it's worth it...
On first glance it appears to have had an accident with the Halford’s parts department and come out with lots of garish plastic add-ons. On second glance you’ll notice wings on wings, carbonfibre front spoilers and a centrally mounted rectangular exhaust. This is not a car that blends into everyday traffic.
Inside the FQ400 there is less of the add-on garishness, though the bass box of the Rockford Fosgate sound system in the boot is carried over from the other highly specced Evo X models. But analysing the looks and wincing at its appearance is not the point of this car; it is about pure A-to-B speed, and boy can it do this well.
As a massive rally fan growing up with the North York Moors and Dalby Forest as my playground I have a natural predisposition for this sort of car. But I was always one to fall on the Subaru side and, with them being the most recent factory team competing, I still stick with that bias. Off the special-stage, Subaru’s last road car that really hit the spot was the RB320 and I really loved that car. It would take something special to top that, and our old long-term FQ360 never managed to outpoint the RB320 in my rally-nutter affections.
The suspension has been lowered and the track widened, livening up the chassis response and leaving you more engaged in the driving experience. The steering response feels more accurate than the FQ360’s, and this gives you more confidence to attack roundabouts (or any other non-straight bits in your way) much harder than you’d think possible. The roll that was found in other Evo Xs has been eradicated and, with highly rigid, lightweight Bilstein dampers and Eibach coil springs on each corner, the car has the predictability that lower-spec versions really could do with.
Point it in a straight line, flex the right foot and you are bounding over tarmac as quick as many supercars. Hitting 60mph in 3.8 seconds feels quicker with the accompanying soundtrack from the four-cylinder, turbocharged 2.0-litre lump. Add to it the lower ride and some sticky Toyo Proxes R1Rs and this has to be one of the quickest vehicles over UK’s miles of B-roads.
It may save you money on fuel but the initial outlay won’t do. I always equate cars to their potential purchase if my lottery numbers ever appear. This car is one I would have to shortlist for a first trip to the dealers when the cheque arrives, but – and this is a big one – I think I would have to have multi-millions to justify spending £50,000 on an Evo X with bits cut out. In my non-lottery garage I would still choose the Impreza RB320.
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However, the range topping FQ400 will always be something special, but might only be bought by mega enthusiasts who desire the 'purity' of a factory spec car over one that performs the same and is cheaper but requires aftermarket fettling to do so.
If I had 50K to spend it would be fairly hi up on my list. Its as fast as pretty much everything in its price range. Especially round the track, IMO that is what makes it worth the 50K asking price.
If I had £50K to spend on a car, I would try and save up the extra money, £16K and get a second hand GT3 997. Worth every penny.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1208543.htm
Yes, they might not all be 4WD or quite as technical, but i could still find a dozen cars at least that would be equally as good fun, and probably a lot more for a £50k pricetag.
However the Woolly Mammoth in the room, stamping and grunting and looking alarmingly like it'll charge at any moment, is the money. I suppose that if you could convince someone to buy it, barely use it and take the presumably enormous hit on residuals it might be worth it. Even then though you'd have a long, long list of other stuff that it'd need to work hard to argue against. A shame really, because I thought that it was an extremely accomplished thing by itself.
If I had 50K to spend it would be fairly hi up on my list. Its as fast as pretty much everything in its price range. Especially round the track, IMO that is what makes it worth the 50K asking price.
Mitsubishi have no presence in the serious part of the WRC, just supplying a few production cars, which have most of the specialised electronics and engine tweaks removed.
It's long-time rival the Subaru Impreza is a pale shadow of what it was... they really dropped the ball with the hatchback, I bet the dealers are weeping into their spreadsheets.
I still respect the Evo as a car, but it's a relic of a past era.
If I had £50K to spend on a car, I would try and save up the extra money, £16K and get a second hand GT3 997. Worth every penny.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1208543.htm
And if you say you have no kids- then why would you be looking at a 4 door fast car in the first place?
Pointless.
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