Evo IX Estate tested on Tsukuba

[MistaX]

Could this be the ultimate in practicality and performance? Spotted on test in Japan, it's Mitsubishi's soon-to-be-launched Evolution IX Estate - and Auto Express's spy photographers got the first-ever pictures.

Making a surprise debut on a wet Tsukuba race track near Tokyo, ahead of its unveiling next month, the newcomer completed three fast laps before disappearing from view. Sources said the car was undergoing its final phases of testing and running back-to-back with the saloon to establish a series of quick lap times for comparison.

At the end of the day, Mitsubishi's research and development test team declared the results were far closer than expected. Originally, they'd anticipated the estate's extra 100kg bulk would add at least two seconds' time difference around the two-kilometre track.

But the gap was less than one second. According to a spokesman, the carrier's rear end actually improved its weight distribution, which gave better traction than the saloon.

Just 2,500 Evo IX Estates are to be made, and the car will only be available here as a grey import priced from around £20,000. It shares the same chassis, six-speed manual gearbox and 2.0-litre turbocharged engine as the saloon. Expect a 0-60mph sprint time of around five-and-a-half seconds.

Sorry if this is a repost. I just hadn't seen any thread on it.

 

[F1GTR]

That's cool:tup:

 

[G.T]

Wow I want one.

That's good for an estate to keep very near to it's saloon's track time. 👍

 

[Dave A]

I don't like it, it looks ugly and theres faster and more practical estates around. The Impreza wagon looks better, and theres loads of AMG estates that are faster and more comfey ableit more expensive, but I don't like it.

 

[MistaX]

Can you take an AMG rally racing?

Can you keep up to an Evo 8 MR with an Impreza Wagon?

No and No!

 

[///M-Spec]

Looks pretty hot.

Does the new Evo carry over the MR changes or is Mitsu keeping the MR a seperate model?


M

 

[Dave A]

Can you take an AMG rally racing?

Can you keep up to an Evo 8 MR with an Impreza Wagon?

No and No!

That still doesn't make me like it, I don't want to go rallying in my estate, I would happily go a little slower and be in a car I like the looks of thats also comfier, you can take you're pick of thoes. If I want a rally car for the road I'll buy a normal Evo or Impreza. If I want to lug loads fast I'll pay more and get an AMG merc, I don't see how rallying comes into this. This car is purely an image thing, and I happen to disslike it's looks, the Evo doesn't suit an estate body style.

 

[G.T]

The only reason I'd buy a Subaru estate is when I need to go off road because I have to (you can't really in an AMG Merc) and carry lots of stuff, while have a bit of performance. With the Evo estate I suppose it has more track and handling potential, while giving you more power.

I'd take the Evo really because of that, but the drawback would be a harsh ride and that wouldn't be good with carrying delicate goods would it?

 

[TwinTurboJay]

wish that was in canada...sure as hell would be better than my focus wagon ! ( of course I wouldn't have been able to afford it though ) sigh

 

[MistaX]

Looks pretty hot.

Does the new Evo carry over the MR changes or is Mitsu keeping the MR a seperate model?


M

The IX MR is still a seperate car from the GSR and RS.

I'd take the Evo really because of that, but the drawback would be a harsh ride and that wouldn't be good with carrying delicate goods would it?

I bet it comes with cargo straps standard

 

[Race Idiot]

That's not bad for a suposed total of £20,000. But then it's going to be an import, although I wonder how it compares to an Sti Estate here.

 

[Jay]

I like it, I doubt I will ever see one with only 2500 being made and the only way it gets here is gray import.

 

[rollazn]

Blah. If I lived in Japan - I'd much rather get the Forester STi. Better looking - and performance is about the same. Maybe a little slower than this Evo IX Estate.

Over in the US - the AMG Wagons are way more expensive than the Impreza Wagon/ Forester 2.5XT (closest thing to the STi).

In the US market, MB only has two wagons on sale.

The E350 Wagon - $53,075
The E500 Wagon - $62,775

Now those are about double the price of the Forester 2.5XT (and if we did have the Evo Wagon in the USA - I suppose it would be around 30K as well). Too much just to pay for looks in my opinion. But of course you don't live in the US - so everything I said doesn't apply.

 

[niky]

Jesus... who cares what the damn thing looks like... It's a damn EVO!

Actually, I like the rear-end, reminds me of an old Volvo Estate. And if you don't like Volvo's brickhouses, then you have absolutely no compassion at all... ...now if the front end looked like an old Volvo, it'd sell on the "nostalgia factor" alone.

I'd buy it.

 

[Cosmic]

Nice 👍
The front looks cool but the rear should be changed

 

[rollazn]

Jesus... who cares what the damn thing looks like... It's a damn EVO!

Actually, I like the rear-end, reminds me of an old Volvo Estate. And if you don't like Volvo's brickhouses, then you have absolutely no compassion at all... ...now if the front end looked like an old Volvo, it'd sell on the "nostalgia factor" alone.

I'd buy it.

I do. Especially if I can buy a wagon with almost the exact same performance, price, and looks better. Subaru Forester STi (or you can settle for the 2.5XT because - in the US we don't get the STi verison of the Forester) rules all.

Nice 👍
The front looks cool but the rear should be changed

Maybe because the front looks like an Evo. And the rear looks like a Volvo.

There is going to be a lot of difference of opinions on the look of the rear. I personally - dislike it.

Now come on. Which do you seriously thinks look better.

 

[Flerbizky]

I LOVE it.. I LOVE estates in fact. The Mazda6 and ESPECIALLY the 156 Sportwagon are truly beautiful pieces IMHO... With this, however, I do not care about looks - I just WANT it !...

 

[Driftster]

Can you take an AMG rally racing..
What kind of question is that? Who would buy the Estate to go rally racing, yeah in rally racing what you really want is a rear heavy car..
Why not throw some manhole covers in the back of the estate too, make it even better for rally.

It's a great idea, but I think it's ugly from the back, and not all to pretty from the front either.

 

[Dave A]

Imo it's not pretty, it's damn ugly. It's not going to be used for off road driving, if you wanted to lug big loads around off road buy a Forrester, much better and as rollazn said, better looking. It's not the fastest road estate either, it'll be expensive over here so it's probably losing out to the Forrester and Impreza wagon which is also better looking imo. The back end and the front look like they belong to two different cars, and thats because the Evo wasn't designed to have an estate body. It looks horrible, it's not going to beat any competition for practicality, it's not going to be as good off road as some and it's not as comfey as others either.

 

[rollazn]

Imo it's not pretty, it's damn ugly. It's not going to be used for off road driving, if you wanted to lug big loads around off road buy a Forrester, much better and as rollazn said, better looking. It's not the fastest road estate either, it'll be expensive over here so it's probably losing out to the Forrester and Impreza wagon which is also better looking imo. The back end and the front look like they belong to two different cars, and thats because the Evo wasn't designed to have an estate body. It looks horrible, it's not going to beat any competition for practicality, it's not going to be as good off road as some and it's not as comfey as others either.

As for performance/off roading - the Evo Estate is top notch in the Estate field. It's going to be fast - I don't know of any wagon that could even hang with it. The Impreza Wagon and Forester are both fast but they probably can't lap the same time the Evo Estate can. The Forester is rated at 265bhp - and the Impreza Wagon i'm not sure but I am sure it can't beat the Evo Estate in performance. While it will be close - my money is on the Evo Estate all the time. According to the earlier reference by Peter Lyon - It lapped on a wet Tsukuba circuit less than one second than the Evolution. Now that's incredibly fast. It's also expected to run 0-60 in around five-and-a-half seconds which would mean it is one hell of a monster.

I'd still get the Subaru Forester STi - though.

 

[Omnis]

that rear is absolutely hideous. why couldn't they leave it with a regular rear?

 

[Revheadnz]

Jesus... who cares what the damn thing looks like... It's a damn EVO!

Actually, I like the rear-end, reminds me of an old Volvo Estate. And if you don't like Volvo's brickhouses, then you have absolutely no compassion at all... ...now if the front end looked like an old Volvo, it'd sell on the "nostalgia factor" alone.

I'd buy it.

I thought I was the only person who thought the rear looked like a Volvo. It's certainly not a pretty car but for what it is, an super fast estate, it deserves some respect. It would almost certainly be faster than a AMG E55 Estate wherever you take it, the track, the strip or just in everyday driving. And you could go act out your rally fantasies too

I'd still agree with Rollazn, the Forester Sti is a much more attractive prospect.

 

[iceburns288]

As for performance/off roading - the Evo Estate is top notch in the Estate field. It's going to be fast - I don't know of any wagon that could even hang with it. The Impreza Wagon and Forester are both fast but they probably can't lap the same time the Evo Estate can. The Forester is rated at 265bhp - and the Impreza Wagon i'm not sure but I am sure it can't beat the Evo Estate in performance. While it will be close - my money is on the Evo Estate all the time. According to the earlier reference by Peter Lyon - It lapped on a wet Tsukuba circuit less than one second than the Evolution. Now that's incredibly fast. It's also expected to run 0-60 in around five-and-a-half seconds which would mean it is one hell of a monster.

I'd still get the Subaru Forester STi - though.

Yeah track performance is great but who buys a wagon for track use? If you wanted a track car or sharp handler that badly you'd take a regular Evo with you, not some wagon... this whole 'which wagon performs better on the track' argument is pretty stupid in my opinion. It's like debating whether a Phantom or Flying Spur would be more suitable for rally use.

If I want a car/wagon I can carry a lot of stuff on and take it offroad, I'd take a Forrester STi over this ugly beast. If I want a track performer, I'd take an Evo over a WRX STi, I wouldn't even consider an Evo Estate or Forrester...

 

[McLaren'sAngel]

Hiya! Meow! (='.'=)

Looks kinda ugly to me.

Geez, some more Evo and Impreza battles from car to car. I imagine pretty soon there will be a fight with vans and pick up trucks.

 

[niky]

Hiya! Meow! (='.'=)

Looks kinda ugly to me.

Geez, some more Evo and Impreza battles from car to car. I imagine pretty soon there will be a fight with vans and pick up trucks.

Hmmm.... Evo and STi utes? Now we're talking business. ...that I'd DEFINITELY buy.

 

[rollazn]

Yeah track performance is great but who buys a wagon for track use? If you wanted a track car or sharp handler that badly you'd take a regular Evo with you, not some wagon... this whole 'which wagon performs better on the track' argument is pretty stupid in my opinion. It's like debating whether a Phantom or Flying Spur would be more suitable for rally use.

If I want a car/wagon I can carry a lot of stuff on and take it offroad, I'd take a Forrester STi over this ugly beast. If I want a track performer, I'd take an Evo over a WRX STi, I wouldn't even consider an Evo Estate or Forrester...

Who would buy a wagon for track use only? No-one. Who would buy a wagon for daily driving and can be taken out to the track on weekends... me. Wagons have more cargo room - and maybe more passanger space. Interior is bigger and it doesn't attract cops as much. This wagon handles sharp from the quote - only less than a second slower on the wet Tsukuba track. That's not bad at all.

You make it sounds like Wagon can't handle/perform. That's not true at all. With a good driver in the wagon he should only be slightly slower than the Evolution while having all the pros I just listed.

Me - I would rather have an Evo over the Estate - but if I was looking for a daily driver to hold more cargo and do some work in. I'd definately choose the Wagon verison over the Evo. It can also provide fun on the track.

While racing an luxury car in a rally is totally different.

 

[Jay]

Wow, lots of people really dont like it "It looks ugly".


I really really like it, I like the looks better than the Forester STi in that other pic, they should make more.

 

[a6m5]

I think it's very nice. I'm not too crazy about the rear end either, but still way above average IMO. Forester STi's nice too, but I'd pick the Evo Estate. I still like the sedan form a little bit better though.

TwinTurboJay: I think Focus wagons are awesome. While it's obviously not the same caliber as the Evo Estate, it's good looking and very affordable. If it actually handles like Ford is advertising them here("European tuned suspension"), I'd love to drive one sometime. Besides, I thought you bought a Sentra SE-R?

 

[Max_DC]

Well lokks a little strange to me.... but it's surely a great handling touring wagon... again I'd probably prefer an Impreza wagon or an Forrester ( both Sti of course )

 

[Danny]

Look out, Mitsubishi!

Chevrolet Lacetti Sport!