evo 7 drive

[Dave Eaton]

had the chance today to drive the latest mitsibushi evo 7.  the car, direct
from mitsibushi nz, comes standard in nz with a chipped engine from the
standard 210kw to 225kw.  sufficiently close to the rs2 to make it
interesting to compare the engines.  the evo 7 has the active centre
differential, in place of the old vc unit in the evo 6.  i was given the car
for a day.  unfortunately, business days are not easily robbed of time and
other commitments, so a 1-hour drive was all that i could manage.

the car, as most will know, looks awful, with bonnet vents, protruding front
air-dam, and unpainted intercooler all shouting for attention.  this
particular car was "makkinen red".  park this car in your drive, and your
neighbours will either:
1) want to move,
2) think that your wife is having an affair with a pimply-faced kid or,
worse,
3) think that you've just turned 40!

this particular car is even louder with decals, and an "evo 7" plate.
"hello officer, why would you want to pull me over?"

anyway, inside the car is very ordinary with fit and finish basic, bland and
very average.  lots of cheap plastic, a trim piece falling off, and the bare
minimum of instruments (water, fuel, rpm and speedo, with another gauge hole
filled with a blank with "evolution" written on it).  disappointing in other
words.  the car comes standard with a/c but little to make the drive special
from that point of view.  standard japanese econo-box in other words.  seats
are very firm with "bum pinchers" meaning it is hard to get comfortable.
the recaros in the rs2 are much better because they are wider while leaving
you firmly seated and unable to move around.

but driving one of these is what it is all about, and where the car has come
from.  with mitsubishi's decision to use the wrc rules for it's new rally
car to gain all the advantages that these rules confer, (rather than being
the sole remaining wrc entrant using the "group a" rules), the future of
cars like this is probably doubtful.  while the car that you can buy (the
evo 7) is many many miles removed from the makkinen/loix rally machines, the
"group a" rules give the manufacturers some "street cred" - although the
fact that subaru hasn't used "group a" rules for years clearly has made no
impact on the sales or popularity of their cars.  on the other hand, the
success of the ford focus in the wrc must surely be offset by the fact that
you cannot buy a hi po awd focus from ford.  it will come down to economics
probably.  there is little doubt that there is no profit in these cars -
their "halo" effect (sorely needed by mitsubishi) now being the sole raison
d'etre.  the car, btw, is around $75k nzd (say $30k usd)- whereas the s4 is
$nz119k, and the rs4 was $165k.

the driving took place over a 5km stretch of coastal road that i and my
quattros know very well.  single lane road with drop-offs to the ocean mean
that you concentrate well, while numerous camber changes, road surface
irregularities and corners of varying shapes and challenges mean that this
is one of the best driving roads i've ever seen.

nice "big red" brembo's which look very similar to the 993tt callipers, and
also not mono-bloc's.  beefy disks as well promise some serious stopping
power.  stopping power is good without being awesome - it is ruined by an
over-eager abs system.  i suspect that the real issue is more to do with
wheels/tyres.  a less stiff tyre with a greater side profile would improve
braking performance significantly, and make the car less nervous under heavy
braking.

the engine is very willing, with more lag than the 20v in the ur-q, but
markedly less than in the rs2.  3,000 is where the power kicks in, while the
rs2 needs 3,500 for noticeable effect.  the slow throttle response of the
rs2 is gone completely, and replaced with a nice sharp delivery of power.
top-end is very similar to the rs2 and much better than the ur-q.  there is
noticeable throttle snatch, particularly on part-throttle when driving hard.
also a noticeable "power rattle" caused by i'm not sure what.  if you could
have the rr motor with the adu top-end, you would take it over the evo 7
unit any time, but you cannot get this, and so this makes the evo 7 the
turbo engine of choice imo, although the v6tt is very close (and undriven by
me in rs4 guise).  the evo unit is also, however, very very thirsty on gas,
worse than the adu, and much worse than the rr.

the gearbox is quite slow to change and also notchy, and not as good as the
rs2 6-speed.  5-speeds are also all you get.  it is much better for the rs2
shift technique, which is as hard and as fast as you can.  everyone knows
that the 016 ur-q box is sloppy, so no particular surprises there.

the over-riding impression is of a car which is, perhaps, "over-eager".
rather than sitting back and letting you drive it, it makes a very good job
of telling you what to do.  for instance, cornering at the limit will
produce some tyre squeal.  the centre diff, experiencing this, moves torque
around and you find that 1) the squeal has stopped, 2) you are now
understeering around the corner, and 3) you have to tighten your line.  the
result is that you end up "fighting" with the car, and not enjoying it that
much.  the ability to "settle in" to a line as you do in the ur-quattro,
while playing with the power, has gone.  make no mistake though, the car is
very quick, quicker over the road than the ur-q but markedly less happy in
the corners, (although it never feels unsafe), and under brakes (ap-racing
stoppers on the ur-q though).  put the wonderful evo 7 powerplant in the
quattro, and you'd take that car every time.  it is disconcerting to have
the evo moving around so much, and having to continually adjust your line
through corners.  turn-in though is very good, with a better initial bite
than the ur-quattro, which is let down by the fact that the steering could
be just a shade higher geared.

at the end of the drive, while surrounded by the smell of hot brakes, i
popped the bonnet to find a neat engine installation, with more room than
expected to the components, a very small (competition) battery, and lots of
exposed pipes and tubes. nothing startling to report, aluminium radiator,
large bypass valve and small abs unit notwithstanding.

overall, a nice car, and a good drive.  8/10.  i handed the car back, and
get to keep my quattro's.  which is as well, i think.

dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q