PSI said something a bit ago about people underestimating the handling capabilities of the SRT and I agree.

This is a little pet peeve of mine. I don't get the fawning and panting that I see people going on and on about with the EVO/STI thing. Here's the way I see it.

When I look at the SRT-4 versus the EVO/STI, I really can't see a real difference in the styling of them. I really can't. To me, all of them have gawdy wings and four doors. Yes,,,I know,,,the EVO and the STI are rally cars, but still, if there is a difference, then it isn't much.

If I am being totally honest, I probably like the looks of the STI a little better than I do the other two, but the difference is miniscule. I think the interior is a "little" better looking on the STI, too. As far as the EVO goes, on appearance alone, I like the SRT about as well as the EVO.

Here's what I think. I think that our cars have SUCH a neon bias against them from a lot of the car community and that doesn't allow them to see these cars for what they actually are. If, somehow, the SRT was introduced without their having ever been an regular neon, I think the automotive people would be blown away by this car.

I know that the EVO/STI cars have AWD and that is worth something, but honestly, how much is that really worth? From what I've read, it's a lot harder to lauch. If you don't do it right, you can easily hurt your 1/4 mile times. And then, on top of that, you lose some of the torque from having the all wheel drive.

I've driven a lot in my life, and even though I don't drive as fast as I used to, I still can drive a car pretty raw when I want, and I'm telling you, this car is a tight in the turns as I want it to be. It's much better than my mustang was. Even if the EVO/STI think is that much better through the turns, I can guarantee you that most of the drivers of them couldn't maximize what they can do out of their cars.

When I was looking at cars, the new EVO/STI's were running almost 35,000 and the SRT could be bought for less than 21,000. If people actually like the EVO's and such for that much money, then hey, that's what they should get, but from MY viewpoint, I will never be able to see the thousands of dollars for the difference in them that you'd have to pay. They are nice cars and all, but I just can't fathom paying that much more for them.

And I will never understand how the drivers of them could look down upon a car like we have. The SRT is an amazing car for the price, and I don't understand why it doesn't get a lot more respect from people who are actual car enthusiasts.

 

Well SRT-4's only account for like what 1-2% of the total Neon’s ever built, but I shock and amaze people all the time about my car. I was shocked the first time I really had my car out and around a corner. I had a 98 Nissan 240sx and they are defiantly no slouch around a curve. The SRT-4 was just plowing through every corner I hit with it and it wanted more. The tires that come on the SRT-4 stock are really sticky for stock tires. That probably helps out a lot; I'm a big fan of some BF's now. The AWD of the EVO's and STI's are awesome. You have to give those cars credit. It competes with cars in the 40-50k rage. Our cars compete with cars in the 30-40k range. Our cars are really underestimated and I really like it that way sometimes. The look on peoples faces, in all sorts of supposedly fast cars, are to priceless as I pass them. But you can build an EVO killer for less than 30k. New 2005 SRT-4 with stage 3 Mopar coilovers and turbo upgrade is all one needs to add to the equation. I do encounter the same problem with other car enthusiasts, until I take the on a ride. The SRT-4 really came in late as a competitor, which I also think is the reason why we don’t get the amount of respect we deserve in the sport compact segment. Everyone was talking about AWD and the Turbo before the first SRT-4 was even thought up. The Turbo and FWD were in the 90’s. Believe me; I get frustrated with people all the time knocking my car, but in the end it is my car and all it has to please is me.

 

Give it time. The SRT-4 was made in limited numbers. If you have one, treat it nice, keep a maintenance record, and drive gently.....it's time will come again as a (rare) collectible.....it's the type of thing that keeps eBay in business.

Dusty

 

I agree with you 100% dusty. But owning both a 04 srt-4 and a 06 evo mr, I can confidently say the evo is a better car. It handles better, with much less effort, and it is just easier to drive in the curves. Straight line I consider them pretty equal. Build quality, evo is better. Interior, evo is better. lights, evo. wheels, evo, ect, ect.....you get what you pay for. I like both cars, which one I like better, hard to say. The neon keeps proving and impressing against "better" cars, it is the ultimate overachiever. The evo has a presence, and you don't see many of them on the street, but people know what they are, it just has more curb appeal. As far as the sti, the only choice of interior is blue, blue seats, blue carpets, and yes it is bad. Imagine if all srt's came with blue interiors. It is just flat out disgusting. It ruins it for me, and they sound for ****. My srt has 6000 miles on it, I think the srt will have a collectable status one day. And they seem to be holding there value very well.

 

Be it known, that on this day, I am nominating Wordslayer for position as Speaker of THIS house. Well put word.
Raw driving. Another classic Wordism.

 

Good comments, Mopar. You have to trust a guy that has owned both.

First of all, I didn't know that all STI's had blue interiors.

I wonder though if the SRT will really have value as a collectible one day. I have always had this rule of thumb when buying used cars at a value. If you can get a used car less than three years old, with less than 40,000 miles on it and buy it for half price of the initial sticker, then you are getting a great deal on a used car. You would be surprised at how many, especially, american made cars there are out there that meet that criteria. The 03 SRT's don't meet that criteria yet, so it does *seem*, early on, that they may be holding value a little better than other domestics.

 

maybe there aren't many evo's around you, but in my area you would think they're giving them away. i see at least 4 or 5 a day, and on a cruise night forget it, they're everywhere.

now not to start an argument, but for the money that they charge for a evo, i'm not impressed. the interior is the same cheap interior that the srt has no matter how much people want to deny it, i have a personal distaste for awd platforms on a race car so that's a negative for me, i don't think the build quality is any better than the srt's, etc. etc. the only thing that the evo has that i love is 1:1 steering. other than that, i'm disappointed in what mitsu brought to the US as the evo. for 35k i can think of plenty of other cars that i would rather buy. now the evo is a nice car, just for the hype that surrounds it, the money that they charge for it, and the way that people talk about it as the best car ever, i'm not impressed by what the car actually is.

 

PSI

What is 1:1 steering? What is our steering? Does that mean that the EVO's steering wheel takes less motion for the car to turn the same distance? What is the ratio on our cars?

 

The interior is better, because I think it is better looking, the recaro seats are nicer than the viper inspired ones in the srt, the is two tactfully placed cup holders, vs. 4 in the neon. Nothing screams high school girl car than cupholders. I just don't need them. I loved my '00 jetta because the cup holders disappeared. The center counsoul is better looking than in the srt. Yes, they all have the same cheap materials, but it is what they do with them. The evo gets alcantera leather, the srt gets vinyl and cloth. I like vw interiors(for the price range) the best, but hate the slow new vws. And build quality, the evo is built in it's own plant seperate from the regular lancers. When you shut the door on an evo, it feels sturdy, the door handle has a nice positive feel, and acts as pulling device when crashed. The evo also has bbs wheels, and good size tires on them. The lights are hid's....this is what I am getting at. In a matter of design, I feel the evo is worth the extra money, and you can get an rs out the door for 28,000 if you look around. That is not that much more than an srt-4. As far as the steering it is quicker, the one to one needs less imput to turn. Some say it feels twitchy, and takes a bit to get used to. I did not buy a race car, and I doubt most people here did not either. I bought a car that I personally liked and thought was a good value for what you get. Some people may not be impressed, but a lot are. On a side not though, I was transfering an ipass to my name and needed the plate # from the neon, I went down to the car park and got the plate number. I told my girlfriend the number, she asked where I got the number, she didn't remember any neon, which we drove the night before. I told her that the srt was a neon, she really didn't think it was a neon. So there is at least one person who disagrees that the srt is just a neon. Like I said the srt keep on impressing me.