Evo 8 vs GTA

Well the friendly traffic Sgt took me out in the marked Evo 8 for a quick spin tonight and I was somewhat underwhelmed! Its a 260 and its definitely not as quick as my GTA in a straight line. It rattles (like the GTA!!!) and the cabin looks dated. On top of that he said that a month or two ago he got called to a fatal accident on the motorway as he was the most senior traffic officer on duty and used 3/4 of a tank of Optimax covering the 47 miles....ok so he was really driving it but from my calculations it turned in 8mpg

None of the Scooby EVO brigade are killer quick in a stright line unless they are 300 bhp plus. Evo 8 probably has 180-190 at the wheels to lug about 1400 kg or so

Probably nearer 1500kg in police spec with that aerodynamic nightmare that is the roof bar, video equipment and a boot full of signs and shovels!
Been out in the GTA to reaffirm my thoughts and the GTA is definitely substantially quicker. Apparently the Evo has that old Pug 205 trait of lift off oversteer in corners too.......not nice! It has a real presence on the road mind......Paul (the traffic Sgt) was saying that they only have to appear behind someone and they pull over!!!! He also said he'd swap it for a T5 anyday.

I RAN A UK IMPREZA TWEEKED TO 250BHP ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO AND IT WAS A CRAZY PIECE OF KIT TO DRIVE. IT WAS LIKE IT WAS ON RAILS ROUND CORNERS BUT IT HAD A DREADFUL INTERIOR, WAS UNCOMFORTABLE, NOISY AND REQUIRED LITTLE DRIVING SKILL. MY A610 IS QUICKER, QUIETER, MORE REFINED, HAS A DECENT INTERIOR, COMFORTABLE SUPPORTIVE SEATS AND WITH SKILLED DRIVING HANDLES BETTER. THE IMPREZA WAS VERY THIRSTY AND DROPPED TO AN ESTIMATED 4MPG DURING A REALLY FUN TRACK DAY AT GOODWOOD AND CHEWED UP 4 POTENZAS AT £100+ EACH. OUCH! HAVE YET TO TRY THE A610 ON TRACK SO IT MAY BE JUST AS EXPENSIVE ALTHOUGH GENERAL FUEL CONSUMPTION IS MUCH BETTER THAN THE SCOOBY.

I drove an A610 around Curborough sprint circuit and it handles fantastically, what made it better than a GTA for me was its controllability on the limit you can feel right to the very edge of adhesion and when it starts to breakaway its very easy to control.

I must say that the A610 feels very safe at any speed as long as you have a fair amount of fuel on board. It gives incredible feedback and you really feel at one with it. The lightness of all the controls is the opposite of a TVR Chimera for instance and that happens to suit me perfectly as I prefer precision to brute force. The last time I drove a GTA in anger (last year) I really did get the panics for a moment at very high speed although to be fair it didnt come unstuck. The problem for me was that I thought it was going to! This is why I then spent six months trying to find a good A610. Now i've got it, it is everything I hoped it would be and I intend to keep it and enjoy using it.

My GTA is certainly twitchy at speed, but then it weighs about 350kgs less than an A610.

Go on, be more lardy, grab the tarmac !!!

Thats the thing..the A610 was always fabled as feeling very secure and stable at speed, but there is a 300kg difference between it and the GTA. My GTA feels feels more stable with a full tank and a few people in, problem is it makes it alot slower too!

I think the solution is more power. The A610 starts off with more than the GTA to make up for its weight and I hope that you will soon improve that further for me David!!!!!!!!!!!! None of these cars is wrong just different ages and solutions. I have never driven an A110 but understand that is a great but completely different experience as well. One of the most boring cars I have ever driven was a 450bhp Nissan Skyline. You had to drive the ass off it to get any response and enjoyment at all as it just did went where you pointed it. A610 much better!!! I love driving my 1969 Rover P5B Coupe (one of the quickest ones around) but for a whole range of different responses. Cars are like women to me, all different but good ones are great!!

A bit off topic, but related.

I was at the Motorplus Show at the King's Hall in Belfast last week (doing the stand) and I had the opportunity to drive a few choice pieces of kit while there. I was totally underwhelmed by the VXR Monaro. Yes, it sounded great with it's 6 litre V8, but it was slower and less responsive than the GTA. I also got a quick blast in a Tuscan 350t. Now it impressed me more. Light and agile, with an awesome exhaust note, but still not much quicker than the GTA!!!!!! I think it'll take something very special to get me out of my Turbo and into something else (Aston Martin??)

I'm surprised you found the Skyline boring, as an owner of many GTA's and extensive driving experience in an A610 I find the Alps far less challenging to drive quickly (I mean that as a compliment). The chassis' in the Alps is excellent whereas the Skyline is an average chassis made to handle better with clever diffs etc. But in the hands of extremely good drivers the Skyline I'm sure would be quicker but for an average Joe like me its a bit too much of a handful with tons of power oversteer coupled with lift off oversteer if you don't keep your foot in thanks to the diffs sending all your drive to the front wheels once it starts to slide! The Scoobys and EVOs are much easier to drive. I don't think I've driven anything thats as good to actually drive on a country lane in this country as my GTA, I'm sure there are cars that are ultimately quicker but the steering feel, compliant ride and high grip levels make for a fantastically enjoyable time.

Tony,
I think the problem with the Skyline was that it just does everything for you and seemed to require no great skill on my part. In order to provoke some kind of involvement I had to do things to it on a public road that are generally best not done. It is also very heavy. I am sure it would have been interesting on a track. The A610 makes me feel in touch with it all the time and at all speeds so therefore I think I am more skillful even if that is yet to be proven. It also does not have the nasty traits of other cars I have owned such as the fun roller skate 205 1.9 GTI (lift off oversteer x 10)or the disappointing 306 GTI 6 (though new it broke down a lot, rattled, squeeked and fell to bits). If my A610 proves reliable it will stay for a long time. My final choice came down to an A610 or a Scooby WRX STI but I am glad I went the French way. Geoff

All the best cars are a bit twitchy and razor sharp on the responses....Lancia Stratos, R5T2, Lotus 7 the list goes on. Mastering the things is the key.....once youve figured how to point them, and control the cars response they are quicker than 'safe' cars. Their motorpsort results speak for that.

I think the thing that sets a GTA apart, is even when you are driving slowly and normally, it still feels different to most other cars.