Evo Dorifto
Fact: The Evo X makes for good drifts. You’ll be tempted to push it hard through every corner, as the new car’s handling and weight balance makes it feel extremely chuckable, almost like a rear wheel drive. That alone we believe, is a remarkable feat only accomplished by the likes of the Skyline GTR and it’s acclaimed ATTESA-ETS.
It is less prone to understeer at corner entry, and a neutral stance can be more easily maintained throughout an entire cornering sequence from entry to exit, even with a careless pair of hands.
In addition to the more sophisticated Super AYC and AWC system, we might attribute this to the added stiffness of the car’s rear end, and the fact that the battery is now placed in the boot instead of the engine bay like other normal cars.
There is a downside to all of this though, and that is, through fast and tight, repeated left-right-left handers. The computer tends to make the Evo oversteer slightly into an abrupt, tight turn and while this isn’t actually cause for counter-steering work, it can cause problems when you immediately flick the car the other way.
The additional few centimeters in height might be cause for this offset in performance by the car’s increased track width and 18 inchers, so in the end, any increase in cornering performance is marginal.
The more balanced stance of the new Evo also means more fun with the driving experience. Despite the previous Evolution’s ability to have one kicking and screaming through corners and on the straights, the 4G powerhouses never felt the part of a fun, nimble drive unless one were to be driving at the absolute limit.
The “X” fixes nearly all of this, and despite the lighter steering load that felt slightly uneasy at high speeds, it actually felt “good” to drive. By this we mean sharper turn in, an increased amount of feedback definition and better compliance from the car’s suspension.
The version ten Evo’s cornering talents are also not to be undermined in comparison to the IX MR. It pretty much still has it, and rest be assured, it will pull a very, very tight corner of nearly 1g should you feel like doing so.
Would you still buy an Evo?
For $137,000, if you are a fan of Evos past, but don’t want to live with their associated in-cabin discomfort, then you might consider this to head your list of road/track entertainment mules.
The tenth Evolution might lack any sort of superficial performance characteristics of a traditional Evo at heart, but when you dig deeper, you will find that this car still is, and will continue to be a devil at heart. The only difference is that it is very slightly slower, but can now be enjoyed by a wider demographic.
Right about now, our local aftermarket tuning garages with their barrage of ‘Tomei this’ and ‘HKS that’ would have already devised ways to get around the current weaknesses of the “X”.
We wouldn’t turn our noses down on this one. Not a chance.
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