Pontiac G8 GT or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X

[digitalcraft]

For your first car? I suggest a used honda civic. After you crash that, you can start thinking about one of these.

[DFH]

my first car was an BMW M3 paid around 30 grand for it and it had the SMG gear box but if you really need to pick one of these i'd go for the one thats drives the most comfortable and fast at the same time but they r both fast...

[Ferrer]

No - You need to go drive BOTH cars back to back

Indeed.

[fpv_gtho]

IMO at this stage of your life and considering youre limited driving experience, spending tens of thousands of dollars on a brand new, high performance car will likely contribute to your removal from the gene pool.

If you really havent driven by yourself, then you really need to consider a completely different style of vehicle which will first and foremost be safe and the cars limits will be well within those of yourself.

[AERO_HDT]

I have driven the Holden Commodore VE SS (nee Ponty G8) down some empty streets.

At a tickle, the biggest problem I had was the size of the car - it's simply huge compared to a Lancer. The clutch was heavy and tiresome, the gearbox having a long gate between shifts and surprisingly, the steering a bit heavy too. Not the sort of thing I'd want in stop-start congestion.

But the moment you get a decent stretch of empty road, all you need to do is plant the foot and hang on. Now I'm not talking instant rush - not unless you drop the clutch and rev it out, but just a simple 20-30km/h in 2nd gear and let it rip.

It's not impressive. Matter of fact, it's disheartening and all of a sudden you're thinking "where the bloody hell is the power?"

But when the lazy engine really starts to get momentum, the torque builds at an astonishing rate of knots and you're just nothing but a passenger - the car eats up the road effortlessly. The speedo jumps from 60-150km/h in next to no time and your heart is beating so wildly that only the pure physics of forward momentum is preventing it from tearing free of your rib-cage and running around the cabin like freshly spawned alien.

At 150km/h you've only gone from 2nd to 3rd and the engine is howling at five and a half thou' like the Son of Satan. Your eyes are as big as the 20" rims it rides on, your knuckles are bone white and you've forgotten to breathe - too soon and you realise that you've run out of road and it's time to wash off some pace.

That was the first time I opened it up. I still remember what an experience it was and whilst I got to drive the SS more often after that, the adrenaline rush was never quite the same - still there, but I always knew what to expect - and it was always around the same industrial backstreets of Campbellfield with the odd blast out onto the Hume Highway.

I'm 31 and I've had my share of quick cars and I've driven countless more. The Pontiac G8 GT is brilliant and it will invoke a grin each and every time you open it up - it's made for everyday driving enjoyment. In the hands of an idiotic driver, disprespect of the throttle will turn the car into an 1800 kilo bullet.

I haven't had any wheel time behind an Evo X. Hopefully it's something I'll get to experience in time to come.

If your parents are sensible and they can remember what it's like to be a teenager, they'll understand your needs. Nobody here can make the choice for your parents, and you'd be wise to trust in their judgement.

Cheers.

[clutch-monkey]

.

At a tickle, the biggest problem I had was the size of the car - it's simply huge compared to a Lancer. The clutch was heavy and tiresome, the gearbox having a long gate between shifts and surprisingly, the steering a bit heavy too. Not the sort of thing I'd want in stop-start congestion.

haha, you'd hate my car in traffic then. girl

[wwgkd]

haha, you'd hate my car in traffic then. girl

I kind of understand the feeling, though. Going from my Jeep to my dad's Ram extended cab long bed is interesting, especially when it comes time to park (my Jeep turns inside a honda civic.) But you can get used to it.

[LeonOfTheDead]

I hate all of you. you started a thread and made it 10 pages old without me.

that said, Gumball, you are just 16, relax. stop this thing of upgrading the car, you didn't even drive one of them, you don't even know how it is to have all that power, how can you say you need more, or that you will need more?

and I find very funny when parents are buying to their son a car that costs more than what they have. or when a son is pretending that they will.

I learned how to drive in a Fiat Ritmo (don't even remember the power, I was a child), then a Lancia Delta 1.3 (83 hp), a Seat Ibiza (don't know the engine, maybe 1.2, 80hp btw) and then I used a Renault Clio 1.2, 54 hp, while practicing. all of those had way less than 100 hp, and they seemed all rockets to me. they were fast, scarry and fair enough to kill me. you can actually kill youself with an old Fiat Panda with 30 hp. oh wait, you probably don't even know what those cars are.

btw, in the final period of my practicing, I got my dad's Alfa Romeo 1.9 JTD, 105 hp. It's still the best car I "owned", it was really fast, handled perfectly and was even very comfortable. the turbo lag didn't annoyed me, I liked it, it was like a bit of chili.
now I drive regularly a Stilo, whit "just" 115 hp, and those are fair enough the get me into troubles (serious one too), or to do the stupidest things on the nearest parking lot. if it rains, it can even oversteer (it's fwd for your record) and it's funny as it is. Dad's Croma has 150 hp, and those are fair enough for anything.

I would like an Aston Martin, a Pagani and a lot of other powerful cars, I would like to take a lot of laps on so much tracks all around the world that aren't even featured on common games, I like speed and I like power.

But I don't want to beat an M5 in a 1/4 race. I don't want to upgrade at a meaningless level a car thinking my judgment is better than that of the engineers and test drivers who designed the car. I don't want to own a car which is likely going to kill me as a first car, because as already posted you, as all of us, are going to do some massive stupid things at the wheel. the bigger the car, the worse it will be. it's called natural selection. incidents don't happen very often, stupid things done by stupid people do.

it's not that getting a powerful car as the first one is a problem, but you presented yourself as an ass, so the things ca be so: you are just lying, or dreaming, as 90% of 16s on car forums. or you are not smart enough to save your ass from yourself while driving.

I wouldn't buy a car I don't care of either. in that way I would risk to be not worried enough about the consequences of what I'm doing. I should get a second hand car, true, a safe one, and a slow one of course. a truck could be good, but it would give you the idea that big and heavy cars are safer no matter what, and you would end doing even stupider things.
I would say a small (for US standards) Japanese car. and I'm trying to pay you serious attention.

finally some comments on your statements: I hardly believe a G8 as a shorter braking distance than the Lancer. if it is so, I bet it would be just by a minor difference, and I still believe the Lancer's brakes are better under hard conditions.

carbon fiber is a good way to save weight, but a CF kit would cost you more than those cars, an it would be pointless, besides the fact that you are complaining about the cost of the cars and CF costs a lot, and eventually no one is going to buy a second hand CFed G8 ten years on from now.
besides, you are calling the 50/50 weight balance of the G8 without considering the fact that using different materials, you are going to change, perhaps heavily, that balance. Maserati changed the engine's cover material (don't remember more) when they moved the gearbox from the rear to right after th engine, for example.

reliability: there is no way a Lancer X is going to be more reliable than a G8, especially considering how you would be going to use them. the Mitsubishi is quite tuned on its own, and that means a less reliable mechanical part (doesn't mean it sucks, but it's not a Lexus either), while the G8 has the usual big not very stressed engine you can find in a lot of other NA/Oz cars. it's like saying a 360 Modena is more reliable than a Corvette C6 (choose those for the similar power).

you don't know a lot about cars (neither me perhaps), and as you wrote on your signature you want to learn. fine, but starts from the beginning, not shooting at the sky.

[fisetdavid26]

Great post there Leon

A bit rough, but nonetheless true.

[wwgkd]

Haha, so you make up for missing out on the first 10 pages by making yours really long? Some good points though. Still, if you can start off epic, I'd still try to.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Great post there Leon

A bit rough, but nonetheless true.

I have the feeling I was a little too harsh and was considering a "" at the end, but I needed a revenge for reading 10 pages

Haha, so you make up for missing out on the first 10 pages by making yours really long? Some good points though. Still, if you can start off epic, I'd still try to.

I started multiquoting a lot of posts, then I figured how long the thread was, so I posted my own thoughts all int he same place.

I would start off epic, but in this case the possibility to die are too much.

I risked my life with one of these:


less than 5 hp, 95 kg (dry). (not my pic)
I was going about 60/70 km/h and passed over a wet spot on a bend while breaking. I lost the rear tire and was just going to slide to the ground. Then the tire regained grip suddenly, and it launched me in the air. I felt to the ground, braking the CF helmet and scratching the AXO jacket. I slightly cracked the first vertebrae and sub-dislocated the second one. some bruises here and there, and a scratched finger (with snowboarding gloves). I was fine 3 weeks later. That's what I call "luck".
It was 4 years that I had that scooter and I wasn't riding shotgun as usual. and that's what I call "shit happens", so you just better be prepared. such cars don't help you, imo.

[Ferrer]

Nice way of summarising 10 pages in a post, Leon.

[wwgkd]

less than 5 hp, 95 kg (dry). (not my pic)
I was going about 60/70 km/h and passed over a wet spot on a bend while breaking. I lost the rear tire and was just going to slide to the ground. Then the tire regained grip suddenly, and it launched me in the air. I felt to the ground, braking the CF helmet and scratching the AXO jacket. I slightly cracked the first vertebrae and sub-dislocated the second one. some bruises here and there, and a scratched finger (with snowboarding gloves). I was fine 3 weeks later. That's what I call "luck".
It was 4 years that I had that scooter and I wasn't riding shotgun as usual. and that's what I call "shit happens", so you just better be prepared. such cars don't help you, imo.

Close call, glad you're ok.

[LeonOfTheDead]

Close call, glad you're ok.

well, my neck isn't the same (another 4 years already passed), but I guess I'm quite lucky

[Niko_Fx]

If it HAS to be an EVO or that G8 thing, I would def. take the EVO.

Now, you could reconsider and drive something a little less powerful for 1-2 years to gain some experience. Not necessarily a Civic, but at least something like an RSX-S, VW GTi, Celica GTS.. you know, something in the 0-60 high 6's low 7's...

I'm just saying this cause I'm 24 and drove my slow pos through my teenage years and know that I could have caused some big damages if I had an EVO back then.... BUT if that was what my dad would have offered, I'd definitely take it..

You're a lucky guy, enjoy.