With most of the practical iron already spoken for, I signed out the Evo MR for a weekend of chasing the last stage of the Tour of California bicycle race. Wasn't sure how I'd arrange my spouse, bicycle and assorted luggage down to San Diego, but as one who's never felt you needed a half-ton pickup to transport an 18-pound bicycle, I figured I'd sort it somehow.
As oft-mentioned in this thread, the MR's trunk is bordering on silly small, and I found that if I had nothing else in it, I could have gotten at least one 27.5-inch (700C) road bicycle wheel into the boot (a mountain bike wheel and tire would have been a no-go, unless perhaps deflated). This would have taken up most of the usable real-estate however, and not wanting to stack luggage on top of the wheels, the whole bike (wheels removed) easily went into the spacious back seat.
The hatchback STI would have more elegantly handled this carting chore, but the Evo MR continues to impress with truly inspiring steering feel and a hunkered down handling competence the STI could only wish for. The MR's Brembo brakes are also solid, and made scouting some seriously twisty lanes around the Tour-o-Cali's last stage immensely satisfying. In a machine so keenly focused on performance, I don't begrudge Mitsubishi at all for the MR's lack of utility, but at this $40K price point, a height adjustment for the otherwise stellar seats, and a more torque-rich powertrain would be nice.
Paul Seredynski, Executive Editor @ 11,658 miles
Eddie1971 says:
09:48 AM, 02/23/09
...can't stop beating on that STI...sounds like it's the worst car you ever tested...
tinyelvis says:
09:48 AM, 02/23/09
Uh, don't you want to wrap the ends of your forks so they don't poke thru the interior fabric?
robert4380 says:
09:55 AM, 02/23/09
Long-term blog posts like this bug me. They serve no purpose at all, since you could disassemble a bike and shove it into the back of any car. Tell us something unique about living with the Evo, not something that could apply to every other car in existence.
Oh, and nothing ups the resale value like sprocket oil on the upholstery, geez.
texases says:
10:07 AM, 02/23/09
Robert, that's what I was thinking, too. What, no old sheet for the seat? Which would be worse, a 'Katrina' car, or an 'Edmunds' car?
majin_ssj_eric says:
10:09 AM, 02/23/09
Eh, they don't own these cars, why should they care? Of course we'd probably get some more useful blogs if they actually had to foot the bill for some of this stuff rather than just pawning it off on the ol' Edmunds credit card....
carguy622 says:
10:15 AM, 02/23/09
These blog cars are all moral hazard vehicles for them... they don't own them so they don't care.
I still don't understand how automotive journalists can have so little respect for the machines they are supposed to love. Even when I have a POS rental I always treat it with the same respect I would give my own vehicle.
Just because it doesn't belong to you now doesn't meant it will not belong to anyone else in the future!
audisport says:
10:20 AM, 02/23/09
Not to pile on, but you could have thrown a few towels or an old sheet. Even if you dont care about the car, what about if one of the staff members has friends of family back there and gets oil and grease on their clothing?? This hurts almost as bad as seeing the christmas tree that you guys strapped to the bare roof of the brand new A4 Avant!!!
carguy622 says:
10:24 AM, 02/23/09
I'm STILL reeling from the christmas tree on the Audi.
fadetoblackii says:
10:34 AM, 02/23/09
Aside from the forks poking holes in the fabric, there's nothing in that backseat that you couldn't get out with a little elbow grease.
The folks at Edmunds know how to clean a car as well as or better than anyone, so cut them some slack. I'm sure that when they're done with it, it'll look fine, and that INCLUDES the christmas tree Audi. The phrase, "that'll buff right out" is true sometimes...
pat1usmc says:
10:48 AM, 02/23/09
I'm so glad I can come on a site like this and see that I'm not alone! I just thought the editors of this site would "get it" too.
altimadude00 says:
11:04 AM, 02/23/09
Who's going to be using the back seats for anyway?
jederino says:
11:08 AM, 02/23/09
Maybe the bike is just a prop and has neither grease nor dirt.
joefrompa says:
11:21 AM, 02/23/09
Weird, I have that exact same Specialized bike.....same chassis, same silver color, same carbon fiber fork and seat post.
Different seat and pedal clips, but of course those are individualized more.
Gear set and quick release axles are identical too.
Funky :)
My 06 Civic SI fits 'em MUCH better though...
Joe
seredynski says:
11:32 AM, 02/23/09
Calm down folks, this was shot before I wrapped the bike and wheels in the zebra-striped fleece blanket that's too embarrassing to use for any other purpose. This, of course, after wrapping the entire front drivetrain in an old orange Patagonia shirt, and putting the whole rear derailleur assemply inside an old pair of cycling shorts. I promise, the interior was not harmed nor scuffed in the making of this blog...
Paul Seredynski
firstwagon says:
12:19 PM, 02/23/09
Too much work.
I just toss mine intact into the back of my Legacy wagon.
No muss, no fuss, no worries.
Vision7 says:
02:35 PM, 02/23/09
Three words for you: Yakima Roof Rack.
You will save your interior, and be able to carry your bike intact and securely.
bankerdanny says:
03:09 PM, 02/23/09
You need to invest in a roof rack my friend. a couple hundred bucks would have saved you a lot of effort and could be re-used on many of your other cars.
You covered all the major dirty bits, so I don't have a complaint about the lack of a sheet on the seat. But what's with the chain rings on the bottom?
cwc1 says:
07:10 PM, 02/23/09
"Calm down folks, this was shot before I wrapped the bike and wheels in the zebra-striped fleece blanket that's too embarrassing to use for any other purpose. This, of course, after wrapping the entire front drivetrain in an old orange Patagonia shirt, and putting the whole rear derailleur assemply inside an old pair of cycling shorts. I promise, the interior was not harmed nor scuffed in the making of this blog...
Paul Seredynski"
LMAO!
ace47 says:
11:35 PM, 02/23/09
Paul, just curious... How much more torque exactly were you hoping for? This is one of the few cars where the torque exceeds the hp rating. Most turbo charged cars have either less or same torque in lb-ft as the engine horsepower.
Or was the bike weighing down the car that made you feel that way?
seredynski says:
09:19 AM, 03/ 2/09
Ace47,
Good point on the Evo torque, and I suppose this is more of a throttle response issue, as at full throttle on a dyno run, the Evo makes plenty of torque down low. Running with a new G37 in fast interstate traffic, I'd have to be on the throttle hard and early to get the turbo spooling in top gear so as not to be lost by the more responsive atmo V6. Mits does wonders with this little 2.0-liter Four, but off boost, it's at an obvious disadvantage to larger mills.
Paul Seredynski