Gibbo's Evo: Housey Road Test Report

Housey

Housey

Housey

Man of Honour
Joined
21 Feb 2006
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I popped down to the Pistonheads meet on Sunday with Gibbo and he was generous enough to let me pedal his pride and joy there and back. I managed to avoid sticking it on it's roof in a field, usually the end game when you release that world famous line of doom.............."WATCH THIS!!" It is a very accomplished road rocket and an interesting comparison to my RS4 which though not really a direct competitor is a similar configuration.

First thing to say is it feels quicker and seems to pick up speed quite a lot quicker than my RS4, certainly up to big numbers (which of course we never saw...) and though we didn't do any side by side comparisons I feel confident the Evo would show the RS4 its heels until the speeds got very serious at which point I suspect the RS4 would be sitting on it's limiter at 160mph. It does use it's gears up very quickly and REALLY needs a 6th gear for motorways, something I went searching for time and time again, though luckily not finding reverse in my search! It's gearing really means lag is never an issue and it is much more grown up than some of the earlier versions I've driven.

Gibbo's car is still running sponges for tyres and they did show this when pushed hard into a fast bend such as a well known bend at 'some' speed. This was interesting as I entered the corner at a speed my RS4 would be on rails and the Evo was moving around a bit needing some throttle input to keep it all together, all down to tyres no question. Also I have a bit of a play on a well known island to test understeer/oversteer and it was a little confused for a bit but it was easy as pie to bring in back in line. Like the RS4 the Evo REALLY flatters the driver, perhaps even more so. It allows you to take real liberties that in many cars would make you dead of deadness.

Steering's not great, certainly on the tyres it has on and I'm sure it will weight up with the better tyres on but it's very light and lacking in feel. First thing I noticed and the brakes needed to be worked to work but they are OK once up to temp. Damping was most impressive and I think shows how the car has moved on and grown up. It might have lost some of it's sharpness and having needed 30K's worth of dental after a long run in a Tommi Mack version some years back I was really impressed by how well it dealt with modern roads. REALLY well planted and damped, soaked up bumps easily and this added to its cross country capability. It is, make no beans about it, about as quick as a road car gets from A to B, very impressed by it but bugger me needs a 6th gear as my ears are still ringing, though that might be down to Gibbo's S Club 7 albums.

Thanks for the run Sir, enjoyed it and think your car is rather splendid and very quick. Get some serious tyres on it and I'll have another go and see if we can get it on it's roof in that field! :D
 
As a pax my stand out thoughts were the extremely composed ride and the engine didn't really feel turbo'd.
Like you said for rapid A-B I don't think you'll go much quicker, especially when the conditions are poor.

I echo the thoughts on the tyres as I have a set of winter tyres on mine, will be taking them off shortly.

Neil.
 
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Housey said:
Gibbo's car is still running sponges for tyres and they did show this when pushed hard into a fast bend such as a well known bend at 'some' speed.
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I think you are mistaken. Gibbo is actually running winter tyres, and given it is currently winter outside this means they are outstanding and obviously far superior to 'summer' tyres, because duh, summer tyres are for summer.

I can only assume you dont know anything about driving, because every proper driver knows that nothing beats a winter tyre if its January outside.

Nothing.

Neil said:
I echo the thoughts on the tyres as I have a set of winter tyres on mine, will be taking them off shortly.
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Dandle! Whats all this about then? You told me winter tyres were just plain better in winter :(
 
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-Neil- said:
As a pax my stand out thoughts were the extremely composed ride and the engine didn't really feel turbo'd.
Like you said for rapid A-B I don't think you'll go much quicker, especially when the conditions are poor.

Neil.
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I think this is what impressed me most, not least as my last Evo experience was a Tom Mack thing, which though epic was 'focused' and very tiring in the configuration I drove it, though still softer than my GT3! Gibbo's Evo is such a well sorted car it really is, very impressed with how it soaked up bad roads, of which I have plenty around where I live and coming cross country on one of my favourite roads I was able to open the taps.......quite a bit.........and it was very well composed though I still think the RS4 is even more cosseting when pushing on, at low speeds the Evo is actually softer. What the RS4 does is carry big speeds when you don't know, it masks its speed well but to be fair so does the Evo. Clever car, really really clever.
 
[TW]Fox;18358805 said:
Dandle! Whats all this about then? You told me winter tyres were just plain better in winter :(
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For myself it's still worth doing as my other tyres (Toyo R1R) are just useless/frightening when the temps are around 0 :p

Neil.
 
To be fair the snow tyres were not that bad, I amplify for effect but it certainly took a noticeable chunk of sharpness away (I believe) and their softness showed themselves within the first few miles.
 
[TW]Fox;18358805 said:
Dandle! Whats all this about then? You told me winter tyres were just plain better in winter :(
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They are. I gave an account of my experience with winter tyres. I never told anyone to buy them. We've had an unusually warm Jan so the benefits won't be there as temps warm up in the day, its still freezing around here at night though and may well get colder in Feb or March.
 
So the argument that the UK's climate doesn't need winter tyres is a valid one then, despite us having the coldest December for 100 years or something? ;)
 
-Neil- said:
For myself it's still worth doing as my other tyres (Toyo R1R) are just useless/frightening when the temps are around 0 :p

Neil.
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Exactly the same for me, the AD08's turn to bar of soap in the shower when its wet and close to freezing.

On Sunday it was sunny and dry, but still cold, however as long as its dry even if its cold you can get some temperature in the AD08's, so they'd be better on the cold January dry days, but lethal on the wet ones.

If I was previously running a tyre like a Conti CS3 or a Michelin PS2 I'd have left those on, they are in my view better than a winter tyre for 90% of winter driving. The winter tyres only really start to work I find is when its sub zero and wet or snowing/icy, then they come well into their own. :)
But in all other winter conditions I'd actually preferre a Summer tyre as the car would be more precise, sharper, better grip in dry/cold days and even though maybe less grippy in the wet still precise with more feedback.
 
Wicksta said:
So the argument that the UK's climate doesn't need winter tyres is a valid one then, despite us having the coldest December for 100 years or something? ;)
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I never said we needed them just that were better than summer tyres in our winters. Lets not derail this thread as well. ;)
 
Ya, because everybody has high performance cars and drives them to the limit every day.
Seriously, get over yourself Fox.

Of course they're going to be spongier. I noticed it too, but I lived with it.
 
Hi there

Well I think its only fair I give my views on my drive of Housey's RS4 so thanks for allowing me to drive the RS4 Steve.

Again I kept it on the black stuff and did not attempt any off roading. The first thing I noticed is the variable power steering, which is annoyingly light at manouerving speeds but very nicely weighted as speeds increase. Feel wise its better than the EVO on winter tyres, but in comparison to the EVO the steering is slow and not as precise, the EVO's steering in comparison is very quick and sharp.

I notice the engine sounds much superior, though it is a V8, but the engine does not have the urgency of the EVO and needs revving to get the best from it with its power coming on strong from 5500rpm upto 8000rpm area, wheras the EVO pulls extremely hard from 3000rpm upto 7000rpm. This gives the RS4 a less of an urgent feeling which in turn makes it feel slow in comparison, but looking down at the speedo shows though its probably not quite as quick upto 100 leptons its very close. The RS4 just does it in a far more refined way. The RS4 also has a better gearbox, its a lighter more precise throw, wheras the EVO is a tad notchy and more mechanical feeling in comparison, plus the RS4 has much longer gearing and also a crucial 6th gear which makes motorway cruising far more pleasant.

In comparison the RS4 feels not as precise/raw as the EVO, slower steering, does not feel as quick and is far more refined. However build quality wise its a different class, very refined and more solid and the Quattro system seems to give as much if not a tad more outright grip, where the RS4 falls apart as Housey says is when you pass that grip limit it just falls apart as such meaning to go from A-B in the fastest manner means you should set the car up for the corner and take them correctly otherwise things can fall apart a bit. Where the EVO differs is it wants you to push it right to the edge and drive it on that edge, it will let you pile into a corner off line, too fast and it will either gather things up or it will let you exit the corner with some epic powerslides or oversteer but is very predictable and managable on such limits and in turn a lot of fun.

I soon got used to the slower steering and how the RS4 awards the driver by entering the corner correctly, eyeing the apex and applying the power on the exit and it all comes together superbly resulting in very fast progress indeed, without a doubt EVO speed making progress. The difference according to Housey with the RS4 is if you do push it into a corner to hard it will push wide and can just fall apart, wheras the EVO will let you go into a corner with great speed and you can apply power earlier and you will actually feel the diffs tighten the nose into the corner making the car tighten and pull itself round the corner and then on corner exit sticking the rear end out slightly or the other approach with the EVO is literally man handle the car into the corner throwing it in aggressively and it will exit the corner in a 4wheel drift.

The RS4 seems harsher on the ride at lower speeds, but this could also be down to the softer winter tyres on the EVO as the EVO I remember been a lot more firmer on it AD08 tyres, but the RS4 seems to settle down as speed increases, it gets maybe a tad upset by bigger bumps but nothing bad or enough to be a worry, like the EVO it allows great pace on A-B roads where many other cars would be on their roof in a field. I found the brakes powerful but at the same time you could feel the weight of the car under braking which was a bit unsettling but something you very quickly get used too.

One could say the EVO is like like a big kid, wheras the RS4 is all grown up but still very capable.

My ears are fine after been in the RS4, I am missing that V8 rumble, though I was alarmed to hear Boyzone when I got into the RS4. ;)
Thanks for letting me take the RS4 out, I really enjoyed it and its got the EVO beat in many ways, but at the same time I do find the EVO a more fun and enjoyable car. :)
 
Dandle said:
I never said we needed them just that were better than summer tyres in our winters. Lets not derail this thread as well. ;)
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On a sportier car or on a car where the driver enjoys driving I'd disagree with this.

I'd far rather have something like Michelin PS2's or Conti CS3's or Hankook V12's on during the winter rather than winter tyres, for me they'd offer better performance and more feedback, especially on the dry winter days.

So for me Summer tyres are actually better, on the days we get snow I'd just slide everywhere or take the 306 which I don't care about dinting. Don't get me wrong when its snowed they have been superb, tons of grip and equally so when its like -5c and wet I can still drive the EVO like a hooligan. But its damn annoying when you get a day like Sunday where its sunny and freezing or above where the winters clearly show how soft they are compared to a Summer tyre because you get heat into them.
 
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