The backlash among Evo enthusiasts was instantaneous. Once word came down that the 10th iteration of the Lancer Evolution (known as Evo X in Japan) was heavier than the outgoing 2006 model (Evo IX) yet possessed about the same level of power, rabid Mitsu fans began posturing that it wasn’t only slower but, due to a beefier structure, more sound deadening, and new electronic aids like Active Yaw Control (AYC), also (gasp!) duller than the raw, scalpel-like IX. Heir apparent? If you paid attention to the bloggers who’d been speculating about the performance of the X even before the Concept X bowed at the 2005 Tokyo motor show, it was more like “error apparent.”
To dispel (or confirm) these rumors, we grabbed an Evo X at the first opportunity and, in addition to subjecting it to our full battery of road and track analyses, we hauled it up to Reno-Fernley Raceway in the high desert of northern Nevada for a full day of track torture.
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