Mitsubishi Evo

There's been something missing from the Auto Express car park over the past few days... the rumble of WX05 EGJ has left a deathly silence behind it.

After a year of manic miles, the time came to say goodbye to our Mitsubishi Evo IX - but not before we gave it a good send-off. And its final day in our hands was one of its most exciting, as we took part in an Evo owners' track day at the famous Goodwood circuit in West Sussex.

Organised through Mitsubishi's UK distributor, the Lancer Evolution Experience takes place at various tracks right across the country, and is aimed specifically at Evo owners. At £230 for car and driver, as well as an extra £30 per passenger, it's not a cheap day out - but was it a fitting end to our year of Evo motoring?

During its time with Auto Express, the Mitsubishi has already had several opportunities to stretch its legs away from the public roads. We tackled all sorts of tarmac events in it, from Santa Pod's drag strip in Northamptonshire to a weekend's sprint challenge at which it beat all-comers - including a Porsche 911 GT3.

However, at Goodwood, the Evo proved just how competent it really is, flowing beautifully from corner to corner with great poise and blasting down the straights with gut-wrenching force.

Even after nearly 15,000 miles of driving, you never get used to the thrust provided by the turbocharged 2.0-litre powerplant that feeds power so effectively through all four tyres. And after we'd had our fun, we handed back the keys to be left with a lot of happy memories... as well as a handful of frightening receipts. A total of three services (one every 4,500 miles) plus a fresh set of tyres came to £1,452.17. What's more, the brake pads are showing considerable wear, and will need to be changed before long.

Then there's the fuel cost. We averaged returns of 21.7mpg overall, which proves the accuracy of Mitsubishi's 22mpg combined economy figure. So if you're going to buy an Evo, it's crucial that you budget for big bills all year round.

The car has been hugely expensive to run, constantly attracted the wrong sort of attention and required no end of servicing - but it has also given us 12 months of thrilling motoring that few other vehicles could match. And that, above all, is what we are going to remember it for.

Second opinion
I haven't driven many cars over the last 12 months that can beat the Evo for pure thrills. It's scarily fast, of course, and has masses of grip, but what I've enjoyed most is the precision of its controls; they make driving really rewarding. However, despite having a more comfortable ride than any other Evo I've ever driven, I'm glad I didn't have to live with it every day. It's still a road-going rally car and just as uncompromising. Sam Hardy, motoring writer