Well, how long I keep it, aside from my financial situation of course, depends on how much I love it and how much I get to use it. If it’s the car I think it is (bearing in mind my short test drive thus far), I can see me having it at least a couple of years, more if I get to the point where I can keep it solely as a track car (at the moment it wouldn’t be a track car at all thanks to my insurance situation ) Are you asking with the overall running/servicing cost in mind?
I made a mistake getting rid of my Integra in some ways, it’s much more a driver’s car than the Evo, much more involving and driver-focussed. The Evo is astoundingly quick, especially for its size, and you have absolute confidence in it thanks to 4WD, but I went for it cos I’d always wanted one and it is to all intents and purposes the fastest thing on the road.
Sadly, it’s not as much fun, it’s a damn sight more expensive to run (but supercar performance brings that) and I drive around half expecting to be car-jacked at any minute which detracts from the pleasure of owning it.
My driving habits are basically commuting (5 miles each way) with occasional client visits (anything from 10-100 miles) plus infrequent trips to friends around the country (Manchester, London, Sheffield). I’ve got a crappy old Astra for the less salubrious journies and lugging jobs, and I would probably split the commuting between the two - I don’t like to hide nice cars away if possible, although equally I don’t want to put needless miles on. I think it would be a weather-based decision really!
I wouldn’t be so sure about Japanese build quality across the board by the way, my Evo has been fine but I see a few recurrent problems on the Lancer Register (often from modded cars, admittedly). Having said that, the engine is generally bullet proof at normal spec, it’s just the clutch, brakes and active yaw control that are the problems!
Honda though, that’s a different proposition. Bullet proof in my and many others’ experience, built at least to BMW standards (although why they should be the benchmark I don’t know!) and at the performance end, built first and foremost for the driver.
I digress. I’m very used to warming up/down now, it’s a must with turbos. Oil temp takes at least 10 minutes to reach normal and I like to think I look after my cars on the regular checks/general servicing front, although I’m no mechanic. I certainly treat cars with respect and mechanical sympathy, for instance I can’t stand it when people keep their foot on the brakes/clutch when stationary or breach 3000 revs a minute after they set off.