For those who crossed the 5k mile mark (give or take 500 miles)
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From: New Mexico
For those who crossed the 5k mile mark (give or take 500 miles)
How happy are you with your car? Any major problems? Little quirks? Anything else that you like or dislike so far?
Certified track junky!!!
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,268
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From: Lebanon, NH
I picked up my RX-8 on 7/16 and right now I'm just shy of 6,000 miles. First off let me say that the way that Mazda has handled the horsepower issue has been a little frustrating. Its like they said, "oops, we made a mistake and now you can either take it or leave it." I really wish that they had said, "oops, we made a mistake but don't worry we will fix it." The last couple of weeks I've been racking my brain trying to figure out if I want to keep the car and after a lot of deliberation I found myself with a resounding yes.
Every time I get behind the wheel I still find myself admiring all of the hard work that went into making this car. It is the little details that make the car feel like it is a cut above the rest. There is a whole thread discussing this so I won't go into detail but one of my favorites is the interior lighting. It's just too cool.
The handling is truly remarkable. So far I've spent one day at the track really exploring its limits and I was amazed at how easy it was to drive it at its limits. I can only describe it as being neutral. If you come in a little too hot into a turn the front end pushes a bit but depending on your speed you can easily correct it with a controlled amount of oversteer. It is so composed that it makes you feel like a better driver and when you are on the street the stability control helps to protect you from small amounts of driver error. The system works remarkably well but truth be told the car feels more alive with it turned off. :D
Really my only gripe so far is that the car feels a little limp in the upper revs but I'm confident that it will be resolved one way or another. Speaking of which I already have a Borla exhaust on order and am eagerly awaiting the day when a remapped ECU is available.
I could go on but it has all been said before. For me the decision to keep the car boiled down to the fact that no other car on the market combines this level of performance, luxury, and practicality in a shape that appeals to me and at a price that I can afford. Kudos should be given to Mazda for taking a seemingly contradictory list of design requirments and successfully combining them into a fun, desireable, and practical car.
Oh and I should warn you that if you decide to buy an RX-8 be prepared to deal with lots of comments, opinions, and rubber necking! It seems like everyone and their brother feels the urge to comment on my car for the better or worse. Actually that has been half of the fun!
Every time I get behind the wheel I still find myself admiring all of the hard work that went into making this car. It is the little details that make the car feel like it is a cut above the rest. There is a whole thread discussing this so I won't go into detail but one of my favorites is the interior lighting. It's just too cool.
The handling is truly remarkable. So far I've spent one day at the track really exploring its limits and I was amazed at how easy it was to drive it at its limits. I can only describe it as being neutral. If you come in a little too hot into a turn the front end pushes a bit but depending on your speed you can easily correct it with a controlled amount of oversteer. It is so composed that it makes you feel like a better driver and when you are on the street the stability control helps to protect you from small amounts of driver error. The system works remarkably well but truth be told the car feels more alive with it turned off. :D
Really my only gripe so far is that the car feels a little limp in the upper revs but I'm confident that it will be resolved one way or another. Speaking of which I already have a Borla exhaust on order and am eagerly awaiting the day when a remapped ECU is available.
I could go on but it has all been said before. For me the decision to keep the car boiled down to the fact that no other car on the market combines this level of performance, luxury, and practicality in a shape that appeals to me and at a price that I can afford. Kudos should be given to Mazda for taking a seemingly contradictory list of design requirments and successfully combining them into a fun, desireable, and practical car.
Oh and I should warn you that if you decide to buy an RX-8 be prepared to deal with lots of comments, opinions, and rubber necking! It seems like everyone and their brother feels the urge to comment on my car for the better or worse. Actually that has been half of the fun!
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