Hey all-

Just joined up. I have been looking at sports cars to replace the Mazda P5 for a while and started looking at the 8. I have been looking at the new Z and G35 coupe sense I am a Nissan fan - Datsun fan actually.

I bougth the P5 after looking/driving the Spec-V and WRX. I was suprised at the quality of the Mazda. It is much more fun/zippy/tossable then the others. I have been driving it for a year with no problems and the fit and finish are like new. And I drive a crap out of it - every shift 4000 RPM+. Not bad at all for a econobox. But, now I look for something with rear drive and faster. The P5 handles great, but still a front driver....and needs more power.

For my new car I really need to seat 4 (have a 4 year old daughter) so the Z is out. The G35 is nice, but worried it will "feel" too heavy. I like small tossable cars. I started looking at the 8 the last few weeks. I am more impressed everyday. If the quality is on par with the P5 it will indeed be a nice machine. Has the 8 hit the show rooms yet? I don't like to preorder a car I have never driven.

Have been enjoying this forum. Keep RX8ing. It promises to be a great car.

Hey P5, welcome! :)

The RX-8 hasn't "officially" hit the showrooms yet. I believe there are stories of a few RX-8's filtering around a few showrooms, but the first RX-8 isn't set to be delivered until June I think. If you're in the States, I think the last day to preorder is Mar 7th. In Canada, I'm not sure what the policy is.

Originally posted by P5..fornow
Has the 8 hit the show rooms yet? I don't like to preorder a car I have never driven.
Just find a dealer that will refund your deposit if you don't want it. I'm still not 100% sure that I will buy the car, and I get to test drive it before I make my final decision. It'll probably be pretty difficult to find one to test drive for a long time otherwise...