IrishNutter
08-08-2003, 12:36 PM
Hi, this is my first post to this board although I've been lurking for about 2 months.
I traded in my Stook for an RX8 earlier in the week and have listed a few of the cars that Ive owned over the past 78-8 years. I consider all of them to be great cars - just wish I could own more than one (come on Lotto).
Like many others here, cars on my hot list were the new S4, current gen M3, Boxster S, Subaru STi, 350Z, G35C, RX8. I basically narrowed my choices to the last and test drove the STi, G35C and RX8. My quick synopsis on each of them:
RX7: Very fast but there was lag for each turbo, great handling but harsh, great design both interior and exterior. My 95 was much better in terms of solidity (rubber bushings, etc.) compared to MY93 and MY94.
M3: Great looking, never felt as fast to me as the numbers would indicate, great handling, superb steering feel, nice interior design but iffy parts quality. Great seats even with the touring package. I went thru a lot tires with this car (very low profile) and had problems with constant wheel alignments.
S4: Great speed, handled better and more secure the faster you went (superb car @ 100+ MPH). Best interior on the planet. But always felt too heavy and less agile than the other cars I've listed. Nose heavy and unbalanced (my main complaint). For some reason, young kids loved the look of this German sedan.
S2K: My first convertible. Superb handling. Suspension tweaks in MY2002 made the back-end much more stable but reduced turn-in. Quick in VTEC land; relatively slow but smooth when not. Engine atypical of other Hondas - a little rough in terms of NVH. Really good steering but different - you have to get used to electric-assist steering. Much praise on the transmission - I thought it was good for sure but I don't think it redefined the genre as some suggested. Great car with the top down (sharp looking, open air, good protection from wind buffeting) but not so good with top up (really noisy, claustrophobic, crap sound system).
STi: Oh, that power is really addicting. Love the look inside and outside other than the obnoxious wing. Handling very flat but steering was so-so...very camber sensitive. Love AWD. Car has some very neat trick (but not gimmicky) features such as controllable center diff, the intercooler spray, adjustable headlight angle, etc. Low on creature comforts as expected for a rally car (no leather, no sunroof, no audio system). And very intrusive (punishing) tire noise. I was fully prepared to buy this car (had seen the RX8 but had not driven it yet) but was concerned that the noise and lack of creature comforts would wear on me, and I couldn't get a deal I liked.
G35C: Like most, I love the exterior except for the back end. What is with Nissan designers? It's like they work on the front 3/4 of the car from Monday until Friday @ 2.00 and then they realize they're late for the pub, so they slap some ugly ass rear end on the car over the next 30 mintes and leave. It's my big complaint about the 35Z also - I hate the back-end - it looks like a 70's AMC Pacer (and that's a bad thing in any universe). I thought it drove very well, nice interior...my biggest concern was the weight...coming from the 2800 lb. S2K, this car just felt a bit big and heavy and I prefer small and light.
RX8: Liked the styling but I can understand some of the complaints about some of the angles. Really like the interior design especially the full length cetner console. Handling is better than I expected and I like the sterring better than the S2k (very precise but still has a trace of the "feel" that comes with electric assist). Ignoring the rwhp controversy, I think the acceleration is very good and I'm still in the break-in period. It must be the gearing as the torque feels stronger than the S2K with both having similar figures and the RX8 having a weight disadvantage. As a previous RX7 owner, I agree with those that think that nothing compares to a rotary...the smoothness, the sound, etc. Great driving position in the 8. It just feels good driving it. I do have a nasty rattle already so like others, I'm worried about first year bugs. But the bottom line for me is that the overall package (style, performance, quality, utility, price, comfort, handling, etc.) was just unbeatable. I actually feel the car is underpriced. As a side note, it had been awhile since I've been to a Mazda dealership, but I had a similar view of the 6 - that package is also hard to beat at the price.
Well I guess that's enough rambling. For those that managed to stay awake until the end of the this thread, you're to be commended.
Mike
I traded in my Stook for an RX8 earlier in the week and have listed a few of the cars that Ive owned over the past 78-8 years. I consider all of them to be great cars - just wish I could own more than one (come on Lotto).
Like many others here, cars on my hot list were the new S4, current gen M3, Boxster S, Subaru STi, 350Z, G35C, RX8. I basically narrowed my choices to the last and test drove the STi, G35C and RX8. My quick synopsis on each of them:
RX7: Very fast but there was lag for each turbo, great handling but harsh, great design both interior and exterior. My 95 was much better in terms of solidity (rubber bushings, etc.) compared to MY93 and MY94.
M3: Great looking, never felt as fast to me as the numbers would indicate, great handling, superb steering feel, nice interior design but iffy parts quality. Great seats even with the touring package. I went thru a lot tires with this car (very low profile) and had problems with constant wheel alignments.
S4: Great speed, handled better and more secure the faster you went (superb car @ 100+ MPH). Best interior on the planet. But always felt too heavy and less agile than the other cars I've listed. Nose heavy and unbalanced (my main complaint). For some reason, young kids loved the look of this German sedan.
S2K: My first convertible. Superb handling. Suspension tweaks in MY2002 made the back-end much more stable but reduced turn-in. Quick in VTEC land; relatively slow but smooth when not. Engine atypical of other Hondas - a little rough in terms of NVH. Really good steering but different - you have to get used to electric-assist steering. Much praise on the transmission - I thought it was good for sure but I don't think it redefined the genre as some suggested. Great car with the top down (sharp looking, open air, good protection from wind buffeting) but not so good with top up (really noisy, claustrophobic, crap sound system).
STi: Oh, that power is really addicting. Love the look inside and outside other than the obnoxious wing. Handling very flat but steering was so-so...very camber sensitive. Love AWD. Car has some very neat trick (but not gimmicky) features such as controllable center diff, the intercooler spray, adjustable headlight angle, etc. Low on creature comforts as expected for a rally car (no leather, no sunroof, no audio system). And very intrusive (punishing) tire noise. I was fully prepared to buy this car (had seen the RX8 but had not driven it yet) but was concerned that the noise and lack of creature comforts would wear on me, and I couldn't get a deal I liked.
G35C: Like most, I love the exterior except for the back end. What is with Nissan designers? It's like they work on the front 3/4 of the car from Monday until Friday @ 2.00 and then they realize they're late for the pub, so they slap some ugly ass rear end on the car over the next 30 mintes and leave. It's my big complaint about the 35Z also - I hate the back-end - it looks like a 70's AMC Pacer (and that's a bad thing in any universe). I thought it drove very well, nice interior...my biggest concern was the weight...coming from the 2800 lb. S2K, this car just felt a bit big and heavy and I prefer small and light.
RX8: Liked the styling but I can understand some of the complaints about some of the angles. Really like the interior design especially the full length cetner console. Handling is better than I expected and I like the sterring better than the S2k (very precise but still has a trace of the "feel" that comes with electric assist). Ignoring the rwhp controversy, I think the acceleration is very good and I'm still in the break-in period. It must be the gearing as the torque feels stronger than the S2K with both having similar figures and the RX8 having a weight disadvantage. As a previous RX7 owner, I agree with those that think that nothing compares to a rotary...the smoothness, the sound, etc. Great driving position in the 8. It just feels good driving it. I do have a nasty rattle already so like others, I'm worried about first year bugs. But the bottom line for me is that the overall package (style, performance, quality, utility, price, comfort, handling, etc.) was just unbeatable. I actually feel the car is underpriced. As a side note, it had been awhile since I've been to a Mazda dealership, but I had a similar view of the 6 - that package is also hard to beat at the price.
Well I guess that's enough rambling. For those that managed to stay awake until the end of the this thread, you're to be commended.
Mike