Y'all are probably getting sick of hearing about people's test drives, but I was so excited I had to post something!

I finally got the chance to drive an 8 earlier today. What a nice surprise! After all the controversy over the HP, I was kind of prepared for the car to not have the acceleration I was expecting earlier. But it had plenty for me!

The sales guy took it off the lot and then pulled over to let me drive it on a back road. He was showing it off for me, hitting redline, and I was very impressed by the power and how it put me back in the seat when he kept the RPMs up.

Next it was my turn, and I was a little nervous since I'd not driven a stick since I sold my Miata in 2000. But I needn't have worried because it all came back quickly. This is one easy car to drive! I was very pleased with the shifter, maybe not quite the dream the Miata shifter is, but I didn't see much difference. The handling was superb, as I took it into an empty parking lot and made a couple quick circles. I didn't notice too much body roll, and the car felt rock solid, very grippy. I had plenty of confidence that I'd have to drive it A LOT harder than that to get it out of whack.

On the way back, I floored it in second and it got up to 65 real quick. Unfortunately, at that point, I came up on some slow traffic and had to back off. I was real impressed with the gears, as I was able to drive comfortable in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th with plenty of range in speed and plenty of power in the higher gears.

Anyway, I'm sold. They're selling the cars at MSRP, no markup. They don't have the car I want (Titanium/sport package), so they'll have to trade or order it. I'm waiting for them to call me with an estimate on what they'll give me for my trade to see if I need to just sell it on my own to be able to afford the car.

You folks that already own one are so lucky! So much for my plan to wait for the 2005's! Fun Fun Fun! :D

sounds like you had fun. I am glad that Mazda is letting people actually "drive" the car during the test drive without the person feeling uncomfortable.

I have a question for you, did you get to 65 MPH in 2nd gear alone, or was that with a shift?

alone, think you can get up real high, like 90 or something, in second alone
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Originally posted by rotarymagic
I have a question for you, did you get to 65 MPH in 2nd gear alone, or was that with a shift?

Yeah, I got up to 65 in second. I kind of felt bad because I was revving a new car pretty high, but the sales guy was doing it, so I figured I could, too. I think they're just using this one as a demo anyway. I know I learned without a doubt that I'll never buy a demo car. :p


EDIT: Now that I think about it, I do remember shifting before I hit 65. I shifted to third at around 45-50. Sorry for the confusion. It was all so effortless, I completely forgot the shift.

thanks for the info. I was driving the other day and was 'racing'/showing off for someone in a rx-7. I accidently shifted from 3rd to 2nd instead of to 4th. I am worried that I may have 'hurt' the car. Do either of you know what would happen if soemone did hurt the engine? Would it happen right away or would it come later on? I didn't really notice anything diiferent right after the incident (no strange noises, no chage in temp gauge). After I shifted to second I let out the clutch, i think all of the way, then I caught myself and put the clutch back it and put it in neutral. It happened really fast. All I remember is that I saw the RPM's go up around redline, maybe into redline, somewhere. Though, I don't know exactly where, as it hapened very fast. Please Advice.

I really don't know as that 15 minutes is my only experience driving a rotary. Someone who knows more hopefully will answer your question...

My GUESS would be that something that quick wouldn't have hurt anything. Did you hear the redline chime? Did you feel the fuel cut out?

I don't believe that I heard the chime, but I wasn't listening for it either. If it is loud, than it probably didn't go off. I would have heard it if that is the case. If it isn't very loud, than it could have went off without me knowing. I am not too sure about the fuel cut off.

i think you can relax,i doubt you damaged anything.if a shift like that hurt anything you would hear it instantly.ive done this once in my old car going from 5th to 6th but hit 4th,was also showing off.this kind of thing allways seems to happen while doing something stupid.

Thanks so much for your help/assurance. I was thinking the same thing, but hearing someone else tell me it's ok puts my mind at ease, especially someone who was in a similar situation. Just curious, what did you hear or feel when this happened to you akrx?

you should be fine, the ECU is dumping so much fuel into the engine that youd have to go REALLY high, like off the gauge id bet, to hurt it
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