pelucidor

My first test drive was in the rain on a non-demo car so I was very gentle. Finally my dealership got their demo car in (red with black/red interior just like the one I ordered) so I went to check it out on Saturday with my wife and her sister. My wife hadn't driven the RX-8 yet and we sort of agreed that if she really hated it I would not get it . Just down the road from this dealer is an Infiniti dealership where I test drove a G35 a month ago and was very impressed. So I thought I would drive the two cars back to back and get my sister-in-law to give her verdict - she is from Singapore and knows nothing about any of these cars.

G35 Sedan
The salesguy at Infiniti was nice and the four of us piled into a black G35 SEDAN with the 6MT/Sport and Leather/Premium package. I took off like last time, but somehow the car didn't impress me as much - it seemed slower and (obviously) much heavier. The engine sounded very rough and boring, and it was very hard to move smoothly to 2nd gear from 1st at 6500rpm (500 over redline). I took a CD with me and proved the upgraded BOSE stereo was the worst sounding car stereo I've ever heard in a new car (even worse than my MDX which almost hurts my ears) - totally dull and lifeless no matter how you fiddle with the bass/treble. Otherwise the car was good - took the S-curves well, was tied down and quiet at 80mph, had reasonable build quality, good leather, lots of toys, huge amounts of space and practicality. We drove to a parking lot and I did some figure 8's and some emergency braking etc. My wife drove back to the dealer and she thought it was very good and a sensible family car. My sister-in-law just said it was 'nice' and very fast...

RX-8
At the Mazda dealer we had to wait a while for the demo RX-8 to come back from a test-drive. Eventually the four of us got in (wife and sister-in-law in the back, much bigger salesguy next to me) - must have had 650lbs of people in the car. First let me say the Velocity Red on a sunny day is amazing, but perhaps Silver is even better. Obviously there is no comparison with exterior looks as the RX-8 is one of the prettiest cars I have seen under $90k - we all agreed on that much immediately. The interior quality is about the same as the G35 (better in some areas and worse in others) and looks a lot nicer, but the wheel and dashboard are miles ahead. Before we got moving I tried out the BOSE CD player - acceptable and much MUCH better than the crap in the G35 or my MDX, so BOSE can make reasonable stuff if they try. Turned off the stereo to listen to the engine and hit the gas.

This car had already been thrashed, so I thrashed it some more. Hit the beeper in first and then second - whoa! The car can really move even loaded up with 4 people, especially above 6000rpm. Noticed that 8500rpm in 2nd is 66mph. Wonderful engine sound. The salesguy took me to a deserted cul-de-sac (no houses, just empty/derelict offices) with a small roundabout (circle) at the end. Did two circles, the second with the tires screeching and the back seat passengers screaming - phenomenal grip and feedback. Took off from the roundabout and hit a sharp right, no problem. Slammed on the brakes - almost no nose-dive. I was having fun! Took the same S-curves - felt much more glued to the ground than the Infiniti. Got onto the same dual carriageway and took it up to 80mph, not as quiet as the Infiniti, but not too noisy either - tried 5th and 6th gear - easy to find. Go to the empty car park again and put on full left lock and did some circles at the limit of grip and then threw on full right lock instantly and THE STEERING KEPT UP - electric power steering is so much quicker - with some more noise from the back seats. Some more acceleration and braking tests (the car is a little slower than the G35 but plenty enough for me, and brakes much better) and then I grudgingly gave up the driver's seat to my wife and sat in the back - not much effect from the AC there, otherwise it was fine in the front throughout the test-drive.

The wife starts off my saying there is no way she will let me buy the car if I drive like this, but I just keep grinning. She trundles off and drives sensibly back to the dealership - I didn't realize it could be driven sensibly. She agrees the car is much more fun, the steering and shifter are much better than the G35, subjectively it is only a little slower than the G35, and finally the car just feels SPECIAL. The sister-in-law sums it up by saying - "are you mad - it's obvious which one you should get". Case closed.


The car really does feel special, much more so than any 4-seat vehicle I have ever tried no matter how fast or luxurious or reliable, and the unique Rotary is so incredibly smooth and turbine-like. The car shrinks around you as you move off so you think you are in a two-seater, and are surprised when you see people sitting behind you. I know it's a first year car and so will have issues etc and we all know about the existing niggles, but the fun factor more than makes it worthwhile. Hopefully I will pick it up on Wednesday...

cueball

YES!

I'm really glad to hear you picked the better car. And hey, if your sister-in-law approves than it must be better.

Hopefully you'll be driving your RX-8 this time tomorrow.

Slickvic

Now THATS a review.
Thanx!

rxeightr

Whether this is said by the sister-in-law, mother-in-law, sister, brother, spouse, or even yourself......I've got the impression the statement above will be made most of the time when comparing these two vehicles.

I also noticed how well it handled with 4 adults, almost as if they were not in the RX-8.

Excellent review pelucidor. Enjoy your new ride.

Cylo

I have a theory that the car handles better when it is loaded with passengers -- it feels like it helps alleviate the body roll a little.

Thanks for the review!

Evil Weevil

Hey pelucidor, thanks!

That was a seriously good review - just what I wanted to hear. Here in the UK one of the first road-tests of the UK-spec car was in the news-stands today.

They put the RX-8 up against the 350Z and it didn't come out too well... body roll, lack of torque and body flex 'dut to lack of B-pillar' were the main criticisms... have a look at ...

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.p...5&pagenumber=1

There's another review due out in the morning from another magazine. No doubt someone in the Europe Forum will post the info before I get the chance to see the mag!

Evil Weevil

Hey pelucidor, thanks!

That was a seriously good review - just what I wanted to hear. Here in the UK one of the first road-tests of the UK-spec car was in the news-stands today.

They put the RX-8 up against the 350Z and it didn't come out too well... body roll, lack of torque and body flex 'dut to lack of B-pillar' were the main criticisms... have a look at ...

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.p...5&pagenumber=1

There's another review due out in the morning from another magazine. No doubt someone in the Europe Forum will post the info before I get the chance to see the mag!

TerenceT

i was grinning like that when i got home from the test drive. then wife complains i didn't take her

did we have cool wifey or what?

Hercules

I'm curious as to what you think of the RX-8 compared to the Evo you test drove some time ago.

Please post your thoughts