KEF

finally, we get to see one of these things north of the border, even if it is that old pre pro model that's been doing the rounds.

any questions for the mazda folks, of has markw managed to fulfill us all with his insider trading?

Lensman

Yes.

Stu C

Well, I've been in it (the blue pre-prod when it was in Manchester), and I'm 6'4" with a 34 inner leg and 260 pounds. I was fine. IN fact it was absolooootely spot on for me!

Enjoy

STU

Stu C

I pushed the seat all the way back, then forward 2 or 3 inches to get comfortable. A small adult or child could get behind me, but not a 6 foot person really. My wife sat in the passenger seat, while Itried the back though, and my legs fitted fine. Just had to hunch a teeny bit - don't know where the space comes from! This time a 6 footer would have been fine, no problem.

Your daughter would be in 7th heaven. :D


STU

By the way, I didnt think it was claustropobic in the back, but I am tall, and my FTO has TINY rear windows, whereas the rx8's are about 4 times as big, so it's all relative.

Stu C

One other thing - ignore my location, and this is completely irrelevant to the car, but I hail from farther north than even youself.

Just lived down here for 15 years now. Work, as usual. And I am working tomorrow, so goodnight all.

STU

renegade_si

ok cliff

1) Specman - optitian?
2) Kids - plenty room. It was a pre-req for us and the missus has seen the blue in the flesh and is convinced.
3) beware, only mazda kiddy car seats (expensive) on the front seat (as they have a signal thingy that auto disables the airbag - no button to disable
4) Isofix in the back - nice!
5) Welcome!

MarkW

Welcome Specman , and Yes it does.

I was under the impression that only real customer orders were taken and told by Mazda that unsold cars would not be sitting on forecourts.

If this dealer has speculative orders for 10 cars, how many of the 1200 or so are real customer orders, and how many are speculative dealer orders?

KEF

well, the US allocation was a total shambles, so you could hardly expect Mazda Uk to be any better organised.

welcome specman, nice 7, it's amazing how much better they look with the clear indicators (fingers crossed they stick with clears for the euro spec cars)

i'm off to the EICC this morning (sat) so unless you've chosen to camp out over night I doubt I'll run into you.

(praying that the festival traffic isn't too bad, still it'll be a great day for a trip into the capital. I used to live two blocks from the EICC so it'll be nice to take a stroll around the area again)

EDIT: Have you got an EP number yet (or whatever they're using these days), if so head up the forum to the owners register

c170673

I hope this is not the case in the country as a whole.

My reason for ordering my car in march was that I would have it as soon as they were released and not see hordes of them at every Mazda dealers waiting to be sold.

My understanding of my dealers situation is that they have taken no speculative orders and all of the cars that are coming there way are pre-ordered cars.

Chris

Evil Weevil

Hi specman... another optician interested in the RX-8...
something to do with those front lights?

Evil Weevil is an FBDO! (for those not in thw know... you can make up your own words to fit )

Getting back to topic, anyone know if any dealers in the south west are likely to have 'speculative' orders? According to someone at Mazda HQ, the dealers were told in no uncertain terms that this was a big no-no and would be frowned upon...

Evil Weevil

I did the 3 year correspondence with the college sessions at City. Did a 'cramming' course at Anglia.

All British Dispensers Overtake ??!

specman

I did the three year correspondence course at the superb holiday rsort of Bradford and Ilkley CC with no cramming.

Very hard work doing it on your own I must say.

Where are you based?

Mazda RX8
What is your colour combo that you like?

Evil Weevil

I couldn't be much further... I'm in Dorset.

I'm one of the stubborn ones that hasn't pre-ordered, though I was/am tempted. I really want to see and, more importantly, drive the car. Hopefully not much longer to wait.

Colours? Well, I'd love the black but my wife has threatened to leave me if I get black 'cos she remembers what I was like with my Mazda MX6 as few years ago!! So I though it would be titanium, or blue. Red's a bit flash for me, as would be yellow. From what I've read about the green, it could look really nice but it's still very dark with all the associated problems (and with the missus!). I've got silver at the moment, and fancy a change.

I'd love the tan/black combo that they are offered in the States, but we can't get it here (yet?). Maybe leather, maybe not - so many have said how good the cloth is.

I like the look of the front 'lip' and some of the chromed rotary add-ons (especially the strakes) but the prices are a bit steep!

KEF

what's going on, i nip out to see my next car and all of a sudden my thread gets hijacked by opticians?

what is the world coming to?

back on topic,

stuning car in the metal, far better than a TT IMHO

I was an easy fit head room wise, (6'3'') but of far more concern to me was the size of the catalyst intrusion in the drivers footwell, with my huge paws i could see that becoming a real pain, particularly on long journies.

to be honest i thought it felt quite claustrophobic compared to my MX-6, but it did feel a lot more solid. the roof edges seemed particularly close to your head in the passenger seat.

glad to see that the rear lights look better in real life, had previously thought that the rear cluster was tacky.

Asked the pr guy how you change the front light bulbs, that one seemed to have him stumped?

Also noticed a variation in the paint finish, the surface texture of the rear doors looks different to the rest of the car, it's most pronounced when you look down the length of the car

hated the fragile bonnet stay, the dampers now look like a must have.

really wish that the steering wheel was adjustable for reach, seems to me that they've shifted the pedal box to the right so i felt a bit twisted behind the wheel

pr guy was adamant that the UK spec will be lower and that the dash materials will be greatly improved.

discovered a nice trick with the rear doors, if you try to close the rear door from the drivers seat you get to crush your arm againt the door pillar.

just as i thought, the sliding seatbelt rail is terrible, it sticks halfway along every time you open the door, just wait for your first back seat trip casualty

prices for accessories are horrific, the pr people seemed a bit embarrased talking about them, i asked if the £120 gear *** was illuminated, the guy hadn't heard there was such a thing. I was there with my old man, his all in one Saab key with built in alarm, imobiliser, door and boot remotes cost him £65, so how the hell can mazda justify more than that for a shiny rotor blank, that's obscene.

the standard cill protector (or at least the one on the pre pro car) is a piece of rubbish, and to my mind the upgraded one is little better. pray that someone comes up with a better after market effort.

there ware a couple there with a huge child buggy, which they managed to get in the boot, just. (the kid then proceeded to leave sticky prints all over the paintwork, much to the delight of the polishing guy.)

sorry if that sounds a little negative, loved the look of the car and still can't wait to drive it, just thought some of the detailing has missed.

again the mazda folk seem to know little more than we've heard already.