Lucky? Yes, but dont hate. Braking and steering simotaneously? I dont think that takes much experience, and yes a fast car can get you killed but only if you do stupid stuff with it.

I think I've presuaded my mom to let me go manual, and in that case the 0-60 difference between the cars is really insignifigant to me - both get there quick, but it sounds like the rx8 sucks in winter driving, and although I dont get much snow here, if I end up at school up north with an rx8 there could be problems not only with the rwd but with the engine as well. Other than that I'd easily take an rx8 over a wrx, but after I test drive 'em again we'll see.

 

No hating here - just trying to get the thread back on track.

You are very fortunate, and I'm only advising you to be careful. The steering/braking comment was admittedly somewhat tongue in cheek, but should be taken seriously. Spending a few weeks in a drivers' ed Cavalier and some supervised driving with Mom and Dad are helpful tools to have in your belt, but hardly prepare you for what awaits you in either of your choices. Having driven both, either is a great car and well worth the money. However, the sudden push of a turbo takes some getting used to (trust me: past drives were a '91 MR2 Turbo, '97 Eclipse Turbo, '01 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8T) and is a much different feel than a NA engine. The turbo can come on sometimes a little unexpectedly, which can lead to some issues (admittedly less so in an A4 than a WRX!). The 8 has a very linear throttle response that most of us like and is a bit more predictable than a turbo can be - if it were me, I'd lean toward the 8, but then again I'm also an owner.

Again, no hating here - I am envious, but c'est la vie. Congrats on your situation and I hope you make the right decision.

 

Thanks. I agree with you on the turbo though - when I test drove the wrx (automatic) there was no happy medium when it came to speed: it was quite sluggish until the turbo kicked in, but when it did I was feeling the back of my seat. Being in NC as well, I can say that although where I live we get little real snow, it gets pretty cold during the winter. Have you had any problems with your rx8 when its below freezing out?

Thanks

 

The 8 sucks in the snow or ice with OEM tires, but like you said we don't have enough around here to warrant buying snow tires. You just have to slow WAAAAYYYY down. The tires are high performance summer tires and that combined with RWD are not a good combination. But, you can suffer through that a few times a year.

 

Alright I finally convinced my mom to let me get manual, and I finally decided on the rx8

Now we must choose a color... (no red )

black, silver, grey

 

Good job. Any of the 3 colors would be great. Black you have to wash more and shine more.

 

yea my mom says no red (attracts cops) I dont like green or yellow, and although blue looks great, it seems a bit too flashy and eye popping for my tastes (red is the same way and I'd rather have something more subtle I think).

Black can be a pain to keep clean, but it looks sooo good - especially on the rx8.

 

We need an :agreed: smiley on this forum... Black looks great, but it is a pain to keep clean. It shows every speck of dirt and, if you're not quick at drying, black will show all of the spots where you let the water evaporate instead of drying them off. If you're in any way OCD about keeping your car clean, go with gray or silver. Congrats on the new car

 

I'm just shocked that you guys "over there" can buy WRX's with Autobox...
Why?

 

I have gray and it's also a pain in the *** here in Fl and I wash it once a week. Silver is easiest I think but you can't go wrong with any color. I'd get a white one if I were you.

 

why not white? granted it's not flashy, but the car looks phenomenal in white, in my opinion at least. Of those choices, I like the silver. Good luck...I'm 19 and hope to potentially get an rx8 in the next year or two.

 

They're quite rare, maybe 1 in 20 is an AT (that might even be generous). I'm not particularly fond of it either but the AT mates better to the WRX than it does the RX-8, though that's not really saying much. I don't mean that as a dig to AT owners, the AT just takes away so much of the fun that both the WRX and RX-8 can provide, but with the RX-8 it takes away a good chunk of hp as well.

 

ttttt

 

I hate you...

 

Between RX8 and a WRX I’d say WRX. Now if you want good room, auto, four doors and good power I’d say get a Dodge Charger R/T. You can get them for under 30k, they have good safety and size and are quite quick. And for their size than handle well, nothing like an RX8 but you gain power and functionality. Always trade offs.

Seeing as you M & D can sport a 17yr old a 30k car ask them if they could send a 35yr old a few buck for his next one.

 

If you're going brand new... check out phantom blue for 2006. Toned down from Winning blue.

 

I hope after 1 year, he is not still looking for a car to buy,

 

I just ate a granola bar.

 

So I guess we won't be seeing much of you this afternoon, as you will be spending some quality time with the porcelain throne?

 

All you do is eat.

Must be nice sitting on trillion barrel reserves.....

 

I personally think its a wrong decision, but lemme just say this.Im 26. If I was 17 and my parents asked me which 30K car I would live to have I'd have chosen a stick RX-8 too but it probably wouldn't have been a good decision. I wouldn't tell them you know what since this is my first car and im only 17 I'd rather have a cheaper piston car. Kids don't think that way and its the parents that are supposed to make that decision. Don't hate on this kid who is probably doing what ANY of us here would have done.

You're still in high school, your friends and you are gonna wanna race that car and hopefully you'll be able to control a RWD car esp. during the snowy cold months in NC. I still have a 240SX (good first RWD car if you're still in the market) and I've lost count of the number of times I've almost lost control during heavy rains or icy conditions back in the Midwest.

I know you won't change your mind, as I said I too would have probably done the same thing. I just hope you are careful and have a good head on your shoulders.
Drive safe and be prepared to take a lot of care of the RX-8.

Here's hoping you guys don't sell the car within a year.

 

If your going to continuously clean the car, you can go black. I previously has a silver and it kept clean all the time. With my black, one drive and you can already see dirt. I go to college about 1.5 hrs away from home, but I drive back home every week and give it a nice clean wash. Your choice.

 

Yup...I'm gettin' nice and fat

 

Why not a New Legacy GT turbo? They are hot...AWD...probably under 30k and have manual/automatic mode. Safer than a RWD car anyday...Legacy with AWD and all-season tires...WRX is a waste in automatic transmission if you ask me.

Nice car IMO.
Joe

 

ttt