My salesguy just phoned to say they finally received some cars:
Red - presold and probably gone very soon
Black GT with black interior - unallocated and available.

I am rushing over to check out the black car (just sit in it, not allowed to drive it I am glad to say). The dealer demo car is due in a few days which I will be test driving.

 

Well the red pre-ordered one was gone - bought for a 17 year old by his father without even doing a test drive. The black one had the red/black interior which looked gorgeous, not plain black as I stated above.

First I will say this - I have been dreading the quality of the interior after seeing the Rev-It-Up car. I can finally say it is absolutely fine and I think better than the Mazda 6 (I spent 30 minutes waiting for the black RX-8 to be cleaned/inspected and checked out the 6 and Miata). Heck it is probably better than my IS300 (first year model with really cheap interior by Lexus standards - improved dramatically in 2nd year, never buy a first year car ). The leather is not soft but looks good and feels ok, the plastics are mostly soft and not fragile/thin although the piano black plastic on the doors looks better than they feel. I didn't like the headliner and sun shades - obviously trying to save weight. The door pulls are thin and sharp; they look good but feel odd to use, but work fine.

The driver controls fall readily to hand and are pleasant to operate. The steering wheel is superb, but the tilt adjustment does not go high enough (or perhaps I should have lowered the seat). The driver seat adjusts more than enough ways and the power lumbar support is great. Getting into the back is tricky the first few times but once there you find plenty of space (I am 5'9" tall) if you put your feet below the driver's raised seat. The retracting/sliding front seat belts work perfectly - another worry that was unfounded. The sliding cover and other cubby holes in the center tunnel are well made and not flimsy and should last well. The glove box is tiny but there is sufficient alternative storage space. I didn't spot a 2nd power outlet anywhere. The engine is extremely quiet (inaudible outdoors near the main road) at idle, and the gearchange/clutch are extremely good - almost like a Miata 5MT.

I was shocked when the sales manager asked me if I wanted a test drive. Obviously I said yes. I was fairly gentle with the car as we are experiencing Tropical Storm Claudette at the moment and the roads are awash in many places, so I stayed below 7000rpm. A testament to how good the gearshift/clutch is: I have not driven a manual transmission car in over 6 years (except various test drives) and I felt at home in this car instantly, with immediate smooth changes that felt very natural. Definitely better than all other cars I have driven except (maybe) the Miata and S2000, and definitely better than the G35 6MT. The steering is amazing - perfect weighting and feedback - went around a few small roundabouts (circles) at 15mph and it felt like I could have handled them at 40mph+ easily in the dry (side bolsters are excellent of course). Suspension is good - went over some bumpy roads which you could hear and feel but they did not throw the car off course.

The dials are stunning and I imagine that everyone will guage their speed by the beautiful rev counter and not the tiny digital speedo which I just could't get used to looking at. I noticed that 4000rpm comes up fairly fast in first, but that things seem to slow down after that. I think the G35 revs faster to 6500 than the RX-8 does - changing gears was much more frenzied in the Infiniti as the speedo literally surges upwards. The RX-8 was much more leisurely from a standstill, although please note that I did not go near peak power at 8500rpm and that the conditions were much better during my G35 drive a few weeks back on the same route. I also drove a little at 2000rpm in 4th and the car made no complaint and pulled surely upwards to 7000rpm. The sound of the rotary is so unusual - a turbine like roar - and yes it is smooth although not at all quiet above 4000 rpm. BTW I was easily the fastest car on the roads during the test drive even though I might have implied the car didn't feel very fast - it 'can keep up with traffic' without any effort.

Overall I think the car is an absolute winner. Whoever buys this particular black GT car - sorry to add 12 miles to it but I tried to treat it well (remember the manual does not insist on a break-in). I don't know if anyone else will get to test-drive this particular car as the dealership's demo vehicle is due Thur/Fri this week. For me the next thing (maybe Friday) is the wife's test drive and then my chance to really test-drive the demo car if the weather permits. And then finally (gulp) the rear-facing baby seat test in the back with an adult in front of it, and the stroller (Graco with large air filled rubber tires - 30/85R8 I think) fitting through the trunk opening test - both look very tight.