OfficeNinja

So I picked up my baby today, and I wanted to make a 1st impressions thread for anyone who may be on the edge of buying one of these.

First of all... GET THE CAR. It's simply amazing.

When I picked up the car she had just over 50 miles on her (2 test drives for 24 miles, the rest was from the dealer driving to get the roadguard installed). As it sits now at 9:42, she has 115 miles on her. I drove this beeyotch all over the area with my wife riding shotgun, making sure to fiddle with every little gadget in it. I think my wife felt neglected.

The positives (aside from just about everything):
- This car is so friggin smooth it's like driving melted ice cream.
- Once you get into 6K rpm territory, the car just unleashes its fury
- The handling is outstanding... better than an S2K (opinion)
- The overall build quality is superb, and the attention to detail is just as amazing (2 sets of dash lights! Who woulda thunk?
- The car feels nice and solid
- The seats grip you tight, yet there is plenty of space to move around
- With the windows down, the wind barely comes in to jack up your hair, yet there is TONS of great airflow.
- Pop-out rear windows
- The lighting is just awesome. HIDs FTW!!!
- Originally, the A pillar seemed to block my view, but I realized that it was from years of me driving a car with a completely different geometry. The A pillar thing is gone, and I'm a happy driver.

The not-so-positives (not really negatives, just little things that I need to get used to):
- The steering wheel does not telescope (this makes finding the perfect driving position hard for me)
- The car hates low rpm's (instead of bogging like a piston car, it kind of... shudders)
- I need to get used to the clutch and transmission (with such a quiet engine, and low torque, dropping the cluth or shifting at the wrong time results in a little rough surge)
- SOME (not all) of the interior trim pieces feel "delicate", such as the sunglasses holder. (The interior silver paint looks like it scratches off pretty easy too)

And that's about it. Here's a number scale from yours truly in case you care. 1 is the lowest and 10 is the best.

Fit & Finish: 8
Styling: 9
Performance: 9
Handling: 10
Comfort: 7.5
Post purchase happiness: 9.5

passtheapathy

I agree with mostly everything you said. I agree about the pillar being difficult to look around, because I swear to god, every time I change lanes to the left, I feel like I'm taking a gamble because the blind spot is just ridiculous. Nothing's happened yet, but I could easily see a car hiding in that spot

Huskyfan23

nice write up, but don't you mean B pillars? A pillars are those in front of you.

rx8convert22

I agree with the blind spot as well, but bought one of those small mirrors and stuck it to my side view mirror. It has help with that blind spot tremendously! $2 mod that may save your life or even more importantly your car!

Shini

amen.

DarkBrew

Congrats on the car! Good review.

Get the mods going!

OfficeNinja

No folks, the A pillar is the one in front, the B pillar is the one next to your head. I am referring to the A pillar in front. I just think that all sports cars like this have the same problem, mainly because of the rake of the windshield.

The B pillar is fine for me because I set my side view mirrors out enough to cover the road next to me.

Never driven a 350Z, but I hear that they are awful. And I have driven an S2K many times, and I feel that those cars are just punishment. They get a 5 on the comfort scale.

I gave the 7.5 because the steering column doesn't telescope, which I think is HUGE when getting proportions right. The seats are comfy as hell and I give them a 9.5. Plus, keep in mind that this is just my review. I'm an average car enthusiast who likes spirited driving and AutoX. Overall I think the review numbers are pretty fair.

Huskyfan23

I've never had a problem with the A pillar. I'm not that tall, though, so I think it's different for someone who is like 6 foot as opposed to someone who is 5'8".

passtheapathy

Huh. I don't have any problems with the one in front, just the one right next to my head.

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Agree with the quietness being a negative - I just couldn't rev-match or shift smoothly without hearing the revs......

First thing I did was to buy the Borla - nice deep ton and I can now downshift with confidence!

S

MazdaJeff

Welcome. Enjoy your new ride.

Mazurfer

Wait until the first time you run it over about 120mph and realize that it's not even close to topping out, has a lot more to go, feels really solid, and really stable. It's kinda un-nerving because you just kinda say.......Holy ****..........this thing is solid and I can tell it's got a lot more in it!

kvndoom

I'll agree on the lack of a telescopic steering wheel and the digital speedometer being my two biggest gripes with the car. But I'm adjusting. La la la...

rotaryturtle

what do you guys mean by no telescoping wheel? do you mean it doesnt go up and down? because every rx8 i have ever seen has an adjustable wheel. and personally, i like the digital speedo a lot, but i dont like the ride as much. in my opinion, it needs a firmer suspension, but thats just me.

Juice

iTrader: (1)

No all the steering wheels move up and down, but what he is talking about is front to back (To and From Chest).

AJ's Shinka

Telescoping is in and out instead of up and down.

rotaryturtle

oh, ok. well, im fine with it not telescoping, since it seems about right for me. thanks for clearing that up.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

that's what she said!

anyways... good review, though the steering wheel and A pillar havnt been a problem for me yet. I have my side mirrors set for viewing the lane next to me as well, but still feel paranoid about it whenever I'm switching lanes lol. Not sure why, havnt had a close call or anything and wasnt so paranoid when I got the car but oh well.

Razz1

Then I suppose the Lotus with no telescopic wheel and fixed seat gives it a 3?

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

well, I see what you're aiming for... but the lotus is kinda different. You dont go into buying a lotus expecting much comfort at all... if it got a 0 rating for comfort, I dont think they'd care much lol

Rootski

iTrader: (1)

Well, yeah. No one has ever accused a Lotus of being comfortable.

RX8Maine

Welcome and congrats.

Check out the sticky thread on "the little things" . . . whe you have a few hours to kill.

GuyWithRx8

iTrader: (3)

i hardly have any blind spot on the left side, only thing i wouldn't be able to see over there when switching lanes is a motorcycle, if u angle the mirror all the way out so you can't see any of your car you should be able to see the lane next to you almost entirely

OfficeNinja

Oh snap! Assuming that you are referring to the Exige (my friend owns an Exige S) you are overstating the obvious. No telescoping wheel and a fixed seat... for a car that I have to drive daily with my wife and possibly friends / family in the back seat would maybe even get a 1 for the comfort I'm talking about.

Man some of you are sensitive. I'm sure that the non-telescoping wheel thing is fine for many people. I'm OK with that. I'm 5'8" and I just don't feel like the steering is exactly where it should be. Again, I'm new to the car (2 days) so I have to get used to it. I may have even found a sweet spot where the seat is perfect.

Also, since it's day 2 and I have just about 200 miles on her, I seemed to have gotten over my A pillar thing. I have been driving the same type of car now for about 6 years, so a slightly slanted A pillar just took some getting used to. I'll edit my original statement to reflect this.

Cheers to everyone posting in here. I love this car. I took some friends for a "spirited" drive tonight, and the all pretty much **** their pants. And I never took it over 6K. This thing handles like it's on rails!!!

Shifty Devil

I think the larger A pillar is because of the air bag inside. If you want to see a much worse car for visibility problems go sit in a Prius. Wider A pillar, huge C pillar area and stupidly small rear view.