Impressions
 

10 days since purchased. This is a great car. Have enjoyed every minute, from commuting to work to running errands to regular late night forays on some demanding but highly entertaining roads. Handling is superb. Acceleration is good (but not breathtaking). Braking is fantastic. The top end is, well, I haven't been there (yet). Engine sound is...like a rotary--there's nothing like it (the only sound I like better is a turbo rotary).

This is a beautiful car. The lines describe speed, roadholding and class. I'll never get bored seeing it in new lighting situations against new backdrops. I catch a dozen people a day eyeing the car (in just over a week people have pulled over to ask about it, cars have gone out of their way in parking lots to stop next to it, and teens have yelled complements). The interior is exceptionally well-engineered and visually sharp.

What makes this car so extraordinary is not the individual traits, most of which in and of themselves are impressive, but how they come together to create such a marvelous driving experience. Hard to believe it can be had for under $30K.

I've had mine for 7 days now and I can tell you I am extremely happy with the car. I'm even happier now with this whole buyback fiasco. Now most of us early adopters who paid MSRP or greater will consider ourselves making out even better than what we got...

All my gripes about the car are minor:

1. The handling doesn't seem to be as tight as my TT, perhaps I'm not used to it just yet.

2. Clutch is too forward, I'm a bit on the short side (5'6) and so I'm sitting a bit closer to the steering wheel/shifter than I would prefer.

3. Front Driver seat doesn't have a manual latch to push it forward like the passenger's side front seat.

4. Rear seats can't be pushed forward.. All you have is the center narrow plastic cover than can be removed.

5. Too much plastic. Although the fit and finish was better than I expected after actually owning the car. (You must remember, my current car at the time of my first test drive was an Audi TT, which in my opinion has an astounding interior.)

6. Side door compartments are tall and not wide. My maps are always toppling back and forth as I drive and frequently end up cover the door lock/window controls. And there's no OTHER compartment within reach that my maps would fit in.

7. Cup holders get very warm. Good for keeping your soup hot in the morning, but terrible for icy drinks.

8. Driver floormat needs a grommet and shaft mounting so as to prevent the darn thing from sliding forward over the course of the day. I keep having to pull it back into position.

Things I particularly like about the car that aren't obvious:

1. Electric seats! (This is obvious, but for me, my TT doesn't have them, boggles my mind why not.. They took the retro theme a little too far. Getting the seats back a hassle you gotta rotate that stupid nob a zillion times and adjusting the seat down required some serious pushing on the steering wheel).

2. I love the fact that the cup holders are contained (sunken in)... No more messes! And the fact that there are rear cupholders.

3. Autodimming rearview mirror - Way cool.

4. Adjustable lumbar support. Sometimes I need the extra support after coming out of my gym. I strained my back the other day, and found it to be very helpful. When I decide to take a nap, I can adjust it again for a more comfortable recline.

I don't think you're used to it; I owned an Audi TT and the RX-8 I test drove definitely seemed to handle better than it.

Mazda couldn't do this and still have the rear seats pass crash tests, as the rear seat backs add structural integrity to the rear of the car.

IMHO Mazda did an incredible job with even more plastic. The TT's interior looks good but it has more rattles than a maraca inside. The shelf below the glove compartment rattles, the glove compartment door squeaks, and let's not forget the perpetual squeaks and pops that come from the plastic trim around the tailgate window as you go over bumps and the body flexes. Don't forget the squeaks/pops that come from the windows against their seals because they're frameless, requiring monthly reapplication of either silicone spray or a product like BMW's Gummi-Pfledge to the window seals. As I said, I owned a TT, I know. :D

The driver's side floor mat has a small ring that hooks onto a post that SHOULD HAVE been installed just under the front driver's seat during PDI. Many early purchasers report finding the hook in their glove compartment or otherwise had their dealers overlook this. Take a peek and see if it's there; if it's not, visit your dealer to get this matter corrected.

They add weight and the TT's already a bloated overweight pig. I also couldn't imagine losing even more headroom in a TT due to the power seat mechanism. I don't fit in a Touring or GT RX-8 due to the headroom eaten by the power seats and sunroof, so I know of what I speak; if the TT had power seats that would eliminate most drivers over 5' 10" from the car.

Hi,

Just like you two, I used to own a TT.

As far as handling goes, I'm with Squidward; my TT (2000, no mod to the direction and suspension) handled like a kart. With my 18" wheels, I even had to warn people trying the car for the first time to be carefull since the car reacted so quickly.

I find the handling feeling of my 8 ok, but not great; sometimes I have the feeling that the front wheels aren't touching the ground, the steering feeling to lite.... but I must admit that maybe the TT was to extreme (especially without the mod (recall))

On the pro and con's side:
Pro TT:
- Great A/C
- Tighter steering
- Better leather for the seats (I always get my back all sweaty in the 8 (better leather breath easier... never had that problem with the TT)
- Better fuel economy (with my chipped TT, I averaged 17mpg driving hard, with my 8, I can hardly reach 13 mpg with the same driving style)
- Folding back seats allowing to put some big stuff in the trunk
- Quattro... I know I will miss it during our canadian winter.

Pro Rx-8
- Better ride confort (less road noise, motor, suspension softer without sacrificing the road handling)
- Both cars have great interior, but I give the edge to the 8... more jazzy (red and black)!
- The 8 generates a lot more "positive" reactions from people seeing the car for the first time :p
- 4 usable seats
- Car insurances less expensive (save 400$CDN)
- Better stereo (Bose vs standard stereo in the TT)
- Price
- I hated the frameless window of my TT. In 3 years, needs to be ajusted 4 times, the last time requiring more than 3 hours of work!) Hourra for the framed window on the 8.
- Radio control on the steering... love it!
- Shifter with a shorter throw and tighter.
- As fast...

All in all, 2 great cars, giving the edge to the 8 mainly because of the price.

P.s. Sorry for my poor english writing... being french canadian...

Don't worry about it - you're doing great, better than some other posters who can't use the Québécois excuse! :D :D

Thank's BillK.... what is even greater is that you found the accentued characters... and correctly spell Québécois :D

You must be someone with a lot of "culture" and good taste:p

But what can we expect from someone who owned a TT and who is now an 8 owner's :D ... just like me! The only thing lacking from people like us... is to be "humble" :p

Actually, just to be honest, I don't own an 8 (yet), but the issues I post on are general case issues I can inject some logical commentary into.

I didn't preorder because I didn't fit in 8s with a sunroof so had to wait to see if I would fit in a Sport without a sunroof.

Now that I've test driven a Sport and know I do fit and have taken a pretty memorable test drive I was waiting to see what Mazda's response would be to the HP issue before proceeding. Not that I was worried about the HP number, but rather I wanted to see how Mazda was going to respond as a company. Frankly they did exactly what I thought and hoped they'd do...

Price is a big factor between the two cars. My Audi TT with fully loaded options cost me $39300 compared to 8MT which cost $32300 fully loaded. Suppose you add scheduled service to the 8, the TT still couldn't touch the 8 in terms of value.

However I want to point out that my TT, with the $1200 Bose option, sounds 10x's better than my 8 with the Bose option. The TT's relatively small dome interior really lends much to the sound quality, which is absolutely superb. The 8's Bose system is lacking in midrange, and the bass is not very clear and a bit on the weak side.

Another thing I just thought of that bothered me about the 8 is that the CD player does not have repeat or FF/FW (seek) feature. I'm forced to listen to an entire song over again to the point where I wanted to go back for some reason or other.

Can somebody tell me if the 6 Disc changer addresses these issues?

Oh, and about the insurance, actually the insurance for the 8 is more expensive right now.. I paid $363.50 for a 6 month policy on the '01 Audi TT, where as my '04 RX-8 cost 382.50 for the exact same coverage, for the same time period (starting Aug. 19th'03).


BTW, if your wondering why it's so cheap, it's because they are list under "leisure" driving. My daily driver is a '98 Honda Civic DX which cost $469.90 for the same coverage as the other two cars (Comp/Collision $500/$1000 deductible, Property $50k, Bodily=$100k/$300k max).. I get several discounts on the cars also (Annual mileage , multicar, long term good driver.) Insured through AAA.

Hmmm, that's bizarre. The base stereo does have CD fast forward.

I know! Maybe you can sell back your car and then buy one with the Sport Package and get the FF CD feature for thousands less!!!! :p

the 6disc cd changer does have ff/seek, all them goodies!


and as a side note:

god i love french! i really wish i could speak it better than i do, but a year or two en france will help with that! i find french to be such a beautiful language, and, as we all know, there are certain things that can only be said in french
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