If I were going to buy a new roadster right now, I'd be look hard that power retractable hard top Miata.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ00senXs5k

 

If you can handle a motorcycle then you can handle the compact Skyline and no luggage room.

 

Don't pick either of them. Get a Lexus IS F

 

Hmmm
Too bad Saturn doesn't have a Sky thats not a convertable, has a trunk, and costs a little less. That would be good.

 

I would go with a RX-8, I am sorta nuetral here, I just rebuild rx8 motors and own a older Z but I have experienced both. The saturn sky basically feels like they made a pretty body and dumped a crappy motor in it, yes it has 260hp but it is slow and rides like crap. My father inlaw has one with over 30k on it now, the interior rattles, you cant hear anything with the top up on it and well if anyone tall rides in it(me) its extremely uncomfortable. It just feels like they built a pretty body and said screw the engine and comfort. It feels like your steering a SUV also, feels too heavy.

 

Why are you only considering another RX-8 and this Sky Redline? Your list of things doesn't really say that you love the look or anything. In my opinion it looks okay, but I haven't heard anyone praise the drive to heaven (there's been discussions about this and solstice on miata forums as well). And to be honest I have my doubts about GM making a driving machine like a Miata or an 8. At least I wouldn't let a 2000 dollar freecard decide what car I wanted.

 

I just got out of my 2005 Mini Cooper S for my 40th anniv 8. I would say the 8 is more fun than the MCS. Feels more solid, handles as tightly as the MCS did, but the MCS would crack your teeth on bumpy roads, whereas the 8 has the same train-like (ie on rails) handling but sucks up the bumps fine. To be fair, the new minis with their direct inject turbos sound nothing like the old minis did. The supercharger whine was something else man. Nothing sounds like the 8 though. The new turbo minis sound like a sewing machine at idle (the direct inject has to be heard to understand that statement) and there is no more gratifying whine at high rpm. They're just not the same anymore. And the new suspension makes the mini looked like its got a skyjack kit on it. Not for me....

The 8 is more fun. The milage in the old mini (especially if you modded it) is not much different from the 8, and the milage in the new mini might slightly edge the 8. I had a lot of trouble getting people and gear into the mini whereas I have no trouble with the 8, for whatever thats worth.

Also, I would avoid GM from a quality and build point of view. Mini or Mazda, there's something better about german and japanese vehicles.

EDIT: I should also mention the price and my payments on the 8 are less than the MCS.

 

I also think it's a little odd that you can't get a test drive . . . because you look young? In any event, getting input on this forum without having driven the car you are considering seems more than a little premature. At the end of the day when you're talking sports cars the input that counts most is the one you get from the seat of your pants (and I'm not talking about that wet feeling from the Sky's leaky ragtop).

This is consistent with most of what I've heard and read about the Sky Redline. Edmonds.com liked the straight line acceleration, but said that "more serious drivers may find the somewhat numb steering and imprecise throttle prevents them from feeling truly connected when driving hard on curving, twisty roads." Another reviewer loved the looks but summed up the experience as follows:

"Everything about the ostensibly rabid roadster seems to have been developed from well outside the car– sacrificing drivability, handling, practicality, reliability, usability and comfort. Yes, the Saturn Sky Red Line looks like sex-on-wheels. And that’s about it."

A client asked to drive my car after testing a Sky Redline, and five minutes into the drive had written off the Sky completely. He said he had liked the Sky well enough, but after driving them back to back there was no comparison in terms of how they felt.

I guess it's a question of how sensitive you are to a car's overall driving experience. With your experience in the RX 8 you know that's what the car's all about, with a measure of practicality thrown is as well. And keep in mind that no matter how how sexy the sheet metal, with the Saturn you're still dealing with a GM corporate platform and all the compromises and parts bin bolt-ons/adaptations that come with it.

 

Corvette. Your 5% goes further....

 

The wheels on them are SOOO heavy. Get those 28lb wheels off and see what happens...

 

I love both those cars but could never move from the RX-8 to them. They could only be toy cars because of absolutely no storage space. I think it was Road and Track that said the truck was only good to store a few loose socks. It is just a car I could not live with no matter how much I like it.

Other plus and minus you need to think about.

Plus:
Better MPG

Minus:
No storage
Insurance costs
Handling
Build quality

I hope to own one of this cars in the future but I have to be in a position that it is a toy. Until then the RX is the car.....as long as it doesn't kill me on gas costs.