LightEmUp

I just drove my friends STi today. He got it for 32,500 out the door, i paid 35 for mine... someone please remind me why the rx-8 is such a sweet car and why you guys hold it so dear to you. Is it the performance? Looks? creature comforts? the fact that it's rotary powered? What's making you hold onto it after the initial appeal wears off?

zoom44

performance, looks, creature comforts, the fact that it's rotary powered and it doesn't come with a giant wing which i can't stand to look at.

cueball

35k?

Don't tell me you payed mark up?

Maximus

You'll probably find your answer here

jtimbck2

Don't know -- that hasn't happened yet! :D The RX-8 is simply the best car I've ever driven or owned! And to show you what it's up against:

Owned personally:
1979 Pontiac Sunbird (AT)
1978 Ford Fiesta (MT)
1994 Saturn SL-2 (MT)
1996 Saturn SL-2 (AT)
1998 Audi A4 (1.8t chipped) (MT)
1992 Toyota 4x4 pickup (MT)
1998 Saab 900 (AT)
2000 BMW 328i (MT)
2002 Nissan Frontier 4x4 supercharged (still own) (AT)
2004 Mazda RX-8 GT (still own, obviously) (MT)

Driven extensively:
1976 Chevrolet Caprice Estate station wagon
1978 Honda Civic (MT)
1990 Nissan Sentra (MT)
199? Suzuki Sidekick 4x4 (MT)
1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T (MT)
1998 Mercedes SLK230 (AT)
2002 Mercedes SLK32 AMG (AT)
2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe (AT)
2003 Infiniti FX35 AWD (AT)

So, out of all those I like the RX-8 best of all. It's a combination of looks, speed, the rotary, comfort, and most especially the handling!

zoom44

good point 3500 miles and the initial appeal still hasn't worn of and neither has the grin on my face!

mikeb

It just depends what you want
if you just want speed and speeding tickets to match the rx8 might not be for you

ggreen29

The initial appeal wears off? I've had my 91 RX7 since, well, 91, and the appeal of that hasn't worn off. I've had my RX8 since Jul 15 and I still have no idea where the initial appeal button is, let alone how to turn it off!

:o In the interest of full disclosure I should admit that the initial appeal of my RX7 has finally worn off a little since my 8 arrived. Sorry for my previous misstatement.

RX8Lover

I can't believe threads like this are STILL getting posted.

How many times do we have to say why we as RX8 lovers prefer the car over the WRX STi? The cars are completely different. The fact that you posted this thread proves that the only thing you care about is speed...and in that case, why don't you just trade in your RX8 so you have no more regrets.

However, if you look past the only thing the STi has going for it, you would see that the RX8 is about more than that. Just to name a few:

1) Styling
2) Comfortable and slick interior
3) better than adequate performance
4) great handling
5) smooth power, smooth ride

Also, if you paid $35k on the Rx8, you were raped, and I don't feel bad one bit.

I am not saying the RX8 is perfect, because it's not. BUt all around is a great package, and I would take it over the STi any day. If you feel the need to drag race from traffic light to traffic light so you can feel like you're cool, then do us all a favor and let someone have your RX8 that can appreciate it.

Have a nice day. :D

ggreen29

The initial appeal wears off and the RX8 is not perfect! My world is crumbling around me. Maybe I need a drive.:D

khoney

To answer your questions... Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes. The appeal of my '87 RX-7 didn't wear off until I owned the RX-8. I expect the RX-8 will appeal to me just as long. It is SO much nicer than the 7 in every way, and I loved the 7.

DisneyDestroyer

Personally, the car has a much smoother ride and better looks and better equipped interior than the STi. Oh, and 35k I think you got a bit hosed.

Out of curiosity, why no cars from the 80s?

Hercules

Also keep in mind, some of us (me!) were looking for a RWD car, not an AWD one. In my mind it's a totally different driving experience.

The saying is, AWD can make a bad driver look good, but RWD can make even a good driver look bad. The latter part of this refers to the fact that RWD is more challenging to drive and master than AWD which is more of a hand-holding device to me. There are definate advantages in the former though admittedly, I'd rather learn to drive on a $30,000 car and become a better driver, and when (hopefully) I'm making signifigantly more money and decide to get another car, perhaps better than the RX-8 and use that for actual track use or competition... I will have the edge in being a RWD driver first, and learning the limits of a car that is not as easy to drive as an AWD one.

That said, I think the RX-8 and WRX are apples and oranges though, I'm sure they can be compared... it's all a matter of what you are looking for. If you are unhappy with the RX-8's power or handling, then it probably wasn't the right car for you and you were stupid for not test driving more cars before that. I drove the WRX (not STi) and even though the turbo kick-in was really neat, and the car was quick... I just felt I could not 'live' in the interior of that car for prolonged periods of time. The only *real* competitor to my getting the RX-8 was the Infiniti G35C, and given that it was prone to heavy understeer on my test drive around some jughandles, it made the RX-8's neutrality much more appealing. I *loved* the S2000 but a two seater wasn't what I was looking for, nor did I care much for the obscene loudness of the interior in the car, or the plain-jane 'Hondaesque' interior design.

So like I said... if you are unhappy with the RX-8, you have nobody to blame but yourself for not test driving more cars.

f1michel

Well Lightemup, you got your answer alright !! I'm at 6000 miles and i can't be home at night and not feel the urge to look in the driveway... at that moment i'm toasted : I NEED to drive it !

Pulsr

to me... the fastest car isnt always the best car

in my case i wanted a nice sporty looking car that was sporty and 4 seater... this was perfect in everyway... its totally different and probably has plenty of room for potential in going fast

ml2316

unless all your friends and family are hardcore car people, when you show them the sti they'll just think it's an econobox, and an ugly one (in their opinion, not mine). not that you care what they think. the rx-8 on the other hand...will make some of them wet their pants.

starbucks

FOrd Fiesta...you've come a long way, baby!

madhaus

from DisneyDestroyer Out of curiosity, why no cars from the 80s?

'cos he was in jail - how do you think he got to drive all those cars!!!

rotarypower

you must've just purchased the wrong car. apparently you want the most BANG for your BUCK. if you're all about getting the best possible performance for the best price, you should've gotten a corvette. for 50k, you won't regret it. the rx-8 is a different kind of car that people different from you appreciate and absolutely love.

i think you just bought the wrong car.

asparapani

Lighemup you know your pushing buttons when you ask such an amatuer question. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that the rx-8 is a well balanced vehicle. More balanced than most in fact.

What keeps me smiling every morning is the performance ( Classy F****** car pal..), looks ( beats most in this catagorey ), affordability ( again beats most in this catagorey ), and it's uniquness ( rotary ). There isn't a single thing about this car that I don't like. Like I said in my opening paragraph, it is by far the most well balanced vehicle in it's class that i've driven.

And please don't respond with something rediculous like " But what about an RSX or Celica? "

jtimbck2

LOL, I hadn't really noticed that! I guess it was because my parents never owned a new car and I was in college (and didn't own a car) from 1984 - 1990.

jtimbck2

LOL!!! That's funny madhaus! :p

RX8Lover

obviously this post was meant to get a rise out of us. yet another pathetic attempt to put us down.

LightEmUp

No it wasn't just another post just to get a rise out of you. What I meant by initial appeal was this, the first time i set eyes on the rx-8, it was the sexiest car I had ever seen, hands down. I was sold the moment I walked into the dealership. But after having it for roughly 7 weeks now and 5800 miles later, the visual appeal just isn't there anymore. This is true for any car I've owned, after the visual appeal has worn off, it's the performance that has to keep my psyched about the car. Yeah, it's cool how other people love how the 8 looks, but I bought it for me, not for other people to point and stare at. That's exactly how I reacted when I saw the STi. I doubt the majority of the people who replied to my post have even driven an STi. Go to your local subaru dealership and go see for yourself what the commotion is all about. I'm keeping my 8, but just a little dissapointed. It was actually 33,100, I was exagerating

RX8Lover

If that is true, that mean that the STi would wear off as well in 5000 miles, since you said it happens with any car you own.

Also, it sounds like you are more than a "little" disappointed about your 8, or else you wouldn't have started a thread titled "Regret buying the RX8".

Ugh.