hello

Ok i have been reserching cars for a little bit...i have narrowed it down to a few picks....the Honda S2000...Mazda RX-7 or 8, Nissan 350z... any others i shoud be aware of in the same catagory and price range.......any thing that i should be warned about any of those cars....any help would be great what would you guys get.....besides the RX-8 because no one has test drove it....

Elara

It really depends- what are you looking for in a car (driving-wise, I mean- are you looking for handling or raw power, a mix of both or what?), do you want new or used, and what do you like about the other cars you listed?

And honestly, I think most of us WOULD get the RX-8, even though we haven't test driven it- that's why we're all posting here at an RX-8 forum.

BlueAdept

Heh... I put a deposit on the RX-8 last week, and the spec isn't even finalised!...

I was gonna get an S2000 until I saw the 8, but.... If the 8 didn't have 20 years worth of engine development over the 7, I might well have a 3rd gen by now.

The 350Z isn't the same sort of car at all, in my eye's at least...

The RX's are probably higher maintainance than either the honda or the Z, but we're all here because we think it's worth it.

Rich

?
Why do you expect the RX-8 to be higher maintenance than the Honda or Nissan? With fewer moving parts, less can go wrong. (Huge oversimplification, I know).

I agree with the above posts. Look around there are posts comparing the RX-8 to all the cars you mentioned, so try those first. If you really want someone to spend the time to answer your question (I'd be happy to), you need to provide way more information. Will this be your only car with a kid on the way? S2k, 350Z, and RX-7 are out. Do you plan on drag racing? Do you plan on doing track days or autocrosses? Do you *love* stump pulling torque? Are you coming from a Miata, Mustang or Camry? What's your budget? When will you be buying? Do you plan on doing stereo or performance mods? I could list a hundred more, but you get the idea. The more specific you are the better any advice you get will be, or at least that's the hope.

Hercules

It might be more expensive only because there would probably be more service checks for a rotary than a piston engine.

However, if you take care of the car it should last a long, long time. I personally will be leasing, so that's no worry to me.

Hercules

I'll give you the breakdown for ME... with those cars.

350Z and S2000. No back seat makes it pretty useless. The 350Z's handling has quite the problem with the front end dipping. As Car and Driver puts it, there are more tossable cars for this price. The S2000 is a convertible, something I don't like at all. It's pretty quick but the interior is very well.. Honda Again, it's a two seater and thus useless to me.

The RX-7 well.. it's a damn cool car but it's HARD to find one in good shape. And those that keep it in good shape won't sell it That's where I'm at. Besides, I like the idea of having that 3 year warranty (at the least) so the RX-8 is a no-brainer for me. It will out-handle all the cars listed, be pretty damn fast, both off the line and on the track, has a great interior, decent trunk and 4 seats.

What more can you ask for?!? :D

hello

i dont know about the rx-8 haveing better handling then the 350z or s2000 is that really true....i herd that the 350z handels quite well. Also which out the 4 is the most powerful....fastest...i mean i want a good sports car and i want it bo powerfull and fast...i dont mind the 2 seats i just want the best sports car in this price range....Which Car do you think well be most upgradeable? most aftermarket parts...besides the s2000...

Hercules

Judging from your response, I'd say get the 350Z.

You have no interest in a car that handles well because you just asked which of the 4 is the most powerful.

That alone says what car you want. Get the 350Z. Leave the RX-8 to those who are well.. enlightened about it.

The RX-8 by the way, will be the hardest to modify because it has a rotary engine so parts for that will come out later than parts for a 350Z.

Rich

Happy, please do some research on your own, and come back with more specific questions. You aren't sure about how the RX-8 will handle? Given the recent articles on the Protege 5 and Mazdaspeed Protege, the Miata's reputation, the RX-7's reputation, the RX-8's weight advantage over the 350Z, the statements from Mazda, and all the rest I think it's a good bet that the RX-8 will handle better than the 350Z (which has recieved good but not glowing reviews). I think the S2k will be a better match in the handling dept., although when I drove one I thought it was a bit twitchy at the limit.

One other thing I'll mention is that you really need to look less at power and more at power to weight ratio. I assume you're familiar with Force=Mass*Acceleration. Even if you haven't taken physics, you know that a 120 HP Elise can outrun a car with 200 HP if that car weights twice as much. Power to weight ratio is what matters, not power.

There's a FAQ (which you're supposed to read before posting) that has the answers to most of the questions you're asking. If you read that and still have questions, post them. I'm not going to read the FAQ and cut and paste for you, and I hope no one else does either.

BlueAdept

Let me qualify that... I WASN'T talking about it breaking... but everything I've learned tells me that the maintainance cycle... oil changes etc... will be a little more frequent... and the effects of poor or infrequent servicing will be more severe.

Do you believe that's a reasonable statement?

Rich

Yep.

Immi

Hello,

I suggest you read Hercules's responses and ignore them - he is greatly biased towards mazda.

If you are serious about buying a car - do your own research.

Hercules

I like any car that handles well and has reasonble power, along with a decent fit and finish.

I'm not going to get started into this again, but the Nissans don't have a fit and finish near Mazdas, and as far as Car and Driver is concerned, the Z doesn't handle too great either. Decent, but not exemplary. Hopefully the 8 will be the shining star