I just got through driving an RX-8 and a 350Z back to back and thought I would put my general feelings down about each one. First the RX-8:
1. Nice! Cheaper than the 350Z I looked at by a couple of grand and better equipped. Good plastics and ergonomics all around. This car had almost as much stuff on it as our Honda (why no frickin automatic A/C Mazda?). Pretty quiet until you jam on it, the engine gets noticeable around 6k RPM. Power doesn't kick in until around 4500 and it buzzes under 3500.
2. Drives great, handles like a dream, steering and brake feel just like the ones in my Pro.
3. Low on power. It does not have as much gusto as the 350Z did, you have to keep it in the powerband or it goes Honda on you.
4. Uncomfortable, if you are around 6' and sit like me in one with a sunroof, your head will hit the roof all day long. Very annoying.
Then the 350Z:
1. Cheap cheap cheap.... All the interior bits felt dirt cheap compared to the RX-8's. But it was much roomier. They also didn't pay very good attention to the ergonomics, I think they tried to make everything look cool first, and functional second.
2. Drives great, but nowhere near as good as the RX-8. Felt a lot more like a normal RWD vehicle with oversteer tendencies while the Mazda was very neutral.
3. Gobs of power, lots of torque and it always felt like it was in the powerband.
4. Much roomier than the RX-8, but then no sunroof either so that would be a couple of inches extra.
In conclusion, I think if I were about to buy a new sports car (maybe I am, not sure) I would probably pick up an RX-8 but I would be kind of pissed because I would have to give up on all the goodies to sit in it comfortably. Mazda needs to offer a variant of this with the grand touring package and NO SUNROOF!!!!!!!
1. Nice! Cheaper than the 350Z I looked at by a couple of grand and better equipped. Good plastics and ergonomics all around. This car had almost as much stuff on it as our Honda (why no frickin automatic A/C Mazda?). Pretty quiet until you jam on it, the engine gets noticeable around 6k RPM. Power doesn't kick in until around 4500 and it buzzes under 3500.
2. Drives great, handles like a dream, steering and brake feel just like the ones in my Pro.
3. Low on power. It does not have as much gusto as the 350Z did, you have to keep it in the powerband or it goes Honda on you.
4. Uncomfortable, if you are around 6' and sit like me in one with a sunroof, your head will hit the roof all day long. Very annoying.
Then the 350Z:
1. Cheap cheap cheap.... All the interior bits felt dirt cheap compared to the RX-8's. But it was much roomier. They also didn't pay very good attention to the ergonomics, I think they tried to make everything look cool first, and functional second.
2. Drives great, but nowhere near as good as the RX-8. Felt a lot more like a normal RWD vehicle with oversteer tendencies while the Mazda was very neutral.
3. Gobs of power, lots of torque and it always felt like it was in the powerband.
4. Much roomier than the RX-8, but then no sunroof either so that would be a couple of inches extra.
In conclusion, I think if I were about to buy a new sports car (maybe I am, not sure) I would probably pick up an RX-8 but I would be kind of pissed because I would have to give up on all the goodies to sit in it comfortably. Mazda needs to offer a variant of this with the grand touring package and NO SUNROOF!!!!!!!
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