I had leased a 2000 Chevrolet Corvette and my lease was ending, I had looked at the 350Z and actually placed an order for a black touring coupe with burnt orange interior. It was supposed to be here yesterday.

Well, a couple weeks ago my friend wanted to check out the Mustang at the local Ford dealership, afterwards I wanted to stop and just take a look at the new RX8. I liked the car! I fell in love with the interior of this vehicle.

I went back to another Nissan dealer and test drove the Z again - then went back to Mazda to test the 8 again - the dealer offered me a great deal, he beat the Z price OTD by $386, also offered to make the last payment on my lease and pay my disposal fee, he also gave me back my deposit that I had paid Nissan to order the Z. He also got me a lower interest rate that my pre-approved credit union loan.

This was a VERY hard decision, but after weighing the added options I was getting with the 8, the DVD Nav system, sunroof, steering wheel radio controls, and that cool interior. Add all that with the price and I choose the 8 over the Z.

I saw a black Z on the way into work this morning, and I still love that vehicle - did anyone here consider the 350Z before purchasing your 8? If so, how do you feel about your decision?

- CHAD

 

I considered a 350z before I bought my 8. It was a used one that was red and had a custom stereo in it with what looked like dvd player capabilities. I never got around to driving it because the 8's finally showed up at my local dealer and after doing my research on the 8, I said the 8 would be my next car. Bought in January and haven't regretted it since!!

 

Simple choice really...

Overall drivability and handling - RX-8.

Power and agressive stance - 350Z.

Your choice, I know what I made

 

I did, because I consider Nissan a better car compnay than Mazda, And a much better company than Ford. I know the ford influence has been debated here alot, and the 8 is clearly not a Ford, but Mazda North America is clearly influenced by by them in the way they do buisness. Anyway...

The main reason I chose the 8 over the Z was the back seat. Which drove me to look at the Infinity G35 coupe, basical a Z with a back seat for an extra $5K. The extra 5K pushed me back to the RX-8.

I still wonder if I should have gotten the G35, sure the Rx-8 looks more sporty, but it's lack of low end tourqe requires a downshift when cruising to get enough acceleration to pass a car.

And the Miliage issue is disapointing, and please dont start the argument that you didnt buy this car for the miliage, I bought a car that was supposed to get 24 MPG cuising down the Highway , and of course a lot less when playing with the car, but at 17 MPG highway, it operating cost is 30% more than it is supposed to be and even more than conventional engines of simular performance.

I am on still the Fence but leaning toward a No, I would not buy the car again.

 

I am pretty much with Randy on this. I defenitely considered it (love nissan as a company and the look of the Z) but my main decision was the backseat on the RX8 for my purchase. If I had to do over I would most likely still get an RX8, but I always see a Z when I am driving and just wonder ......... what if.

 

Just read Car & Driver's comparison of the three (RX-8, 350Z, G-35). The RX-8 is rated higher than both. You get the most for your money with the RX-8.

However, the fact that you are coming out of a vette suggest that you are accustomed to a lot of low end torque. The 350z might be the best choice if this is your primary concern.

I think both the 350z and the RX-8 are better than the G-35 so I won't even compare them.

Overall, tough choice. If you need the extra two seats and need to use the car as a daily driver, go for the 8. You won't be disappointed.

 

The back seat did it for me and the wife said she liked the 8 better, she didn`t like the look of the 8. In order for me to buy a car I needed her approval or else it was a no go, so the 8 it was, and I don`t regret it. I have no problem passing or going up any hill without downshifting and in northern ontario I have pleny of opportunities for doing both.

 

The Z was the only other choice besides the 8 for me....but i started thinking practical and i thought why not have a sports car that i can share with 3 other people.....but i'd rate these cars pretty equal, each one has its advantages over the other...what one car lacks in one catagory it makes up for in another...the choice is purely subjective....but i can tell you that you won't be disappointed with 8 :D

 

Basically that is what I did, plus a few other reviews. But it seems like they neglected to mention things like the flooding issue, or having to check your OIL and add some every 400 miles, and while I think they did mention poor millage I did not expect 30-40% less than the Estimate, from their comments.


In general they praised the Rotary as this marvelous engine but left out all the negative aspect of it. They commented on how well it runs at 9k RPMS, but neglected to mention it will hardly idle.


They also were expecting 250 HP, or maybe 238 depending on when they got the car to review, but it seems more like 225-230 would be a better number.

 

you know i have never thought about comparing the 2 and haven't seen it brought up here before either. weird.

 

haha - never!

 

?'hardly idle'? By definition, idle IS hardly running LOL!

 

I never got 17 MPG on the high way. I always got above 20 MPG on the high way. I did get between 17 to 19 MPG mixed. And the mileage seems to be improving. Your information is inaccurate.

 

Yes, I did. I drove the 350Z in november last year. Great car, really wanted to buy it. IMO looked better than the RX 8. Just to be sure I waited for the testdrive with the 8 (also on special request of my Mazda dealer). This testdrive was delayed until January, but when driving it, I knew this was going to be the one! Main reason because the handling is much better, very important for me for daily use. The exclusiveness of the engine also got me. Seats are better (for me) and the interior looks better. The extra space was just a bonus at that time, but I'm glad it's there.

Saw a grey 350Z last sunday, parked in a sidestreet. I drove back to get closer, stepped out of my car (MX-6), walked around the Z, stepped back in, big smile on my face, realising that I'm still glad I chose the 8 and that it's worth waiting for.

 

I would agree that Nissan is a good company. But you cannot hold Ford's ownership against Mazda. Have you checked which car company is the biggest stake holder of Nissan? Hint: a company who has a lot worse reputation than FoMoTo.

 

I strongly considered the Z. But the 8 offers so much more than just another row of seats. The interior beats the heck out of the Z's. The styling of the Z is what drew me to it, but the car is so common place now, it's starting to lose even that for me.

The 8's ride is far smoother, the motor is not traditional, and was actually just as big a bonus as the extra row of seats for me.


randyrx8: In 4th or 5th, I FLY by any cars I'm passing. And I'm still breaking it in (not going over 6k rpm)

 

Agreed, in 6th is what I am referring to, on the high way at 70, you realy need to downshift, i didn't in the G35.

 

Idleby definition) to run at low power and often disconnected usually so that power is not used for useful work.

I was referring to it rough idle...

AVEAGE 824.4502762
Standard Dev 19.8130942
Max 864.5
Min 763.75

 

MY data is very accurate I get 17, you may get 20, but I havent seen that as a norm from what I have read.

I got 19 MPH once,
I filled up at a station on I10 west of katy, (for those outside if Houston this is a FLAT road)
I shifted at to second at 14MPH, 3rd at 22, 4th at 30, 5th at 38, and into sixth at 44, These are the shift points in the manual. set cuiee control at 65 MPH for the next 2 hrs. Never touched the gas pedal again

I pulled into the next gas station, and refilled. This was 100% highway and I got 19. That was with the K flash I havent tried this with the L flash.

My normal drive is 10 miles of regular road and then 40 miles of Highway, I do this every day and get 15-17.

 

see, that's exactly the beef that I have with the supposed 24 number from EPA.

If you drive a car as Randy described, and EPA rates it @24, then I fully expect to get 27.

The number of 24 should be achieved with "normal highway" driving!

It has been like that for me in other cars. 626, Firebird, Festiva, Civic, Protege to name them. I've always been able to surpass the highway rating if I drove it for a tank the way Randy describes.

I've given up on it, not sure whom to blame. Maybe EPA measured a pre-production car.

-Peter

 

Thanks, I am glad everybody isnt going to flame me for speaking the truth.

 

Some of us bought the 8 because it drives like a classic sports car and that includes all the up- and down-shifting to keep the engine in the powerband. The rotary has such a wide rev range it makes it even more fun.

6th is overdrive. If downshifting out of overdrive to pass is a negative to you, get a v8 powered vehicle or an automatic.

 

I agree, I actually treat 5th and 6th as overdrive.
If driven for performance, there is no reason to ever be in 5 or 6 (probably even 4th for that matter) as street safe speeds.

Nothing like downshifting to 3rd at 50-60 MPH IMHO, 3rd is my favorite gear.

In general I like to shift 1-2-3-then 5th or 6th once I reach my cruising speed.

 

i changed my mind! this is deja vu! i would swear now we have in fact talked about this before. maybe even more than once.

 

thought for months that I wanted a 350Z -- drove it finally and wasn't really impressed. After owning a 95 supra, the 350 felt more like a "mustang" to me -- pure raw power but no "sophistication and class" that I was used to with the supra. although I liked the looks of the 350 better I decided to go test the 8 -- next door. I just couldn't stop grinning while I was driving it--even though it had noticeably less power, there was just more "input and feel" to me.

when I found out that insurance would be a WHOPPING $75 per month LESS on the 8 and the fact that if we ever have a baby at least I DO have some kind of back seat - I was sold. paid about 3grand less than the 350z too.

still look every time I see a Z -- but know I made the right choice. 5K miles in 3 months and not a single complaint!