It looks like the weather is going to turn ugly next week here in Chicago, so I figured today would be a great opportunity to see the RX-8 in person and take one for a spin. My first impressions...

1. Pictures don't do the '8 justice, nor the colors. The red, blue and green look nothing like their pics. The red is darker than I thought, the green is more BRG than I thought, and the blue is much better looking in person. I love the yellow, but my wife has me leaning towards the Titanium.

2. The Nav system is pretty slick... I needed to play with it before I decided it was worth the money- now I'm sold.

3. Build quality is really tight... I thought my Miata was good (and compared to the econbox performance cars it is), but Mazda really took the 8 to a new level.

4. I love the rotary... the power curve feels a lot like the 3rd gen RX7 twin turbo, just a little less power. After driving a Miata for 5 years, I'm used to keeping the revs above 4k, so this is a natural step up. It's just so damn smooooooth....

5. The RX8 is the best handling car I've ever driven... and I've driven some sweet rides. It's not quite as light and nimble as the Miata, but for its size it feels incredibly agile.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble... now that I know that I MUST have the RX8, I've got to get my Miata on the market ASAP so I can get my rotary fix in the next couple of weeks.

-Sean
http://theswamp.com/miata

 

good non negative post. you'll love your new 8 when you get it.

 

The red looks darker on overcast days. When you see the red in the sunshine, you will poo your pants.

 

The first red I saw was inside the showroom. The dealer manager's car rolled up outside ... I said "I didn't know there were two different reds" - then I said "I'll take red".

 

You gotta see the red in direct sunlight, when the car is really clean. As I said in another post, the sensation is almost sexual.

As far as the nav, if you like it now you will only like it more the more you use it. As you get good at it, you will learn to do entry in many different ways with fewer keystrokes. It becomes very easy. My wife's 2000 BMW, it takes so long to punch in an address we rarely use her nav system. Not so with the '8. Read the many threads herein about it.