DonG35Miata

I think I see what the others have griped about re: flimsy plastics. Look at that locking switch. Does not look very impressive...

http://images.rotarynews.com/images/...1/mvc01319.jpg

I'm starting to think of the RX-8 as more of a competitor and top of the class in the RSX - VW GTI mold than a 325i/G35 competitor. When I think of a $27,000 RX-8, I think, "hey, not a bad deal, a few k more than an GTI VR6, and you get Japanese reliability, RWD and a rotary..." When I think of a $31,000 RX-8 as a 325i/ A4/G35/IS300 competitor, I think "uh-uh... not quite there..."

Maybe the best value is in a stripped version with no option packages. I'm starting to think of just ordering a base car once I see one at the auto show. The RX-8 is a good deal at $27,000. The only options I care about in the $3,900 package are the sunroof and the leather. I can go without at around $2,000 each. And I still get my rotary fix...

Jerome81

You can't build a car at a base price of $25,000 with RWD, a rotary engine, sophisticated suspension, a nice manual transmission if you desire to have interior materials that are as nice as those in a BMW.

All in all I think it looks as though Mazda has done a good balance of interior styling and quality while at the same time not skimping on the truly important stuff such as engines, suspension, and ride quality.

I would rather have what Mazda does than Nissan, who makes it obvious they spent all their money in the powertrain, while not finishing off the suspension and steering tuning correctly and putting in horribly cheap and badly put together interior materials. They are fast, but not cars that are very enjoyable to spend much time in.

As a last note, even as a show car I'm sure there are things inside that don't fit quite well yet, or aren't finished the way they will come in production. I'd be they'll fix that.

If it is as good to slightly better than the interior on the Mazda6, I'll be very happy. My RSX looks very nice, and I wouldn't expect the RX-8 to be far off at all.

DonG35Miata

I don't know if you are referring to the G35, but if you are you do not know what you are talking about The FM suspension is a great setup that has met a lot of critical acclaim, and it drives and rides extremely well. The interior isn't THAT bad. Room for improvement to be sure, but if it was "horribly cheap and badly put together" no one would buy them. Of course, it is all opinions. But yours is off the scale and I felt like it was an attack on what I am driving. Let's be nice.

I guess I had my expectations set high in terms of interior materials. I've read all over about the BMW-class interior that I was expecting to be nicer than my G35. Now those who have seen the car say it is a cut below the G35 of Mazda 6. It is kind of disappointing because when I thought of myself driving my future RX-8, I was surrounded by this premium interior, not something Civic-quality. The people reporting it are RX-8 fans... not lurkers or trolls. That is why I am concerned.

What is a shame is so many manufacturers are chintzing out on interior plastics... a VW like a GTI has nicer plastic and upholstery than a lot of more expensive cars from European and Japanese manufacturers. If the RX-8 had an interior as (apparently) nicely made as my 2000 GTI 1.8T, I would have ordered mine by now.

If I do order on Monday, I'm getting a 6-speed with freight. That's it.

pelucidor

I was upset the first time I saw that door handle pic 3 days ago because it was so blatantly bad, but I figured that this kind of thing will be fixed when production starts. Remember these cars show the final design of the vehicle but the production line hasn't even started up, so changes may already be in place that improves the interior build for the real production cars.

DonG35Miata

This is true... not to mention people are handling these cars.

I'll probably order for $100 and decide for sure if I want to keep it after I drive it!

Jerome81

I was not attacking your car at all, in fact I did not even notice you were driving a G35, a car which I personally REALLY like.

What I was referring to was mainly along the lines of the Z, and particularly the Altima. I do like Nissans, but the build of the Altima is very poor in my eye, and while the Z is better, you can also see that Nissan had to make some concessions in the interior in order to bring the price to the bargain $27,000 starting level, just the same as how Mazda has to do some of that with the RX-8.

The G35 i feel is quite nice inside. Is it as nice as a BMW, personally I don't think so, but not many cars are. However, the G35 can afford to be nicer as it plays in a price class the next step up from the Z and RX-8.

As far as VW's go, I agree with you on that. VW is class leading on interior quality, but I would not buy a VW because while the interiors are very nice, I feel it is more than obvious tha tVW spent their money there rather than spending it on things I feel are more important, such as reliability, electrical, suspension tuning, etc. I do like to drive VW's but they're just not quite tight enough in the handling, though it doesn't get much better to be in a VW cabin on a long freeway drive. I almost bought a 2002 GTI VR6 last year instead of my Acura RSX Type S, but I keep my cars 8 years and I just didn't have faith that the VW would hold up as well as an Acura would.

So that is my opinion. I'm sorry if you felt I was making a personal attack on your car, as I had no intention of doing so and I certainly didn't feel what I typed had any sort of underlying message that made it a personal bash. My apologies if it came across that way.

DonG35Miata

Jerome,

Apology accepted, and I apologize as well. There are a lot of BMW trolls who hang out on the G35 message board and slam the interior plastic of the G35 because, well, their cars are slower, smaller, and more expensive. The G has its shortcomings, as most owners will admit... but dealing with the trolls makes one sensitive, which is why I snapped at you. They get out of hand slamming the car, and I thought if your criticism was aimed at the G35, it was over the top like I have seen before at the G35 board.

What is funny is when I lurk at the E46 3-series board on roadfly.org there is a constant litany of problems... more than a few people say, "That's it, I am dumping this heap..." yet many refuse to acknowledge their cars' reliability is seriously lacking, and can't admit a good driving experience is available anywhere other than BMW. I would not put up with ANY unreliable car no matter how great the driving experience. (BTW I am a former BMW owner.) Actually, a lot of guys on the G35 board dumped their BMWs for G35s, and you don't 1/10 the complaints on the G35 board of cars with serious, recurring problems. But I digress...

I agree with you re: the Altima and to a lesser extent, the 350Z. The Altima's plastic is atrocious. I would rather have a four cylinder Civic than a top-of-the-line Altima. I could not spend any time in there. I test drove a 350Z track and didn't like it half as much as my G35. Visibility is very poor, and somehow the car just did not have a fluid feel to the drivetrain IMHO. I can think of a lot of cars I would rather drive than a 350Z, and a lot of them aren't even sports cars. The plastic felt good the first time I sat in one, crappy when I test drove it. Which is odd because that was about the opposite of my G35 impression. When I first sat in ithe G35 at the dealership, I thought, "cheap". When I drove it, I had to have one as soon as I was out of grad school. (10 week wait.) pelucidor said it really well in his post in another thread... when you are driving the car, the impressions change greatly.

BTW, as far as VW I sat in a 2003 GTI tonight and the interior seems to have lost something since my 2000 GTI GLS... I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was not as nice. Since they started making them in Brazil they started having a ton of problems. A shame because I would like another one... mine was a neat and useful little car, and it would make more sense than adding an RX-8 to the fleet. But I won't buy something with so many reliability issues. The one I sat in had all four ignition coils pulled to use to service customer cars. They are failing at a 55 rate within the field and the VW owners are PO'd like you would not believe. You ought to hear them on VW Vortex... lots of VW fans are changing brands because they can't take it anymore.

That said, I am ordering my RX-8 6-speed stripper in Titanium Gray with cloth first thing in the AM tomorrow. I like cloth in a sports car, and I don't want to spend 2,700 on a package just to get a sunroof that is tiny anyway, so it is a good fit. I also feel a bit better spending less on an admittedly frivolous purchase. I guess one reason I have been holding back is I don't need another car... my G35 is 8 months old with 9,000 miles, and my Miata is five years old (97 bought new in April 98) and only has 26,000 miles and is like new. The Miata is like a pet and is not going anywhere LOL... I will keep it forever. I feel like I am doing something wrong being one single guy with three nice cars, like it is wasteful. But you know what? I really miss a rotary ride. I have a good job and two other income streams on the side, so I work hard. No wife or kids. No credit card debt. My student loans are going away next month and that is 60% of the RX-8 payment. And one day I will be dead, and then it is too late! Gotta live it up while you are here, and after 9-11, I am grateful for every day and you never know when it will be over. I can afford it, so I am going to do it... and if things change I will sell it LOL.
[end soliloquy] haha

rx-8@mazda

it is unbelievably difficult to get mass production quality of surface finish on prototypes and pre-production vehicles.

The 40-or-so cars that have been built are used for autoshows, early press drives and other "marketing" activities.

You will find that there will be differences to final mass production vehicles!