Obviously I agree with this statement. Its a great car, and I enjoy it when I have to take my wife's car somewhere. Great chassis, lots of power, decent through corners, tons of modding potential and a great community of fellow owners. With that said, the 8 out performs it in all those areas except for power. It is only available in manual shift, and you would have to get it used. Not sure how you feel about that.
G8 or GTI would be interesting although I'm not sure the GTI really increases the interior space that much. G8 would be fun for sure, and looks good too.

I also love the look of the Astra. Its a good looking car, but I don't know anything more about it.

If you are willing to look at used cars I would add the Volvo S60R. That might be ideal, though I have never taken one for a drive personnally.

This is what my list would look like.

New:
G8
GTI
Legacy GT V6

Used:
Mazdaspeed6
Legacy GT (Bspec maybe if you can find it??)
Volvo S60R
S4 (RS4??)

Drive them all and see which one speaks to you. Good luck.

This is true. This and getting use to the on/off lightswitch nature of the clutch take some getting use to.

 

The range of cars that are cross-shopped against the RX-8 never ceases to amaze me. I own the top of the line last gen Mazda6 GT 5-door, which is better than every car on your list except the Maxima, IMHO. After less than two years owning the car, the only thing that has kept that car in my garage and a RX-8 out of my garage is the 6's poor resale value. That's it! The Mazda6 is a "nice" car that handles very well for its class. But it is not a car you decide to take for a drive just to drive it. It is very functional, a little sporty and not that much fun when you get down to it. All you have to do is drive a RX-8 to understand what you are missing.

There are cars I would consider as altenative to the RX-8, but most have not been mentioned here. The most obvious choice would be a used Cayman. Downside is that lack of a back seat and being at the mercy of high priced Porsche mechanics. Another choice would be the 128i/138i/335 BMWs. The only one that compete new with the RX-8 is the 128i and the RX-8 is a better car. Getting either of the other two used puts me at the mercy of high price BMW mechanics. And none of them handle better than the RX-8.

I would prefer a Lotus Elise (reg or SC) over a RX-8 in terms of driving experience. HOWEVER, there is no back seat and virtually no storage space at all. The cars are much more expensive and just too basic for my tastes. The RX-8 makes a great 1st or 2nd car, the Elise is strictly a toy, the 3rd car you only take out on nice days. FAR too limited for me. Would probably prefer the Evora to the RX-8. If anyone wants to lend me $80k with VERY liberal payback terms, let me know. Other than maybe an EVO, that is the list unless you want to add in convertibles like the Miata, S2000 or Boxster.

The RX-8 gets poor gas mileage relative to hp produced and doesn't have that much power or torque compared to many cars. HOWEVER, it is one of the great handling sports cars on the market regardless of price and is also one of the lightest cars on the market as well. That is the great virtue of the RX-8 and it should only be compared to other great handling cars. If If great handling in not your priority, there are better cars out there for you. If you value a great handling car, then, for the money, the RX-8 is virtually impossible to beat.

 

Judging from your list you want a sedan/wagon/crossover that won't put you to sleep behind the wheel, for under 25k. Have you tried the CX-7 or looked at a slightly used EX35? In the sedan bracket, I'd try to find a G8 GT.

 

It seemed that we were definitely leaning towards a CUV, and my list of (relative) favorites indicates that, but both the CX-7 and Infinity EX are way too small in the rear seat to really justify getting one of them over a midsized or large sedan.

The CX-9 is too big, along with the Acadia, Traverse...

I did like the Flex, but the gas mileage sucks and there is no driver feedback at all through the suspension or steering. I know that I said we wanted a cruiser, but we don't want a novocaine injected driving experience like the Venza (hated it) and to a lesser extent, the Flex, offer up.

If the Subaru Outback didn't get saddled with its CVT and the incredibly stupid MPG gauge (they actually put it where the engine temperature gauge should be - big mistake) that doesn't even give you any accurate estimate of fuel economy or anything else (just an annoying, always moving gauge), it would have been more compelling.

 

Probably?

For me, abso-@&$#%-lutely! LOL. (getting mine this Friday )

 

those are all terrible choices. If I was looking for a good family car to accommodate my increasing family size, I'd be looking at the Enzo, Porsche 959, or a Jaguar DBSS.

About the only thing I found redeemable in that post is the mention of a fun little roadster, but that would have to be as a 3rd vehicle. This would allow you to buy a soul-less vehicle to make momma happy. I've always found having a truck around the house to be very handy. Have you considered getting a 4-door truck, then buying a cheap miata as a toy car?

 

Mazdaspeed3, Mazdaspeed6, STi or WRX, Evo(VII, IX, or X), BMW 3 or 5 series.

There are alot of options that come in 4 door and wagon that are very kid friendly but still have alot of pep

 

id try out an evo or an sti. or even the wrx would still be semi quick and fun to drive. not to mention subarus last forever

 

Did you look at any cars that might at least be a little fun? The wife and I just had our first child a month ago and my car shopping was;
Audi A4
Audi S4(07 V8 model)
Mercedes C Class
BMW 328i
BMW 335i
Pontiac G8
Infiniti G35/G37 sedan

Most of these cars were used, but still under warranty. I ended up with a 07 335i CPO and love every minute of it. Infant baby seat fits perfect, with room to spare.

 

you guys know this is over a month old right?

 

Uh oh, we mustve broken the one month old thread rule!

 

4 door GTI, Autobahn package, Xenons, DSG transmission, in Carbon Grey.

I'm 6'4" and over 300lbs I can sit in the back seat with the front seat all the way back comfortably. Nice little cargo area in the back, the rear seats fold down.

200hp 217ftlbs in a 2.0 turbo, chipped and mid pipe on these get you close to 300hp.

DSG transmission is an awesome unit. Dual clutch transmission based on the same transmissions VW put's in Lambo's and the Bugatti.

They handle very good, and are a blast to drive. My 08 averaged 26 mpg city if I stayed out of the throttle.

 

The Accord Crosstour is the new Aztec. That thing is fugly.

Buy the wife a CX-7 (the turbo version) and keep your 8.

 

You can pick up a 1-2yr old TL Type S with CPO for your price range.

 

Try as we might, we can't get away from Mazda products.

We're now leaning towards keeping my 8, and getting a CX-7 (the new, non-turbo one - I know, I know) because they added a lot of sound insulation, softened the suspension just enough, it gets way better MPG than the turbo version (combined 22 versus combined 18) and the back seat should be big enough until our little one is 4 or 5.

They also dramatically improved the dash and interior materials and some of the gauges.

The 7 drives as nice as many CUVs costing 10k more that we test drove.

I swear on everything holy that Mazda's marketing studies pinpointed my wife and I - this would be out 4th Mazda in 9 years.

 

Your list is all **** cars that's why man.

Get a GT-R it has 4 seats.

 

yeah, none of those cars are comparable in anyway.

want a family friendly fun replacement for the rx8?

bmw 335i.

and with all due respect, what is your wife smoking? how can she say the rx8 is not safe? it has 9 airbags. it literally covers the entire interior with airbags. it has a 5 star roll over rating. i cant recall how many newbs have come on to the forums with "i just wrecked my 8, im not really hurt, just a few bruises."

its a REALLY safe car.

 

Yeah, wasn't the 8 the first car to get a 5-star roll-over rating? Before I bought mine, I had the service manager put on my receipt for inspection: "Certified Mazda 4-door family sedan."

 

Genesis coupe ;D

 

I agree.

 

lol I love how they are newbs because they wrecked their 8

but you are right - it has a ton of air bags and incredible accident avoidance characteristics - great breaking and ease of steering

smoke em if you got em